feat(secrets): tokens og kodeord forlader ikke længere huset med en kopi

Gmails refresh-token lå i klartekst i databasen. Det er ikke filen på serveren,
der er problemet, men kopierne af den: sikkerhedskopier kan hentes ned gennem
fladen, så hver eneste kopi, der er taget indtil nu, bar et levende token.

Derfor ligger nøglen uden for databasen — i miljøet, eller i en fil ved siden af
dataene med tilstand 0600. VAPID-parret er præcedens for en hemmelighed,
instansen selv laver og gemmer i basen, men det mønster dur ikke her: en nøgle i
samme fil som det, den låser, er ingen lås. Backup er VACUUM INTO af selve
databasen, så filen følger ikke med.

Kun de navngivne felter forsegles — refresh_token, access_token, password,
client_secret. Resten af klatten er det, man læser, når en postkasse driller:
hvilken mappe, hvilken etiket, hvilken adresse. At kryptere det med ville ikke
købe noget og ville koste muligheden for at kigge.

Ingen migration, og ingen der skal forbinde forfra: en værdi uden mærket læses
som sig selv, og næste skrivning lægger den forseglet på plads. Kolonnen
konverterer sig selv efterhånden som den bruges, i stedet for i én omgang, der
skal have ret om hver eneste række på én gang. Der er en prøve for netop det.

Fladen siger det på siden, hvor man henter kopien — for den dag nøglen betyder
noget, er den dag, man gendanner et andet sted og undrer sig over, at postkassen
er tavs. Runen er på v4; en ny variabel uden et versionsspring er usynlig.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

cmd/verdande/main.go

@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/kristianwind/verdande/internal/config"
 	"github.com/kristianwind/verdande/internal/httpapi"
 	"github.com/kristianwind/verdande/internal/jobs"
+	"github.com/kristianwind/verdande/internal/secret"
 	"github.com/kristianwind/verdande/internal/store"
 )
 
@@ -54,6 +55,15 @@ func run() error {
 	defer db.Close()
 	log.Info("database ready", "path", db.Path())
 
+	// Before anything reads a setting. The key lives outside the database on
+	// purpose: backups can be downloaded through the interface, so a token stored
+	// in the clear leaves with every copy anyone takes.
+	box, err := secret.Open(cfg.SecretKey, cfg.DataDir)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	db.UseSecrets(box)
+
 	httpapi.Version = version
 	api := httpapi.New(cfg, db, log, webAssets(log))
 

internal/config/config.go

@@ -33,6 +33,10 @@ type Config struct {
 	GmailClientID     string
 	GmailClientSecret string
 
+	// SecretKey seals the tokens and passwords in the database, 32 bytes of base64.
+	// Empty means a key file beside the data — see internal/secret.
+	SecretKey string
+
 	// UpdateCheck asks GitHub whether a newer release exists. Off unless asked
 	// for: a self-hosted app that reaches out without being told to has broken
 	// the deal its operator made by self-hosting.
@@ -100,6 +104,7 @@ func Load() (*Config, error) {
 		PanelToken:        env("VERDANDE_PANEL_TOKEN", ""),
 		PanelServerID:     env("VERDANDE_PANEL_SERVER_ID", ""),
 		GmailClientSecret: env("VERDANDE_GMAIL_CLIENT_SECRET", ""),
+		SecretKey:         env("VERDANDE_SECRET_KEY", ""),
 		UpdateCheck:       envBool("VERDANDE_UPDATE_CHECK", false),
 	}
 

internal/secret/secret.go

@@ -0,0 +1,141 @@
+// Package secret seals the values that must not travel with a backup.
+//
+// The reason this exists is not the database on the server — it is the copies of
+// it. Backups can be downloaded through the web interface, and every one taken so
+// far carried a live Gmail refresh token in plain text. Anyone who ends up with a
+// copy ends up with the mailbox.
+//
+// So the key must not live in the database. That rules out the pattern used for
+// the VAPID pair, which the instance generates and stores in the same file it
+// protects: a key kept beside what it locks is not a lock. It comes from the
+// environment, or from a file next to the data that the backup does not include.
+package secret
+
+import (
+	"crypto/aes"
+	"crypto/cipher"
+	"crypto/rand"
+	"encoding/base64"
+	"errors"
+	"fmt"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+)
+
+// prefix marks a sealed value, so a mixed column can be read without guessing and
+// so the scheme can be replaced later without having to.
+const prefix = "v1:"
+
+// KeyFile is where the key lands when the environment does not carry one. It sits
+// beside the database rather than inside it, and the backup routine must never
+// learn to include it.
+const KeyFile = "secret.key"
+
+// Box seals and opens values.
+type Box struct {
+	aead cipher.AEAD
+}
+
+// Open loads the key, generating and saving one on first use.
+//
+// A key given in the environment wins: that is how a host keeps the secret out of
+// its disks altogether. Otherwise a file, created 0600, and read back with its
+// permissions checked — a key that anybody on the box can read is a key that is
+// only ceremonially secret.
+func Open(env, dataDir string) (*Box, error) {
+	if env != "" {
+		key, err := base64.StdEncoding.DecodeString(strings.TrimSpace(env))
+		if err != nil || len(key) != 32 {
+			return nil, errors.New("VERDANDE_SECRET_KEY must be 32 bytes of base64 — " +
+				"generate one with: openssl rand -base64 32")
+		}
+		return newBox(key)
+	}
+
+	path := filepath.Join(dataDir, KeyFile)
+	raw, err := os.ReadFile(path)
+	switch {
+	case err == nil:
+		key, decErr := base64.StdEncoding.DecodeString(strings.TrimSpace(string(raw)))
+		if decErr != nil || len(key) != 32 {
+			// Deliberately not regenerating. A new key here would not fix anything —
+			// it would silently make every stored token unreadable, which looks
+			// exactly like the mailbox having disconnected itself overnight.
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("%s is not a 32-byte base64 key; move it aside only "+
+				"if you accept that every connected mailbox must be reconnected", path)
+		}
+		if info, statErr := os.Stat(path); statErr == nil && info.Mode().Perm()&0o077 != 0 {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("%s is readable by others (%04o); chmod 600 it", path, info.Mode().Perm())
+		}
+		return newBox(key)
+
+	case errors.Is(err, os.ErrNotExist):
+		key := make([]byte, 32)
+		if _, randErr := rand.Read(key); randErr != nil {
+			return nil, randErr
+		}
+		encoded := base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString(key)
+		if writeErr := os.WriteFile(path, []byte(encoded+"\n"), 0o600); writeErr != nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("write %s: %w", path, writeErr)
+		}
+		return newBox(key)
+
+	default:
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("read %s: %w", path, err)
+	}
+}
+
+func newBox(key []byte) (*Box, error) {
+	block, err := aes.NewCipher(key)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	aead, err := cipher.NewGCM(block)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	return &Box{aead: aead}, nil
+}
+
+// Seal returns the sealed form of v. An empty string stays empty: there is nothing
+// to hide, and a row full of ciphertext for "" only makes the column harder to read.
+func (b *Box) Seal(v string) (string, error) {
+	if v == "" || IsSealed(v) {
+		return v, nil
+	}
+	nonce := make([]byte, b.aead.NonceSize())
+	if _, err := rand.Read(nonce); err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	out := b.aead.Seal(nonce, nonce, []byte(v), nil)
+	return prefix + base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString(out), nil
+}
+
+// Unseal returns the plain value. Anything without the marker is returned as it
+// is — the column holds values written before there was a key, and they are read
+// as themselves until something writes them back sealed.
+func (b *Box) Unseal(v string) (string, error) {
+	if !IsSealed(v) {
+		return v, nil
+	}
+	raw, err := base64.StdEncoding.DecodeString(strings.TrimPrefix(v, prefix))
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("sealed value is not base64: %w", err)
+	}
+	if len(raw) < b.aead.NonceSize() {
+		return "", errors.New("sealed value is too short to contain a nonce")
+	}
+	nonce, body := raw[:b.aead.NonceSize()], raw[b.aead.NonceSize():]
+	out, err := b.aead.Open(nil, nonce, body, nil)
+	if err != nil {
+		// The overwhelmingly likely cause, and worth saying rather than "message
+		// authentication failed", which sends people looking for a corrupt row.
+		return "", errors.New("cannot read a stored secret: this is a different key " +
+			"than the one it was written with")
+	}
+	return string(out), nil
+}
+
+// IsSealed reports whether v has already been through Seal.
+func IsSealed(v string) bool { return strings.HasPrefix(v, prefix) }

internal/secret/secret_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,149 @@
+package secret
+
+import (
+	"encoding/base64"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+func TestAValueSurvivesTheRoundTrip(t *testing.T) {
+	b := mustBox(t)
+	for _, in := range []string{"1//0abc-refresh", "kodeord med æøå", strings.Repeat("x", 5000)} {
+		sealed, err := b.Seal(in)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		if strings.Contains(sealed, in) {
+			t.Fatal("the sealed form still contains the value")
+		}
+		out, err := b.Unseal(sealed)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		if out != in {
+			t.Errorf("got %q, want %q", out, in)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// Two seals of the same value must not look alike, or the column tells anyone
+// reading it which accounts share a password.
+func TestSealingTwiceGivesDifferentText(t *testing.T) {
+	b := mustBox(t)
+	first, _ := b.Seal("same")
+	second, _ := b.Seal("same")
+	if first == second {
+		t.Error("the same value sealed to the same text twice")
+	}
+}
+
+// The column holds values written before there was a key. Reading must not fail
+// on them, and sealing must not wrap an already-sealed value a second time.
+func TestPlainTextIsReadAsItself(t *testing.T) {
+	b := mustBox(t)
+	out, err := b.Unseal("1//0abc-written-before-there-was-a-key")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if out != "1//0abc-written-before-there-was-a-key" {
+		t.Errorf("an unsealed value came back as %q", out)
+	}
+
+	sealed, _ := b.Seal("x")
+	again, _ := b.Seal(sealed)
+	if again != sealed {
+		t.Error("an already-sealed value was sealed a second time")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestNothingIsStillNothing(t *testing.T) {
+	b := mustBox(t)
+	if out, _ := b.Seal(""); out != "" {
+		t.Errorf("an empty value sealed to %q", out)
+	}
+}
+
+// The message somebody gets after restoring a database without its key file. It
+// has to point at the key, because every other symptom points at the mailbox.
+func TestTheWrongKeySaysItIsTheWrongKey(t *testing.T) {
+	sealed, err := mustBox(t).Seal("hemmelig")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	_, err = mustBox(t).Unseal(sealed)
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("another key opened it")
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "different key") {
+		t.Errorf("the error does not name the cause: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestTheKeyFileIsMadeOnceAndKeptPrivate(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	if _, err := Open("", dir); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	path := filepath.Join(dir, KeyFile)
+	info, err := os.Stat(path)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if perm := info.Mode().Perm(); perm != 0o600 {
+		t.Errorf("the key file is %04o, not 0600", perm)
+	}
+
+	// Opening again must reuse it. A second key here would quietly make every
+	// stored token unreadable, and it would look like the mailboxes disconnecting
+	// themselves overnight.
+	first, _ := os.ReadFile(path)
+	if _, err := Open("", dir); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	second, _ := os.ReadFile(path)
+	if string(first) != string(second) {
+		t.Error("opening a second time replaced the key")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestAKeyOthersCanReadIsRefused(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	if _, err := Open("", dir); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	path := filepath.Join(dir, KeyFile)
+	if err := os.Chmod(path, 0o644); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if _, err := Open("", dir); err == nil {
+		t.Error("a world-readable key was accepted")
+	}
+}
+
+// The environment wins, so a host can keep the key off its disks altogether.
+func TestTheEnvironmentBeatsTheFile(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	key := base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString([]byte(strings.Repeat("k", 32)))
+	if _, err := Open(key, dir); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(dir, KeyFile)); !os.IsNotExist(err) {
+		t.Error("a key file was written even though the environment carried one")
+	}
+
+	if _, err := Open("too-short", dir); err == nil {
+		t.Error("a key that is not 32 bytes was accepted")
+	}
+}
+
+func mustBox(t *testing.T) *Box {
+	t.Helper()
+	b, err := Open("", t.TempDir())
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	return b
+}

internal/store/notifications.go

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"database/sql"
 	"encoding/json"
 	"errors"
+	"fmt"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/kristianwind/verdande/internal/auth"
@@ -313,6 +314,65 @@ func (db *DB) UsersWithGmail(ctx context.Context) ([]User, error) {
 
 // UserSettings reads one scope of a person's integration settings. A missing row is
 // an empty map, not an error: nobody has settings until they set some.
+// --- sealed values ----------------------------------------------------------------
+
+// secretFields are the keys whose values never leave this process in the clear.
+//
+// A named set rather than "seal everything": the rest of a settings blob is what
+// somebody reads when a mailbox misbehaves — which folder, which label, which
+// address — and turning all of it into ciphertext would buy nothing and cost the
+// ability to look.
+var secretFields = map[string]bool{
+	"refresh_token": true,
+	"access_token":  true,
+	"password":      true,
+	"client_secret": true,
+}
+
+// seal returns a copy of values with the secret fields sealed. Without a key it
+// returns them untouched, which is what the tests that never set one expect.
+func (db *DB) seal(values map[string]any) (map[string]any, error) {
+	if db.box == nil {
+		return values, nil
+	}
+	out := make(map[string]any, len(values))
+	for k, v := range values {
+		s, ok := v.(string)
+		if !secretFields[k] || !ok {
+			out[k] = v
+			continue
+		}
+		sealed, err := db.box.Seal(s)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("seal %s: %w", k, err)
+		}
+		out[k] = sealed
+	}
+	return out, nil
+}
+
+// unseal is seal's other direction. Values written before there was a key come
+// back as themselves; the next write puts them away properly, so the column
+// converts itself as it is used rather than in one migration that has to be right
+// about every row at once.
+func (db *DB) unseal(values map[string]any) (map[string]any, error) {
+	if db.box == nil {
+		return values, nil
+	}
+	for k, v := range values {
+		s, ok := v.(string)
+		if !secretFields[k] || !ok {
+			continue
+		}
+		plain, err := db.box.Unseal(s)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("read %s: %w", k, err)
+		}
+		values[k] = plain
+	}
+	return values, nil
+}
+
 func (db *DB) UserSettings(ctx context.Context, userID, scope string) (map[string]any, error) {
 	var raw string
 	err := db.QueryRowContext(ctx,
@@ -329,10 +389,14 @@ func (db *DB) UserSettings(ctx context.Context, userID, scope string) (map[strin
 	if err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(raw), &values); err != nil {
 		return map[string]any{}, nil
 	}
-	return values, nil
+	return db.unseal(values)
 }
 
 func (db *DB) SetUserSettings(ctx context.Context, userID, scope string, values map[string]any) error {
+	values, err := db.seal(values)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
 	raw, err := json.Marshal(values)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
@@ -370,10 +434,14 @@ func (db *DB) InstanceSettings(ctx context.Context, scope string) (map[string]an
 	if err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(raw), &values); err != nil {
 		return map[string]any{}, nil
 	}
-	return values, nil
+	return db.unseal(values)
 }
 
 func (db *DB) SetInstanceSettings(ctx context.Context, scope string, values map[string]any) error {
+	values, err := db.seal(values)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
 	raw, err := json.Marshal(values)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err

internal/store/secrets_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,125 @@
+package store
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/kristianwind/verdande/internal/secret"
+)
+
+// The whole point of the exercise: what is written must not be readable in the
+// file that a backup copies.
+func TestATokenIsNotStoredInTheClear(t *testing.T) {
+	db, userID := sealedStore(t)
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	const token = "1//0-a-real-looking-refresh-token"
+	if err := db.SetUserSettings(ctx, userID, "gmail", map[string]any{
+		"refresh_token": token,
+		"label":         "Verdande",
+	}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	var raw string
+	if err := db.QueryRowContext(ctx,
+		`SELECT values_json FROM user_settings WHERE user_id = ?`, userID).Scan(&raw); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if strings.Contains(raw, token) {
+		t.Fatalf("the token is in the row as written: %s", raw)
+	}
+	// The rest stays readable, which is the reason for naming the secret fields
+	// rather than sealing the whole blob.
+	if !strings.Contains(raw, "Verdande") {
+		t.Errorf("the label was sealed too: %s", raw)
+	}
+
+	back, err := db.UserSettings(ctx, userID, "gmail")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if back["refresh_token"] != token {
+		t.Errorf("got %q back", back["refresh_token"])
+	}
+}
+
+// The migration that matters. A row written before there was a key must still be
+// readable, and must put itself away sealed the next time it is written — nobody
+// should have to reconnect a mailbox because the server learned to encrypt.
+func TestATokenWrittenBeforeTheKeyStillWorks(t *testing.T) {
+	db, userID := sealedStore(t)
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	const token = "1//0-written-when-there-was-no-key"
+	plain, _ := json.Marshal(map[string]any{"refresh_token": token})
+	if _, err := db.ExecContext(ctx, `
+		INSERT INTO user_settings (user_id, scope, values_json, updated_at)
+		VALUES (?, 'gmail', ?, 0)`, userID, string(plain)); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	values, err := db.UserSettings(ctx, userID, "gmail")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("a row from before the key could not be read: %v", err)
+	}
+	if values["refresh_token"] != token {
+		t.Fatalf("got %q, want the plain token back", values["refresh_token"])
+	}
+
+	// Written back — and now sealed, without anything having asked for it.
+	if err := db.SetUserSettings(ctx, userID, "gmail", values); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	var raw string
+	if err := db.QueryRowContext(ctx,
+		`SELECT values_json FROM user_settings WHERE user_id = ?`, userID).Scan(&raw); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if strings.Contains(raw, token) {
+		t.Error("the row is still in the clear after being written back")
+	}
+}
+
+// UsersWithGmail finds people by the presence of the key, not its value, so it
+// must keep working now that the value is ciphertext.
+func TestTheSweepStillFindsAConnectedMailbox(t *testing.T) {
+	db, userID := sealedStore(t)
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	if err := db.SetUserSettings(ctx, userID, "gmail",
+		map[string]any{"refresh_token": "1//0-token"}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	users, err := db.UsersWithGmail(ctx)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if len(users) != 1 {
+		t.Fatalf("the sweep found %d connected mailboxes, want 1", len(users))
+	}
+}
+
+func sealedStore(t *testing.T) (*DB, string) {
+	t.Helper()
+	db, err := Open(filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "test.db"))
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	t.Cleanup(func() { db.Close() })
+
+	box, err := secret.Open("", t.TempDir())
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	db.UseSecrets(box)
+
+	user := &User{Email: "kristian@example.dk", Name: "Kristian"}
+	if err := db.CreateUser(context.Background(), user, "Indbakke"); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	return db, user.ID
+}

internal/store/store.go

@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import (
 	"database/sql"
 	"embed"
 	"fmt"
+	"github.com/kristianwind/verdande/internal/secret"
 	"io/fs"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"runtime"
@@ -23,8 +24,20 @@ var migrationFS embed.FS
 type DB struct {
 	*sql.DB
 	path string
+
+	// box seals the values that must not travel with a backup. Nil in the tests
+	// that do not care, where a secret is stored as itself — see Seal.
+	box *secret.Box
 }
 
+// UseSecrets gives the store the key it seals with. Called once at startup, before
+// anything reads or writes settings.
+//
+// Separate from Open because the key comes from the environment or from a file
+// beside the data, and a database that cannot be opened without it would make a
+// misplaced key look like a corrupt disk.
+func (db *DB) UseSecrets(box *secret.Box) { db.box = box }
+
 // dsn is the connection string.
 //
 // SQLite is a single file, but it is being driven by an HTTP server with concurrent

rune/verdande.yaml

@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ gameskill:
   # this: a manifest with new fields and an unchanged version is a manifest the
   # panel has no reason to re-read, so the fields never appear and the failure is
   # silent — the server's settings page simply does not offer them.
-  version: 3
+  version: 4
   icon: "app"
 
   # The image is distroless — no shell — so keep_entrypoint runs the binary the
@@ -99,6 +99,11 @@ gameskill:
       name: "This server's id in the panel (the one in its URL)"
       type: string
       default: ""
+    - key: VERDANDE_SECRET_KEY
+      name: "Key for the tokens and mailbox passwords in the database — 32 bytes of base64, from: openssl rand -base64 32. Leave empty to keep one in a file beside the data. Change it and every mailbox must be connected again."
+      type: string
+      secret: true
+      default: ""
 
   install:
     # The image has no shell, so the install step borrows one. It only has to make

web/src/lib/locales/da.js

@@ -360,6 +360,8 @@ export const da = {
 		'Slettede projekter, med deres opgaver. De bliver hentet tilbage præcis som de var — bortset fra opgaver, du havde slettet hver for sig først; dem var der en grund til.',
 	'data.backupsHint':
 		'Databasen kopieres hver nat og de seneste fjorten gemmes. Kopierne er talt, ikke dateret: en container, der har stået slukket en måned, må ikke komme tilbage og slette dem alle for at være for gamle.',
+	'data.backupsSecrets':
+		'Tokens og kodeord til postkasser ligger krypteret i kopien, og nøglen gør ikke: den ligger i en fil ved siden af databasen. Det er meningen — en kopi, der kommer på afveje, åbner ikke din mail. Men gendanner du en kopi et sted uden den fil, skal postkasserne forbindes forfra.',
 	'data.backupsAttachments':
 		'Vedhæftede filer er ikke med. De er indholdsadresserede og bliver kun lagt til, så fjorten ens kopier af dem ville fylde det drev op, de skulle beskytte — tag hele /data, hvis du vil have det hele.',
 	'data.restoreHint':

web/src/lib/locales/en.js

@@ -355,6 +355,8 @@ export const en = {
 		'Deleted projects, with their tasks. They come back exactly as they were — except for tasks you had deleted individually first; there was a reason for those.',
 	'data.backupsHint':
 		'The database is copied every night and the most recent fourteen are kept. Counted, not dated: a container that has been off for a month must not come back and delete all of them for being too old.',
+	'data.backupsSecrets':
+		'Tokens and mailbox passwords are encrypted inside the copy, and the key is not: it sits in a file beside the database. That is the point — a copy that goes astray does not open your mail. But restore a copy somewhere without that file and the mailboxes must be connected again.',
 	'data.backupsAttachments':
 		'Attachments are not included. They are content-addressed and only ever added to, so fourteen identical copies would fill the volume they were meant to protect — take the whole of /data if you want everything.',
 	'data.restoreHint':

web/src/routes/indstillinger/data/+page.svelte

@@ -267,6 +267,13 @@
 			<p class="hint">
 				{t('data.backupsAttachments')}
 			</p>
+			<!-- Said here rather than only in the documentation: this is the page where
+			     somebody downloads the file, and the day the key matters is the day
+			     they are restoring it somewhere else and wondering why the mailbox is
+			     silent. -->
+			<p class="hint">
+				{t('data.backupsSecrets')}
+			</p>
 		</header>
 
 		<div class="row">