Guides/Folder + password
How to encrypt a folder with a password (properly)
Encrypting a folder with a password sounds simple, and it should be. Elba does the simple version: pick a folder, set a password, close the tab. The folder is sealed with AES-256-GCM at rest.
What ‘properly’ means
The password is turned into a key using PBKDF2 with a per-folder salt. The folder is encrypted with AES-256-GCM. No plaintext copy is left behind. No key is stored on disk.
The password advice everyone hates
Twelve characters minimum, or four random words (‘correct-horse-battery-staple’). Write it down on paper. Put the paper somewhere physical. There is no reset link — that's the point.
Questions people actually ask
- Can I change the password later?
- Yes, from inside Elba, re-seal with a new password.
- Can I remove the password?
- You can unseal the folder and leave it unsealed. Elba does not force you to re-encrypt.
Take the island
Elba is one HTML file. It runs locally in a Chromium browser, seals a folder with AES-256-GCM, never phones home, and becomes open source on 1 January 2030.
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pay once · no account · nothing leavesRelated guides
- How to encrypt files locally, in under a minute
A short, plain guide to encrypting files locally with Elba: open the HTML file, pick a folder, set a password. That's the whole flow.
- What happens if you forget your encryption password?
The honest answer, with Elba: nothing gets in. There is no reset link. Here's how to make sure you never need one.
- AES-256-GCM, explained without a maths degree
AES-256-GCM in one page — what it is, why Elba uses it, and what it does and doesn't protect against.