Guides/On this machine
Run encryption from a USB stick with no install
You can run Elba entirely from a USB stick with no installation on the host machine. Copy Elba.html and (optionally) a portable Chromium to the stick, plug it in, open, and seal a folder.
What to put on the stick
Elba.html itself; the sealed vault or vaults; optionally a portable Chromium build if you don't trust the host's browser.
When you unplug
Nothing remains installed. The browser tab is gone; the sealed vault leaves with you. Anything you exported into the host's file system, of course, does not.
Questions people actually ask
- Do I need admin rights on the host?
- Not to run Elba from the stick. Portable Chromium may require permission depending on OS policy.
- Is a USB stick safe long-term?
- USB flash decays over years. Keep a second copy on a different stick or in a sealed cloud backup.
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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the price falls each year · free to all 1 jan 2030
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- A portable encryption tool that fits on a USB drive
Elba runs from a USB stick with no install. One HTML file, one launcher, one folder — sealed with AES-256-GCM wherever you plug it in.
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Elba runs entirely offline in a browser tab, so it belongs on an air-gapped machine. Here's a workflow that keeps the gap intact.