dashlane

@varlock/dashlane-plugin

This package is a Varlock plugin that enables loading secrets from Dashlane into your configuration. It wraps the Dashlane CLI (dcli) to resolve secrets via dl:// references.

Requires dcli installed and available in your PATH. See installation docs.

Features

• Fast lookups by ID - Uses dcli read which fetches individual secrets without decrypting the full vault
• Title-based lookups - Also supports dl://<title>/field for convenience (slower, requires vault decryption)
• Pre-authenticated and headless auth - Works with existing dcli sync sessions or service device keys for CI/CD
• Multiple instances for accessing different Dashlane accounts or devices
• In-session caching - Each secret is fetched only once per resolution
• Helpful error messages with resolution tips

Installation

If you are in a JavaScript based project and have a package.json file, you can either install the plugin explicitly:

npm install @varlock/dashlane-plugin

And then register the plugin without any version number:

# @plugin(@varlock/dashlane-plugin)

Otherwise just set the explicit version number when you register it:

# @plugin(@varlock/dashlane-plugin@0.0.0)

See the Plugin Guide for more details.

Prerequisites

You must have the Dashlane CLI (dcli) installed on your system. See the installation docs for setup instructions.

After installing, authenticate and sync your vault:

# Interactive login (opens browser)
dcli sync

# Or register a device for headless/CI use
dcli devices register "my-server"

See the Dashlane CLI documentation for full setup instructions.

The plugin does not fail at load time if dcli is not installed -- it only fails when you actually try to resolve a secret.

Setup

After registering the plugin, initialize it with the @initDashlane root decorator.

Basic setup

For interactive use (local development), no configuration is needed:

# @plugin(@varlock/dashlane-plugin)
# @initDashlane()

This relies on an existing dcli sync session for authentication. Remember to run dcli lock when you are done to lock your vault.

Headless setup (CI/CD)

For headless environments, provide service device keys:

# @plugin(@varlock/dashlane-plugin)
# @initDashlane(serviceDeviceKeys=$DASHLANE_SERVICE_DEVICE_KEYS)

The $DASHLANE_SERVICE_DEVICE_KEYS reference is resolved from the environment at runtime (e.g., from .env.local or a CI environment variable). The value itself is a dls_* credential string output by device registration:

dcli devices register "my-ci-server"
# Outputs: dls_<base64-encoded-keys>

Multiple instances

Access multiple Dashlane accounts or devices:

# @plugin(@varlock/dashlane-plugin)
# @initDashlane(id=prod, serviceDeviceKeys=$PROD_DL_KEYS)
# @initDashlane(id=dev, serviceDeviceKeys=$DEV_DL_KEYS)
# ---

PROD_SECRET=dashlane(prod, "dl://secret_id/password")
DEV_SECRET=dashlane(dev, "dl://secret_id/password")

Loading secrets

Once initialized, use the dashlane() resolver function to fetch secrets via dl:// references.

By entry ID (recommended)

The fastest method. dcli read fetches a specific secret by its vault ID without decrypting the full vault:

# @plugin(@varlock/dashlane-plugin)
# @initDashlane()
# ---

DB_PASSWORD=dashlane("dl://00F9FB5E-A042-4351-AFF2-46DF39DEF77F/password")
DB_USER=dashlane("dl://00F9FB5E-A042-4351-AFF2-46DF39DEF77F/login")
API_KEY=dashlane("dl://A1B2C3D4-E5F6-7890-ABCD-EF1234567890/password")

By title (slower)

dcli read also accepts titles in dl:// references. This is slower since it requires full vault decryption, but more readable:

DB_PASSWORD=dashlane("dl://MyDatabase/password")
STRIPE_KEY=dashlane("dl://Stripe API/password")

Using IDs is recommended for reliability and performance.

Finding entry identifiers

List your vault entries with their IDs:

# List all passwords with titles and IDs
dcli password -o json | jq '.[] | {title, id}'

# Example output:
# { "title": "MyDatabase", "id": "{00F9FB5E-A042-4351-AFF2-46DF39DEF77F}" }
# { "title": "Stripe API", "id": "{A1B2C3D4-E5F6-7890-ABCD-EF1234567890}" }

# List secure notes
dcli note -o json | jq '.[] | {title, id}'

# List secrets
dcli secret -o json | jq '.[] | {title, id}'

When using the ID in a dl:// reference, strip the curly braces:

# dcli shows: {00F9FB5E-A042-4351-AFF2-46DF39DEF77F}
# Use:        dl://00F9FB5E-A042-4351-AFF2-46DF39DEF77F/password

Available fields

The field after the ID specifies which property to retrieve:

Field	Description
password	The entry's password
login	The entry's username/login
email	The entry's email address
url	The entry's associated URL
note	The entry's notes field

---

Reference

Root decorators

@initDashlane()

Initialize a Dashlane plugin instance.

Parameters:

• serviceDeviceKeys?: string - Service device keys (dls_* credential) for headless authentication
• id?: string - Instance identifier for multiple instances (defaults to _default)
• autoSync?: boolean - If true, runs dcli sync once before the first read (default false)
• lockOnExit?: boolean - Lock the vault on process exit. Defaults to true in headless mode, false in interactive mode.
• allowMissing?: boolean - If true, entries that do not exist in the vault resolve as empty instead of failing (default false). Only applies to missing entries: a locked vault or timeout still fails. Can be overridden per item.
• timeoutMs?: number - Maximum time in milliseconds to wait for each dcli call (default 30000)

Resolver functions

dashlane()

Fetch a secret from Dashlane via a dl:// reference.

Signatures:

• dashlane(dlRef) - Fetch by dl:// reference
• dashlane(instanceId, dlRef) - Fetch from a specific instance

Named parameters:

• allowMissing?: boolean - If true, resolves as empty when the entry does not exist in the vault, instead of failing. Overrides the instance-level allowMissing setting. A locked vault or timeout still fails.

Returns: The resolved secret value as a string.

Data types

dashlaneDeviceKeys

Validates the dls_* format for Dashlane service device keys. Marked as sensitive.

# @type(dashlaneDeviceKeys)
DASHLANE_SERVICE_DEVICE_KEYS=

---

How it works

Under the hood, the plugin:

1. Executes dcli read <dl://reference> as a subprocess for each secret
2. Delegates authentication to dcli -- either via an existing interactive session or service device keys passed as the DASHLANE_SERVICE_DEVICE_KEYS environment variable
3. Caches resolved values in memory for the duration of a single resolution session (no secrets are persisted)

Sync behavior

dcli read works against a local vault cache that auto-syncs with Dashlane's servers once per hour. This means:

• Secrets changed less than 1 hour ago may not be reflected without a manual sync
• Run dcli sync to force a fresh sync before resolving
• Auto-sync can be disabled entirely via dcli configure disable-auto-sync true

For most use cases the auto-sync is sufficient. If freshness is critical, run dcli sync before your Varlock resolution step.

Troubleshooting

dcli command not found

Install the Dashlane CLI following the installation docs and ensure dcli is in your PATH.

Authentication failed

• For interactive use, run dcli sync and authenticate via your browser
• For headless use, verify your DASHLANE_SERVICE_DEVICE_KEYS value is correct and the device hasn't been revoked
• Check device status: dcli devices list

Entry not found

• Verify the entry exists: dcli password -o json | jq '.[].title'
• Ensure the ID in your dl:// reference doesn't include curly braces
• If using a title, ensure it matches exactly (case-sensitive)

Vault locked or not synced

• Run dcli sync to sync and unlock your vault
• If the vault is locked, you may need to enter your master password

The plugin never waits on a locked vault: dcli calls run with stdin closed (so interactive prompts fail immediately) and are killed after timeoutMs (default 30 seconds) as a backstop. A locked vault always fails the affected items, regardless of allowMissing or whether they are optional.

Stale secrets

If a recently changed secret isn't reflected:

• Run dcli sync to force a fresh sync
• The local cache auto-syncs every hour; changes within that window require a manual sync

Resources

• Dashlane CLI documentation
• Dashlane CLI GitHub repository
• Dashlane CLI installation guide
• Dashlane CLI device registration