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GitHub - tomemme/EncryptedJournal: A python script that has a GUI to enter journal entries and it encrypts them for storage.

Encrypted Journal

A cross-platform encrypted journal application built with Python, Tkinter, and the cryptography library. Securely write, save, load, and delete journal entries with AES-GCM encryption, featuring a modern GUI, spell checking, and session timeout for added security. Entries are stored in a compressed JSON file (journal.json.gz) that works seamlessly across Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Features

  • Secure Encryption: Entries are encrypted using AES-GCM with keys derived via Scrypt from your password, using cryptographically secure salts and nonces.
  • Save and Load Entries: Encrypt and save entries to journal.json.gz, and decrypt them by date using a treeview interface.
  • Delete Entries: Remove specific entries with confirmation prompts.
  • Spell Checking: Real-time spell checking with right-click suggestions (powered by pyenchant).
  • Session Security: 5-minute session timeout requires re-entering your password, with secure password cleanup from memory.
  • Cross-Platform: Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux with consistent file handling and permissions.
  • Theming: Toggle between light and dark themes using the azure.tcl theme file.
  • Days Since Last Entry: Displays the time since your last journal entry.
  • Clear Entry: Reset the text and date fields with a single click.

Requirements

  • Python 3.11+
  • Dependencies:
    • cryptography (for encryption/decryption)
    • pyenchant (for spell checking)
    • keyring (optional, for saved passwords via system keyring)
    • pywin32 (optional, for Windows file permissions)

Installation

  1. Clone the Repository cd encrypted-journal

GUI

Example JSON File Structure

[ {"date": "2025-02-20", "entry": "base64_encoded_encrypted_data"}, {"date": "2025-02-21", "entry": "another_base64_encoded_encrypted_data"} ]

Smoke Test

Run the local smoke test to verify core journal flows (save, load, delete, and password change):

python scripts/smoke_test.py

Storage + Keyring Options

Default journal location now follows XDG conventions:

  • ~/.local/share/encrypted-journal/journal.json.gz (or $XDG_DATA_HOME/encrypted-journal/journal.json.gz)

Compatibility behavior:

  • If a legacy journal.json.gz exists in the app directory, it is still used automatically.

Environment overrides:

  • ENCRYPTED_JOURNAL_FILE=/custom/path/journal.json.gz to force a specific file location.
  • ENCRYPTED_JOURNAL_USE_KEYRING=1 to enable optional system keyring integration for remembered passwords.
  • ENCRYPTED_JOURNAL_KEYRING_USER=<name> to customize the keyring account key.

Arch / Omarchy Packaging

This repo includes Arch packaging files at packaging/arch/ so the app can be published to AUR and discovered from Omarchy package search tools.

Build Locally (Arch)

cd packaging/arch
makepkg -si

Publish To AUR

  1. Create an AUR package repo named encrypted-journal-git.
  2. Copy PKGBUILD, .SRCINFO, encrypted-journal.desktop, and encrypted-journal-launcher from packaging/arch/.
  3. Commit and push to the AUR repo.
  4. After AUR indexing, users can search/install it from Omarchy package installer UIs.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

Creating a Pull Request

If you are new to GitHub pull requests, follow these steps to share your changes and test them before merging:

  1. Create a new branch for your change so the main (or omarchy) branch stays clean: 
    git checkout -b feature/refresh-theme
  2. Stage and commit your work once it is ready: 
    git add secure_journal.py
git commit -m "Describe your change"
  3. Push the branch to GitHub: 
    git push -u origin feature/refresh-theme
  4. Open a pull request on GitHub by selecting your branch as the source and the omarchy branch (or another target) as the destination. Describe the change, include testing notes, and submit the PR.
  5. Test the PR locally by checking out the branch from GitHub (git fetch origin pull/<id>/head:pr-test && git checkout pr-test). This lets you verify the changes before approving and merging them into the omarchy branch.
  6. Merge the PR once testing looks good. GitHub will offer a merge button (e.g., “Merge pull request”) after approvals and status checks pass. Choose the merge strategy that fits your workflow.

These steps create a temporary review branch that teammates can pull down to try out the update (such as the automatic Omarchy theme refresh) before the code lands in the shared omarchy branch.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for more details.