# Tutorial: lock your tax documents in the vault

In about ten minutes you'll encrypt a few sensitive files, prove to yourself they're still searchable, and see exactly what the vault's "re-lock on restart" protection feels like. We'll use tax documents as the example — any sensitive files work the same way.

**You'll need:** SearchBox set up ([getting started](../getting-started.md)) and two or three files you'd rather keep extra safe (PDFs are perfect).

> ⚠️ Before we start: do you know where your **recovery key** is? The vault is encrypted with your password, and the recovery key is the only fallback if you ever forget it. If you're not sure, go to **Settings → Account → Generate Recovery Key** now, save the file it gives you somewhere safe, and come back. We'll wait.

## Step 1 — Open the vault

1. On the home screen, click the **upload button** (arrow icon, top-right).
2. You land on the **Vault** tab — the one with the drag-and-drop zone that says files are *encrypted and stored securely*.

![The Vault upload zone](../img/vault-upload.png)
<!-- SCREENSHOT NEEDED: The Manage Documents modal on the Vault tab with the dashed drag-and-drop upload zone visible. (Shared with vault.md — one capture covers both.) -->

## Step 2 — Upload your files

Drag your tax PDFs onto the zone (or click **browse** and pick them). Each file is copied into the vault, scrambled with encryption, and indexed for search — all in one step. The originals on disk are untouched; delete them yourself afterwards if the vault copy should be the only one.

## Step 3 — Find them with `::vault`

Close the upload window and type this search, then press **Enter**:

```
::vault
```

Everything in your vault appears, each with a small lock badge. Now try searching for something *inside* one of the files — a form name, an employer, a dollar amount:

```
w-2 ::vault
```

![Vault-only search results with lock badges](../img/vault-results.png)
<!-- SCREENSHOT NEEDED: Results for "::vault" with the uploaded documents showing lock badges and Vault source labels. (Shared with vault.md.) -->

> 💡 **Tip:** `::vault` combines with everything else you know from [Searching](../searching.md) — `deductions ::vault ::pdf` works exactly as you'd hope.

## Step 4 — Open one

Click a result. The document opens in the viewer, decrypted on the spot, just for you. While you're here, click **Bookmark** in the Quick Actions sidebar — now your most-checked document is one click from the home screen.

## Step 5 — Watch the lock snap shut

Here's the part worth seeing once, so it never surprises you:

1. Quit SearchBox completely and reopen it.
2. Go to **Settings** — the **Vault Security** section now shows **Vault locked**.
3. Type your password and click **Unlock**.

![The Vault locked panel after a restart](../img/vault-unlock.png)
<!-- SCREENSHOT NEEDED: Settings → Vault Security showing the "Vault locked" notice with password field and Unlock button, right after restarting the app. (Shared with vault.md.) -->

Why it works this way: the key that decrypts your vault lives only in the app's memory. Closing SearchBox erases it. So if your laptop is lost, stolen, or its disk is copied, the vault stays sealed — the key simply isn't anywhere on the machine.

## You're done

Your sensitive files are now encrypted at rest, searchable when *you're* around, and protected by a lock that resets itself. Anything else you'd file in a real-world safe — insurance policies, medical records, ID scans — belongs in here too.

More detail, including how to reset the vault entirely: [The private vault](../vault.md).

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