# Create a vault on Mac

> Make a native vault, choose its unlock method and save it in a folder you control.

Document ID: phantom-help:phantomvault/create-vault-mac
Product: PhantomVault
Platforms: macOS
Updated: 2026-11-02
Availability: Preview-build instructions.
Tested app version: Not recorded
Tested build: Not recorded
Tested OS version: Not recorded

Source: https://llms.phantomsecure.app/phantomvault/create-vault-mac.md
Human guide: https://phantomsecure.app/help/phantomvault/create-vault-mac/
Agent guide: https://llms.phantomsecure.app/phantomvault/create-vault-mac/
Documentation index: https://phantomsecure.app/llms.txt
Full handbook: https://phantomsecure.app/llms-full.txt

## Before you start

Have room for the vault's selected capacity and, if you use a movie cover, the movie data too. Save the vault outside an app bundle or the app's private container. Choose a location you can find and back up later.

If PhantomVault asks you to enable its filesystem extension, choose **Open File System Extensions** or **Open Login Items & Extensions**, as shown in the setup screen. Enable **PhantomVault** under File System Extensions, then return to the app; setup resumes automatically. If it was already enabled, choose **Continue**. Permission previously granted to PhantomSecure is separate from permission for standalone PhantomVault.

## Create the vault

1. Select **New Vault**, or **Create New Vault** in an empty library.
2. In **Choose a Disguise**, choose **Vault File** for an ordinary vault file or **Movie** for a playable movie carrier.
3. For a movie, choose **Generated Cover** or **Use My Movie**. Wait for preparation to finish before continuing.
4. Choose a name and the available icon options. A custom icon uses **Choose Image…**; **Use Default** restores the default choice.
5. In **Unlock Your Vault**, choose **Passphrase** or **Security Key**. A passphrase must contain at least 12 characters and match **Confirm passphrase**. For a key, read the key requirement and acknowledge it.
6. Choose **Additional Protection**: **None**, **This Mac**, or **iCloud**. Read and acknowledge the recovery limit for an additional key.
7. In **Choose Your Vault Size**, choose the storage capacity. The custom control accepts whole MiB from 1 MiB to 8 GiB. The wizard shows space inside the vault separately from its estimated file size on disk.
8. Review the summary and **Save Location**, then choose **Create Vault**.

The completed vault appears in the remembered list. Open it using its selected unlock method, then work in Finder.

## Saving a movie carrier

With **Use My Movie**, the final **Where to Save** section offers **Keep Original & Save Elsewhere** or **Move Original & Save Here**. Check both **Original saved to** and **Vault saved to** before creating. The [movie-cover guide](https://phantomsecure.app/help/phantomvault/movie-covers.txt) explains these choices.

## Choose protection for how you will use the vault

**This Mac** binds the additional key to this Mac. It is unsuitable for a vault you need to open on iPhone, iPad or a replacement Mac. **iCloud** requires the corresponding iCloud Keychain key on each device. Neither is a substitute for the selected passphrase or security key.

See [passwords and additional protection](https://phantomsecure.app/help/phantomvault/passwords-protection.txt) and [security keys](https://phantomsecure.app/help/phantomvault/security-keys.txt) before choosing a method you have not used before. Decoy-vault creation is not available in this version.

## If Create is unavailable

Check the current step for an incomplete name, invalid size, unmatched passphrase, unacknowledged protection requirement, unfinished movie preparation or missing destination. Use **Back** to correct the choice. If the destination already contains the proposed file, choose another location or name; do not remove a file you still need.