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6. Switching from Boxcryptor

Boxcryptor is no longer being developed. Krywerk keeps opening existing Boxcryptor folders and migrates them step by step to the modern format – into a personal vault or a team folder. You can keep working normally in the meantime.

Beforehand: back up your key file

For Boxcryptor folders you need your Boxcryptor key file (extension .bckey, exported from Boxcryptor) and your Boxcryptor password. Without both, the data cannot be read.

  • Keep a backup of the key file in a separate place, for example on a USB stick – until all folders have been migrated. In Krywerk you do this under ⚙ Settings › Boxcryptor (legacy) › “Back up key file …” (while the account is unlocked).
  • Practice the migration first with a copy of a small folder.

Adding a Boxcryptor folder

  1. Choose “+ Add” (if applicable › “Personal vault or existing folder …”).
  2. Choose the format “Classic (transition)”.
  3. Select the encrypted Boxcryptor folder, set a name and drive letter, and click “Save”.
  4. The card “Unlock Boxcryptor account” appears on the overview. If the key file is still missing, first click “Choose key file …”.
  5. Enter the password, optionally check “Remember password”, then click “Unlock”. The top of the window now shows, in green, “Boxcryptor account unlocked”.
  6. In the drive's row, click “Mount”. It carries the label “Boxcryptor (legacy)”.

Under ⚙ Settings › Boxcryptor (legacy) you'll also find “Change password …”, “Delete saved password”, “Lock”, and two settings for classic drives: encrypt the filenames of new files (recommended), and the right-click menu in File Explorer.

Migrating

  1. With the Boxcryptor drive mounted, click “Switch to modern …”.
  2. Choose the target:
  3. Password vault – for your personal data, with its own vault password.
  4. Team folder (key server) – for data that several people use. For this you must be signed in to your organization account; otherwise it shows “Sign in now”.
  5. Specify the folder for the new vault. Krywerk suggests a new folder next to the Boxcryptor folder (name ending in “(Krywerk)”); you can also choose another empty folder, for example in OneDrive. The folder must not be inside the Boxcryptor folder.
  6. For a password vault, set a vault password; for a team folder, optionally a name.
  7. “Start migration”. For a team folder, Krywerk shows the recovery key – keep it safe (chapter 5).

From now on, the drive shows both together: everything new and every file you change automatically ends up in the modern format. The row shows how many files are still in the old format.

Migrating the rest – in one of two ways:

  • All at once: “Migrate all”.
  • Folder by folder: In File Explorer, right-click a folder in the drive › “Switch to modern format with Krywerk”. On Windows 11 the entry may only appear under “Show more options”.

Finishing

Once nothing is left in the old format, “Finish migration” becomes clickable. Afterwards the drive only shows the new vault or team folder. A team folder then appears with the label “Team”; you add people and groups under “Manage” (chapters 4 and 5).

The old Boxcryptor folder is no longer needed. Check the result – open a few files – and only then delete the old folder. Once all Boxcryptor folders have been migrated, Krywerk hides everything related to Boxcryptor.