There are various password managers in Debian.
This list is presented in alphabetical order:
Name/Package |
PGP |
Sync capability |
Multi-user |
UI |
?PopCon vote score |
Other comments |
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console (ncurses) |
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Removed from Debian |
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Well integrated with GNOME desktop |
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GUI (GTK+) |
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Mostly CLI; GUI for some operations |
Very minimal GUI; Can only store the password, and does not allow password input - generates them randomly. Used to be called "assword". |
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Removed from Debian |
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GUI (mono) |
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GUI (Qt4) |
Chosen by Tails, not sure why. Forum discussion of sync options. |
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GUI (Qt5) |
A "community fork" of keepassx. |
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Command line |
Command line interface for KeePass-compatible databases |
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Command line |
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a.k.a. password-store |
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console |
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GUI (Qt5) |
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Removed from Debian sid and buster |
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GUI (browser) |
A keepassxc browser plugin. |
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Command line |
Previously known as Titan. |
Evaluating a password manager
Some factors to consider in evaluating a password manager:
is the source code available? A "free" download isn't always genuinely free software. All the password managers listed above are genuinely free with full source code. Other password managers, such as 1Password or ?LastPass, don't release their source code so they don't benefit from the same level of security. Furthermore, they could be time-bombed, locking you out of all your online accounts and demanding you pay an upgrade fee at some pre-determined moment in the future. That type of "trialware" (or "ransomware", depending on your perspective) is prohibited in Debian.
can your PGP key or OpenPGP smartcard be used as the encryption key for your passwords?
- does it have native support for synchronizing changes made in different devices?
- does it keep the history of previous passwords?
- does it have multi-user support, for use in teams or entire companies?
- what type of user interface is required? A web-based solution may have security risks, as arbitrary browser plugins may observe the passwords in the page.