KeePassXC: Getting Started Guide

THERE IS NO WARRANTY FOR THE PROGRAM, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW. Except when otherwise stated in writing the copyright holders and/or other parties provide the program "as is" without Warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of Merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. The entire risk as to the quality and performance of the program Is with you. Should the program prove defective, you assume the cost of all necessary servicing, repair or correction.

In no event unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing will any copyright holder, or any other party Who modifies and/or conveys the program as permitted above, be liable to you for damages, including any general, Special, incidental or consequential damages arising out of the use or inability to use the program (including but not Limited to loss of data or data being rendered inaccurate or losses sustained by you or third parties or a failure of The program to operate with any other programs), even if such holder or other party has been advised of the possibility Of such damages.

You can store an unlimited number of passwords and information in a KeePassXC database. Every piece of information you store in your database is encrypted at all times within the kdbx file. When you are accessing your database from within KeePassXC, your information is decrypted and stored in your computer’s memory. KeePassXC places controls over the access to this data so other applications cannot read it (unless they have administrative rights). The interface is designed to let you quickly access your passwords, search for the right entry, perform Auto-Type or copy/paste operations, make and save changes, and then get out of your way.

KeePassXC ships with light and dark themes specifically designed to meet accessibility standards. In most cases, the appropriate theme for your system will be determined automatically, but you can always set a specific theme in the application settings.

KeePassXC has numerous features for novice and power users alike. This guide will go over the basic features to get you up and running quickly. The User Guide contains more in-depth discussions on the major features in the application.

The Windows MSI installer is signed by a secure certificate owned by DroidMonkey Apps, LLC. If you do not see this dialog when installing the application, click NO and download the installer from https://keepassxc.org.

Installing KeePassXC is a simple process. In the following example, installation steps for KeePassXC on Microsoft Windows are described. Installing KeePassXC on other operating systems is also a simple process, which you can accomplish by using the native installers. To know more about the installation instructions on the other operating systems, refer to the KeePassXC User Manual.

To install KeePassXC on Microsoft Windows, perform the following steps:

The following options can be set when running the MSI in an unattended installation:

Example: msiexec.exe /q /i KeePassXC-Y.Y.Y-WinZZ.msi AUTOSTARTPROGRAM=0

You can easily download the KeePassXC installer for Linux. When you search for KeePassXC, multiple options are displayed as shown in the following screen:

The Snap and Flatpak options are sandboxed applications (more secure). The Native option is installed with the operating system files. Read more about the limitations of these options here: KeePassXC Snap FAQ

To install the KeePassXC app on macOS, double click on the downloaded DMG file and use the click and drag option as shown:

The KeePassXC interface is designed for simplicity and easy access to your information. The main database view is split into four main partitions detailed below. You can open multiple databases at the same time, they will appear in tabs.

(A) Groups – Organize your entries into discrete groups to bring order to all of your sensitive information. Groups can be nested under each other to create a hierarchy. Settings from parent groups get applied to their children. You can hide this panel on the View menu.

(B) Tags – Dynamic groups of entries that can be quickly displayed with one click. Any number of custom tags can be added when editing an entry. This panel also includes useful pre-defined searches, such as finding expired and weak passwords.

(C) Entries – Entries contain all the information you want to store for a website or application you are storing in KeePassXC. This view shows all the entries in the selected group. Each column can be resized, reordered, and shown or hidden based on your preference. Right-click the header row to see all available options.

(D) Preview – Shows a preview of the selected group or entry. You can temporarily hide this preview using the close button on the right hand side or completely disabled in the application settings.

The toolbar provides a quick way to perform common tasks with your database. Some entries in the toolbar are dynamically disabled based on the information contained in the selected entry. Every common action in KeePassXC can be controlled with a keyboard shortcut as well.

(A) Database – Open Database, Save Database, Lock Database
(B) Entries – Create Entry, Edit Entry, Delete Selected Entries
(C) Entry Data – Copy Username, Copy Password, Copy URL, Perform Auto-Type
(D) Tools – Password Generator, Application Settings
(E) Search

Users can configure KeePassXC to their personal tastes with a wide variety of general and security settings that apply to the whole application. These settings are accessible from Tools → Settings or the cog wheel icon from the toolbar. Settings include: startup options, file management, entry management, user interface, language, security timeouts, and convenience.

By default, KeePassXC prevents recordings and screenshots of the application window on Windows and macOS. This prevents inadvertent spillage of information during meetings and disallows other applications to capture the window contents. If you would like to enable screen capture, you must start the application with the --allow-screencapture command line flag.

To generate random passwords, specify the characters to be used in your choice of password (for example, upper-case letters, digits, special characters, and so on) and KeePassXC will randomly pick characters out of the set.

To generate the random password using Password Generator, perform the following steps:

To start using KeePassXC, you need to first create a database that will store the password and other details.

To create a database, perform the following steps: