License and Disclaimers

KeePassXC is licensed with the GNU General Public License Version 3. All copyrights and additional licenses are recorded in COPYING.

Disclaimer of Warranty

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.

Limitation of Liability

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.

Welcome

KeePassXC is a modern, secure, and open-source password manager that stores and manages your most sensitive information. You can run KeePassXC on Windows, macOS, and Linux systems.

KeePassXC is for people with extremely high demands of secure personal data management. It saves many different types of information, such as usernames, passwords, URLs, attachments, and notes in an offline, encrypted file that can be stored in any location, including private and public cloud solutions. For easy identification and management, user-defined titles and icons can be specified for entries. In addition, entries are sorted in customizable groups. An integrated search function allows you to use advanced patterns to easily find any entry in your database. A customizable, fast, and easy-to-use password generator utility allows you to create passwords with any combination of characters or easy to remember passphrases.

Overview

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.

theme comparison
Figure 1. Light and Dark Themes

Features

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.

  • Basic Features

    • Create, open, and save databases in the KDBX format (KeePass Compatible)

    • Store sensitive information in entries that are organized by groups

    • Search for entries

    • Password generator

    • Auto-Type passwords into applications

    • Browser integration with Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Chromium, Vivaldi, Brave, and Tor-Browser

    • Entry icon download

    • Import databases from CSV, 1Password, and KeePass1 formats

  • Advanced Features

    • Database reports (password health, HIBP, and statistics)

    • Database export to CSV and HTML formats

    • TOTP storage and generation

    • Field references between entries

    • File attachments and custom attributes

    • Entry history and data restoration

    • YubiKey/OnlyKey challenge-response support

    • Command line interface (keepassxc-cli)

    • Auto-Open databases

    • KeeShare shared databases (import, export, and synchronize)

    • SSH Agent

    • FreeDesktop.org Secret Service (replace Gnome keyring, etc.)

    • Additional encryption choices: Twofish and ChaCha20

Contact Us

We are committed to continually improve KeePassXC through customer experience and your feedback is important to us. Please report any bugs you encounter at our GitHub issue tracker.

We are also available on Matrix for real-time feedback and discussions. See our contact page for further options.

Thank You,
Team KeePassXC

Downloading KeePassXC

KeePassXC is available for download for the following operating systems and platforms:

  • Microsoft Windows

    • Portable and MSI Installer (64-bit and 32-bit)

  • Linux – Official Cross-Distribution Packages

    • AppImage and Snap Package

  • Linux – Distribution-Specific Packages

    • Ubuntu, Debian, Alpine Linux, Arch Linux, Gentoo, Fedora, CentOS, and OpenSUSE

  • macOS

    • DMG Installer, Homebrew Cask

To download the KeePassXC installer for your desired platform, visit https://keepassxc.org/download or directly from our GitHub Releases.

KeePassXC is open-source software and may be available on other websites that are unaffiliated with Team KeePassXC. We strongly discourage downloading KeePassXC from third-party websites.

Before installing KeePassXC, it is recommended that you verify that your downloaded installer matches the signature, which is published alongside the release package. By verifying the signatures of KeePassXC releases, you can verify the authenticity and integrity of the downloaded installation file. This guarantees that the file you downloaded was originally created by the KeePassXC Team and its contents have not been tampered with.

To know more about the steps to verify the authenticity and integrity of your downloaded package, visit https://keepassxc.org/verifying-signatures.

Microsoft Windows

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.

50%
Figure 2. Windows UAC Dialog

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:

  1. Double click on the KeePassXC-Y.Y.Y-WinZZ.msi file. Here, Y.Y.Y represents the version of the software and ZZ represents the 32-bit/64-bit version of the Microsoft Windows operating system.

    install wizard 1
    Figure 3. Install wizard
  2. Click Next and follow the simple instructions on the KeepPassXC Setup Wizard to complete the installation. You will have the option to choose your install location, add a desktop shortcut, and launch on startup.

    install wizard 2
    Figure 4. Install wizard (cont)

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

  • LAUNCHAPPONEXIT – Launch KeePassXC after install (default ON)

  • AUTOSTARTPROGRAM – KeePassXC will auto-start on login (default ON)

  • INSTALLDESKTOPSHORTCUT – A desktop icon will be installed (default OFF)

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

Linux

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

linux store
Figure 5. Ubuntu Store

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

KeePassXC stores a configuration file in ~/.cache to remember window position, recent files, and other local settings. If you mount this folder to a tmpdisk you will lose settings after reboot.

macOS

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

macos install
Figure 6. macOS DMG Install

Interface Overview

Application Layout

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.

main interface
Figure 7. Main database interface

(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.

You can enable double-click copying of entry username and password in the Application Security Settings. This is turned off by default starting with version 2.7.0.

Toolbar

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.

toolbar
Figure 8. Toolbar overview

(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

Application Settings

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 ToolsSettings or the cog wheel icon from the toolbar. Settings include: startup options, file management, entry management, user interface, language, security timeouts, and convenience.

Setting the Theme

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 by using the View menu. When a new theme is selected you will be prompted to restart KeePassXC to apply the theme immediately.

theme selection
Figure 9. Setting the theme

Compact Mode

For users with smaller screens or those who desire seeing more entries at once, KeePassXC offers a compact view mode. This mode shows smaller toolbar, group, and entry icons. The effect of compact mode (left side) can be seen below.

compact mode comparison
Figure 10. Compact mode comparison

Screenshot Security

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.

Keyboard Shortcuts

On macOS please substitute Ctrl with Cmd (aka ).
Action Keyboard Shortcut

Settings

Ctrl + ,

Open Database

Ctrl + O

Save Database

Ctrl + S

Save Database As

Ctrl + Shift + S

New Database

Ctrl + Shift + N

Close Database

Ctrl + W ; Ctrl + F4

Lock All Databases

Ctrl + L

Database Settings

Ctrl + Shift + ,

Database Reports

Ctrl + Shift + R

Quit

Ctrl + Q

New Entry

Ctrl + N

Edit Entry

Enter ; Ctrl + E

Delete Entry

Delete

Clone Entry

Ctrl + K

Copy Username

Ctrl + B

Copy Password

Ctrl + C

Copy URL

Ctrl + U

Open URL

Ctrl + Shift + U

Copy TOTP

Ctrl + T

Copy Password and TOTP

Ctrl + Y

Show TOTP

Ctrl + Shift + T

Trigger AutoType

Ctrl + Shift + V

Add key to SSH Agent

Ctrl + H

Remove key from SSH Agent

Ctrl + Shift + H

Minimize Window

Ctrl + M

Hide Window

Ctrl + Shift + M

Select Next Database Tab

Ctrl + Tab ; Ctrl + PageDn

Select Previous Database Tab

Ctrl + Shift + Tab ; Ctrl + PageUp

Select the nth database

Ctrl + n, where n is the number of the database tab

Toggle Passwords Hidden

Ctrl + Shift + C

Toggle Usernames Hidden

Ctrl + Shift + B

Focus Groups (edit if focused)

F1

Focus Entries (edit if focused)

F2

Focus Search

F3 ; Ctrl + F

Clear Search

Escape

Show Keyboard Shortcuts

Ctrl + /

Password Generator

This password generator helps you to generate random strong passwords and passphrases that you can use for your applications and websites you visit.

Generating Passwords

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:

  1. Open KeePassXC.

  2. Navigate to Tools > Password Generator. The following screen appears:

    password generator
    Figure 11. Password Generator
  3. Select the length of the desired password by dragging the Length slider.

  4. Select the character-sets that you want to include in your password.

  5. Use the regenerate button (Ctrl + R) to make a new password using the chosen options.

  6. Use the clipboard button (Ctrl + C) to copy the generated password to the clipboard.

Database Operations

Creating Your First Database

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:

  1. Open your KeePassXC application. Click the create new database button (A):

    welcome screen
    Figure 12. Create database – Welcome screen
  2. The database creation wizard appears. Enter the desired database name and a short description (optional):

    new db wizard 1
    Figure 13. Create database – General information
  3. Click Continue. The Encryption Settings screen appears, we don’t recommend making any changes besides increasing or decreasing the decryption time using the slider. Setting the Decryption Time slider at higher values means that the database will have higher level of protection but the time taken by the database to open will increase.