pass is great

Friday, September 27, 2024

I recently started using pass, the “standard Unix password manager.”

I had not used it before, but I was looking for a simple and convenient way to keep my passwords organized, and pass was just what I needed.

It is surprisingly simple, as it ought to be. It only took me a couple minutes to learn everything I needed to start using it. Passwords are stored in a directory (~/.password-store by default). Each password is stored in its own GPG-encrypted file, and you can organize them into subdirectories.

Backing everything up can be as simple as running rsync.

The best part about it is that there is a Firefox addon called PassFF which lets you access passwords from your browser. If you include the domain names and usernames as a part of the pathnames for your passwords, then the addon will recognize them. You can just select the account that you want to log in with, and PassFF will automatically fill in the form fields with your username (or email address) and password. Very convenient!

If you aren’t using a password manager, or are looking to stop relying on a cloud-based password manager, I highly recommend pass!