pw - simple password manager
pw [-a ARCHIVE] [COMMAND] [ARGS...] [OPTIONS...]
pw is a simple password manager that keeps passwords inside a gpg(1) encrypted tgz archive. The content of the archive is a directory tree with a file for each password entry. The first line of the file is the password, and the rest can optionally be additional or related info. The pw utility provides commands for manipulating the passwords, allowing the user to add, remove, edit, generate passwords etc.
ls [path] [-t,--tree]
List password files, optionally as a tree.
get pwfile
Copy to clipboard the password (it will be cleared in a few seconds).
show pwfile
Print out the password contained in the given file.
set pwfile [-e,--echo | -m,--multiline] [-f,--force]
Insert new password. Optionally, echo the password back to the console during entry. Or, optionally, the entry may be multiline. Prompt before overwriting existing password unless forced.
edit pwfile
Edit or add a password file using vi.
grep search-string
Search for password files containing search-string when decrypted.
rm pwfile [-r,--recursive] [-f,--force]
Remove existing password file or directory, optionally forcefully.
mv old-path new-path [-f,--force]
Rename or move old-path to new-path, optionally forcefully.
cp old-path new-path [-f,--force]
Copy old-path to new-path, optionally forcefully.
log [-10]
List the history of (last 10) changes.
pass,set-passphrase
Set the passphrase of the archive (gpg symmetric encryption).
keys,set-keys [gpg-key...]
Set the gpg key(s) of the archive (asymmetric encryption).
Note: Symmetric and asymmetric encryption are exclusive; either you use a passphrase (for symmetric encryption), or gpg key(s) (for asymmetric encryption).
export dirpath
Export the content of the archive to the given directory.
import dirpath
Import the content of the archive from the given directory.
help
Show this help text.
version
Show version information.
gen pwfile [length] [-n,--no-symbols] [-i,--in-place | -f,--force]
Generate a new password with optionally no symbols. Put it on the clipboard and clear board after a few seconds. Prompt before overwriting existing password unless forced. Optionally replace only the first line of an existing file with a new password.
find pattern
List pwfiles that match pattern.
field pwfile fieldname
Display the value of the given field from pwfile. The field name starts at the begining of line and ends with a column, for example: 'username: ...' or 'url: ...'.
qr pwfile
Display the password as a QR image.
~/.pw/
The default pw directory.
~/.pw/pw.tgz.gpg
The default archive.
~/.pw/config.sh
The configuration file.
~/.pw/customize.sh
Optional customization file.
PW_DIR
Overrides the default pw directory.
EDITOR
The location of the text editor used by edit.
The file $PW_DIR/customize.sh can be used to redefine and customize
some functions, without having to touch the code of the main script.
Also, external commands can be customized (or new commands can be
defined) by adding the file $PW_DIR/cmd_command.sh, which contains
the function cmd_command() { . . . }.
In general, for an external command the script will first look for
$PW_DIR/cmd_command.sh, then for $LIB/ext/$PLATFORM/cmd_command.sh,
and finally for $LIB/ext/cmd_command.sh. The first that is found is
loaded and used.
Some basic usage is demonstrated on the examples below.
user@laptop:~$ pw
Creating a new archive '/home/user/.pw/pw.tgz'.
Enter new passphrase for archive '/home/user/.pw/pw.tgz':
Retype the passphrase for archive '/home/user/.pw/pw.tgz':
Commands:
gen, set, ls, get, show, edit, find, grep, rm, mv, cp, log, help
Type q to quit, p to change the passphrase.
pw>
pw> set test1
Enter password for test1:
Retype password for test1:
pw> get test1
Password of test1 sent to clipboard. Will clear in 45 seconds.
pw> show test1
passw1
pw> test1
Password of test1 sent to clipboard. Will clear in 45 seconds.
pw> ls test1
passw1
pw> set test2/test3
Enter password for test2/test3:
Retype password for test2/test3:
pw> gen test2/test4
Password of test2/test4 sent to clipboard. Will clear in 45 seconds.
pw> show test2/test4
;oOd~myTkx4_'wp.Mw&O.PmJNSpDoG
pw> ls
test1
test2/test3
test2/test4
pw> ls -t
├── test1
└── test2
├── test3
└── test4
pw> ls test2
test2/test3
test2/test4
pw> find test3
test2/test3
pw> show test2/test3
passw3
pw> log
2 minutes ago: Add given password for test1.
2 minutes ago: Add given password for test2/test3.
2 minutes ago: Add generated password for test2/test4.
pw> q
user@laptop:~$
Some more advanced features are shown in the examples below.
user@laptop:~$ cp -a ~/.pw/ ~/.passw
user@laptop:~$ ls -al ~/.passw
total 24
drwx------ 2 user user 4096 Feb 16 22:18 .
drwxr-xr-x 73 user user 4096 Feb 16 22:31 ..
-rw------- 1 user user 250 Feb 16 21:45 config.sh
-rw------- 1 user user 8753 Feb 16 22:18 pw.tgz.gpg
user@laptop:~$ mv ~/.passw/pw.tgz.gpg ~/.passw/archive1.tgz.gpg
user@laptop:~$ export PW_DIR=~/.passw
user@laptop:~$ echo $PW_DIR
/home/user/.passw
user@laptop:~$ pw -a archive1 ls --tree
Passphrase for archive '/home/user/.passw/archive1.tgz':
├── test1
└── test2
├── test3
└── test4
user@laptop:~$ pw -a archive1 set "test2/test 5" --multiline
Passphrase for archive '/home/user/.passw/archive1.tgz':
Enter contents of test2/test 5 and press Ctrl+D when finished:
password
line 2
line 3
user@laptop:~$ pw -a archive1 show "test2/test 5"
Passphrase for archive '/home/user/.passw/archive1.tgz':
password
line 2
line 3
user@laptop:~$ pw -a archive1 gen "test2/test 5" 40 --no-symbols --in-place
Passphrase for archive '/home/user/.passw/archive1.tgz':
Password of test2/test 5 sent to clipboard. Will clear in 45 seconds.
user@laptop:~$ pw -a archive1 show "test2/test 5"
Passphrase for archive '/home/user/.passw/archive1.tgz':
3jXaVyxixcfnkYRR3xBr70kGxKK0I83LCmaMGeVc
line 2
line 3
user@laptop:~$ sed -i ~/.passw/config.sh -e "/ARCHIVE=/c ARCHIVE=archive1"
user@laptop:~$ PW_DIR=~/.passw pw ls test2
Passphrase for archive '/home/user/.passw/archive1.tgz':
test2/test3
test2/test4
test2/test 5
user@laptop:~$ pw set-passphrase
Passphrase for archive '/home/user/.passw/archive1.tgz':
Enter new passphrase for archive '/home/user/.passw/archive1.tgz':
Retype the passphrase for archive '/home/user/.passw/archive1.tgz':
user@laptop:~$ pw set-keys CF90C77B D774A374 EB7D54A8
Passphrase for archive '/home/user/.passw/archive1.tgz':
user@laptop:~$ pw set-keys
gpg (GnuPG) 2.0.22; Copyright (C) 2013 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it.
There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.
gpg: keyring `/home/user/.passw/.gnupg/secring.gpg' created
gpg: keyring `/home/user/.passw/.gnupg/pubring.gpg' created
Please select what kind of key you want:
(1) RSA and RSA (default)
(2) DSA and Elgamal
(3) DSA (sign only)
(4) RSA (sign only)
Your selection?
pw was written by Dashamir Hoxha (dashohoxha@gmail.com). The code
is on GitLab at https://gitlab.com/dashohoxha/pw. pw started as
a fork of pass (http://www.passwordstore.org/), written by Jason
A. Donenfeld (Jason@zx2c4.com).
This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.
You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program; if not, write to the Free Soft‐ ware Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA.
gpg(1), pwgen(1), xclip(1).