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Aahnik Daw
Aahnik Daw

Posted on • Edited on

What password manager should developers use ?

What is the best open-source password manager out there?

Should we use password managers built into browsers like Firefox or Chrome?

Or should we use dedicated applications like Bitwarden?

What do you use and why? Please comment below.

What are the pros and cons of different applications?

Should we write our own script to manage passwords?

Or should we store them in offline files?

Latest comments (48)

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ashley10167 profile image
Ashley

Thanks for the question and hopefully I would be able to guide you on the same.

Recently, myself and my team is onto using a product called Securden Password Vault. The product has been on our premises for the past six months and it is working like a charm. If desired, you can create your own onboarding process and it is quick and straightforward.

Their website is right here in this link: securden.com/password-manager/inde...

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mrdulin profile image
official_dulin

Core principle:

  1. Don’t use any cloud backup
  2. Cross-platform
  3. Private key + password to unlock the database

So the answer is: KeePass

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aziz_amghar profile image
aziz.amghar

I am using keepass.

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kodekrash profile image
James Linden

Short answer: BitWarden

I've been using Keeper (paid subscription) for about 7 years. Recently, after an app update, it randomly dropped/ate an entire folder structure of passwords (about 40 entries in total). Their support wasn't able to do anything. Unfortunately, I was bad about backups, and didn't have anything more recent than 8 months so I was unable to recover most of them.

Work uses LastPass, which I've also used personally in the past. I gave it a shot, but even after mapping my Keeper export to LastPass's csv format, it would not import correctly. To be fair, I didn't have high hopes, as we had the same issue when we merged into LastPass a couple years ago at work and essentially had to manually import almost 1000 items by small batch.

So, enter BitWarden. I setup account online, imported the Keeper csv file (no manipulation), and tada! All good now. Been using it every day for a couple weeks, and very happy so far.

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itsarsile profile image
Arsile

I use Bitwarden for my password management. It's free, easy to use and available for all devices. You can generate password with great customizability.

If you use the extension, every time you close the browser, it'll ask the master password. but this allows more secure verification if there is another person using your devices

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christopheek profile image
Christophe El-Khoury • Edited

After years of development, I've noticed 2 things:

  1. Almost all password managers have features that you don't need.
  2. Almost all password managers don't give you the fast results that you need.

Sometimes I'm browsing, on a website, creating an account, and as a developer, I've gotten used to getting my tasks done quite fast. I was able to do all of those pretty fast, except for creating a complex password.

That's why I created a repo (which currently runs for Mac OS only due to one small command that could be tweaked). Running that script would generate and copy a complex password onto your clipboard, which is pretty seemless.

So I use a combination of that and MYKI Password Manager.

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hunttom profile image
hunttom • Edited

I use safe-in-cloud for my passwords. - super simple, cross platform (window/Mac/iOS/android) and pretty straightforward and nice IU. (It does cost for the mobile apps but it’s a one-time purchase and I don’t mind supporting a fellow dev). The concept is pretty cool, you own the backend storage so there are no monthly fees. Just that initial software purchase for life and $8 USD isn’t bad compared to a monthly charge like some of the other password solutions.

For api creds/access keys I use Unix pass because, again cross platform and I can integrate directly into my terminal. Git and GPG backed, it’s a good solution.

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russsaidwords profile image
Russ Edwards

A $10 Bitwarden subscription for a year beats self hosting it and dealing with the security of your self hosted solution, and definitely beats the security of your home grown solution. For that, I have installed Bitwarden's extension into Firefox and downloaded the app on my phone, and I don't have to think about passwords at all anymore. Magnificent.

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aahnik profile image
Aahnik Daw

Exactly. I am on the Bitwarden free plan. And that's fine for me.

In future may upgrade.

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nake89 profile image
Kevin Kivi

The only one that I know that works with Android Firefox and Desktop Firefox is 1Password. I use their services and love them. I used to use LastPass but they no longer support Android Firefox, so to hell with them.

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nop33 profile image
nop33.eth

I used LastPass while it was free for all devices and I keep using it now that they added the 2.5$ per month fee cause I didn't want to bother switching to Bitwarden. It works well with all my devices (MacBook, Android). When I think of the money I spend on so many silly things, 2.5$ per month is a totally acceptable amount to pay for password security on the internet.