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) Searches and 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 and custom saved searches, such as finding expired and weak passwords.

(C) Entries – Entries contain all the information 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 interact with most information stored in an entry from here without opening the entry for editing. You can temporarily hide this preview using the down-arrow button on the right hand side or completely disable it from the View menu.

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 – Database Settings, Reports, Password Generator, Application Settings
(E) Search

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 temporarily, navigate to View menu and select Allow Screen Capture. Alternatively, you can start the application with the --allow-screencapture command line flag.

You can customize the appearance of KeePassXC to your liking. The following options are available in the View menu:

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 controls, and integration settings (Auto-Type, Browser, etc).

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:

The database file that you create might contain highly sensitive data and must be stored in a very secure way. You must make sure that the database is always protected with a strong and long password. The database file that is protected with a strong and long password is secure and encrypted while stored on your computer or cloud storage service.

Make sure that you or someone else does not accidentally delete the database file. Deletion of the database file will result in the total loss of all your information (including all your passwords!) and a lot of inconvenience to manually retrieve your logins for various web applications. Do not share the credentials to access your database file with anyone unless you absolutely trust them (spouse, child, etc.).

To open an existing database, perform the following steps:

On Windows and macOS, subject to hardware availability, your credentials can be securely stored to enable subsequent unlocking of your database through biometric authentication. This is enabled by default on Windows using Windows Hello and on macOS using Touch ID or Apple Watch services. You can disable this feature in the Application Settings under the Security section.

When your database is locked, you will see the following unlock dialog. Simply press Enter or click on Unlock Database to initiate the biometric authentication process. If you are using a hardware key (e.g. Yubikey), it must be connected to your computer to complete the unlock.

Entries in KeePassXC are the fundamental units where all your sensitive information is stored. Each entry can contain various fields such as usernames, passwords, URLs, attachments, and notes. You can create, edit, clone, and delete entries as needed. Additionally, KeePassXC supports advanced features like TOTP for two-factor authentication, custom attributes, and entry history to track changes over time. Proper management of entries ensures that your data is organized, secure, and easily accessible when needed.

KeePassXC provides a robust search that enables you to find specific entries in the databases using different modifiers, wild card characters, and logical operators. By default, search considers the following fields when matching your query: Title, Username, URL, Tags, and Notes. To include other fields and/or narrow your search to specific fields, you can use the search syntax described below.

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:

A passphrase is a sequence of words or other text used to control access to your applications and data. A passphrase is specifically designed to be simple to remember but hard to guess. For this reason, we do not recommend making passphrases too complex; if you require something that is more complex than you could easily remember, it is better to use a randomly generated password instead.

You can download the KeePassXC-Browser extension from your web browser. To download the KeePassXC-Browser extension, perform the following steps:

To start using KeePassXC-Browser, you must configure it so that it can communicate with the KeePassXC application on your desktop.

To configure KeePassXC-Browser, perform the following steps:

The KeePassXC-Browser extension lets you automatically populate the entries from your KeePassXC database into the fields on websites you visit. To do so, perform the following steps:

The KeePassXC-Browser Extension also lets you generate passwords directly in your browser. This feature can be used for websites with existing credentials as well as for new websites. You can then choose to update/add the credentials to your KeePassXC database directly from the Browser.