pass review

pass follows the Unix philosophy closely. Each password is a GPG-encrypted file named after the site it belongs to, stored in ~/.password-store and organized in ordinary folders. A short shell script handles adding, editing, generating and retrieving entries, and pass -c copies a password to the clipboard and clears it after 45 seconds. If you initialize the store as a git repository, every change becomes a commit, so pass git push and pass git pull sync your vault to any remote you control. It installs from the standard repositories of Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, RHEL, openSUSE, Gentoo and Arch, and is licensed under the GPLv2+. The community has built qtpass for a GUI, passff for Firefox, browserpass for Chrome, and apps for Android and iOS. The cost is the learning curve: you manage GPG keys yourself, and because entry names are filenames, the list of sites you use is visible to anyone who can read the folder.

Who it is for

Terminal users who already use GPG and git and want total transparency.

Price

Free and open source under GPLv2+.

pass was written by Jason A. Donenfeld of zx2c4.com and is licensed under the GPLv2 +.
Quoted from the vendor pricing page on November 10, 2026.

Key features

• Each password is a GPG-encrypted file in ~/.password-store
• Built-in git support: every change creates a commit you can push and pull
• Copies passwords to the clipboard and clears them after 45 seconds
• Generates passwords from /dev/urandom
• Multiple GPG keys per folder for team use

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: Packaged for Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, RHEL, openSUSE, Gentoo and Arch
• Strength: Plain files work with standard Unix tools
• Strength: Community clients include qtpass, passff, browserpass and Android and iOS apps
• Weakness: Requires comfort with GPG key management
• Weakness: No official GUI, mobile app or browser extension
• Weakness: Filenames, which act as entry titles, are not encrypted

Key facts

• Interface: Command line, community GUIs
• Price: Free
• License: GPLv2+
• Sync: Any git remote

Where it ranks

pass is No. 8 in our Best Password Managers for Linux verdict.