KeePassXC
ScreenshotKeePassXC 2.7.10 entries screenshot.webp
Screenshot altKeePassXC 2.7.10 entries screenshot
DeveloperKeePassXC Team
Operating system
Platformx86-64, x86, Apple silicon, AArch64 and others
Programming languageC++
GenrePassword manager
LicenseGPL 2.0 and 3.0[1]
Websitekeepassxc.org

KeePassXC (originally KeePassX[2][3]) is a free and open-source cross-platform password manager. It is built using the Qt toolkit, which allows it to run on Linux, Windows, macOS, and BSD,[4][5][6] unlike the original KeePass software.

KeePassXC uses the KeePass 2.x (.kdbx) password database format natively.[7] It can also import (and convert) version 2 and the older KeePass 1 (.kdb) databases. KeePassXC supports having key files and YubiKey challenge-response for additional security.[2]

The Electronic Frontier Foundation mentions KeePassXC as "easy-to-use [and] robust software".[8] A security review of KeePassXC version 2.7.4 was completed in late 2022.[9]

An accompanying browser extension[10] is available for Firefox,[11] Tor Browser, Google Chrome,[12] Vivaldi, Microsoft Edge,[13] and Chromium. Extensions can be linked by enabling browser integration in the desktop application.[14]

KeePassXC uses zxcvbn to assess password strength and can search for credential breaches using Have I Been Pwned?.[15]

Reception

KeePassXC was highlighted by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung in its 2025 overview of leading self-hosted password managers as a solution that offers users increased security and full control by allowing the entire vault to be operated on their own server.[16]

Security analysis

2024 evaluation of password checkup tools

A 2024 study examined the “password checkup” features of 14 password managers, including KeePassXC, using weak, breached, and randomly generated passwords. The evaluated products reported weak and compromised passwords inconsistently and sometimes incompletely. No manager successfully flagged all known breached passwords. The study concludes that such inconsistencies may give users a false sense of security.[17] However, the German Federal Office for Information Security considers password checkups a useful feature.[18]

See also

References

  1. ^ "COPYING". GitHub. Archived July 4, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  2. ^ "The Project". KeePassXC. October 16, 2016. Archived from the original on March 31, 2017. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  3. ^ Thornton, Bob (January 6, 2020). "KeePassXC 2.5.2". Tech Advisor. Archived from the original on January 13, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  4. ^ "Download". KeePassXC. Archived March 12, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  5. ^ "OpenPorts.se | The OpenBSD package collection". OpenPorts.se. Archived from the original on August 14, 2020. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  6. ^ "FreshPorts -- security/keepassxc: KeePass Cross-platform Community Edition". FreshPorts. Archived June 21, 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  7. ^ "Documentation and FAQ". KeePassXC. Archived April 1, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  8. ^ "How to: Use KeePassXC". ssd.eff.org. Archived September 18, 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
  9. ^ "KeePassXC Application Security Review". molotnikov.de/keepassxc-review. Archived June 27, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
  10. ^ "KeePassXC-Browser", KeePassXC, August 31, 2022, archived September 2, 2022 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved September 2, 2022
  11. ^ "KeePassXC-Browser – Get this Extension for Firefox (en-US)". Mozilla. Archived August 31, 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
  12. ^ "KeePassXC-Browser". chrome.google.com. Archived May 29, 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-08-06.
  13. ^ "KeePassXC-Browser - Microsoft Edge Addons". microsoftedge.microsoft.com. Archived January 16, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-08-06.
  14. ^ "KeePassXC: Getting Started Guide". keepassxc.org. Archived August 6, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-08-06.
  15. ^ Hutchinson, Adryana; Munyendo, Collins W.; Aviv, Adam J; Mayer, Peter (2024-05-11). "An Analysis of Password Managers' Password Checkup Tools". Extended Abstracts of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. CHI EA '24. New York, NY, USA: Association for Computing Machinery. pp. 1–7. doi:10.1145/3613905.3650741. ISBN 979-8-4007-0331-7.
  16. ^ "Bester Self-Hosted Passwort-Manager 2025" (in German). 2024-08-09. Retrieved 2025-11-22.
  17. ^ Hutchinson, Adryana; Munyendo, Collins W.; Aviv, Adam J; Mayer, Peter (2024-05-11). "An Analysis of Password Managers' Password Checkup Tools". Extended Abstracts of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. CHI EA '24. New York, NY, USA: Association for Computing Machinery. pp. 1–7. doi:10.1145/3613905.3650741. ISBN 979-8-4007-0331-7.
  18. ^ BSI und FZI (2025-12-01). "IT-Sicherheit auf dem digitalen Verbrauchermarkt: Fokus P asswortmanager" (in German). www.bsi.bund.de. Retrieved 2025-12-10.