pass alternatives

Looking for an alternative tool to replace pass? During the review of pass we looked at other open source tools. Based on their category, tags, and text, these are the ones that have the best match.

Top 3

Buttercup for desktop (cross-platform password manager)
KeePassX (password manager)
TeamVault (team-based password manager)

These tools are ranked as the best alternatives to pass.

Alternatives (by score)

100

Buttercup for desktop

Introduction

The typical users have at least a multitude of ten when it comes to passwords. Ensuring that every website has a unique password and remembering, is almost impossible. Passwords managers like Buttercup help with the generation and secure storage of these secrets. It is freely available and open source, making it a good alternative for commercial options.

Project details

Buttercup for desktop is written in Node.js.

Strengths and weaknesses

+ More than 10 contributors
+ More than 1000 GitHub stars
+ The source code of this software is available

Typical usage

Password management

Buttercup for desktop review

KeePassX

Introduction

The database is encrypted with AES (alias Rijndael) or Twofish encryption algorithm using a 256-bit key. KeePassX uses a database format that is compatible with KeePass Password Safe.

Project details

KeePassX is written in C++.

Strengths and weaknesses

+ The source code of this software is available
+ Well-known tool

- Full name of author is unknown

Typical usage

Secure storage

KeePassX review

TeamVault

Introduction

Storing passwords within a team security can be a challenging task. TeamVault is a password manager with the goal to be easy to use, flexible, and adhering to several security principles. These include a solid base for the data encryption, support for folders, and role-based access control (RBAC).

Project details

TeamVault is written in Python.

Strengths and weaknesses

+ The source code of this software is available

- No releases on GitHub available

Typical usage

Password management
Secrets management

TeamVault review

pick

Introduction

Tools like pick are used to store passwords and secrets safely.

Project details

pick is written in Golang.

Strengths and weaknesses

+ Very low number of dependencies
+ The source code of this software is available

Typical usage

Data security
Secure storage

pick review

LaZagne

Introduction

The LaZagne tool can be a good addition to the toolkit of pentesters or forensic specialists to recover sensitive details from systems. For a pentester, this typically means that limited access has been gained. By trying to find passwords from local applications, the step to other applications or privilege level might be possible. For example, a password that is shared among multiple services, or even finding an administrator password.

Project details

LaZagne is written in Python.

Strengths and weaknesses

+ More than 10 contributors
+ More than 3000 GitHub stars
+ The source code of this software is available

Typical usage

Data extraction
Information gathering
Password discovery
Password recovery

LaZagne review

Vault

Introduction

Vault is a secret management tool created by HashiCorp. It allows storing secrets, such as key/value pairs, AWS IAM/STS credentials, SQL/NoSQL databases, X.509 certificates, SSH credentials, and other sensitive details. These secrets are typically used by software components and scripts. The benefit of using a secret management tool is that they no longer need to be stored in configuration files. Main features include leasing, key revocation, key rolling, and auditing.

Project details

Vault is written in Golang.

Strengths and weaknesses

+ More than 500 contributors
+ More than 9000 stars
+ The source code of this software is available

Typical usage

Password management
Secrets management
Secure storage

Vault review

KeePassXC

Introduction

KeePassXC is a cross-platform platform to store sensitive data like passwords, keys, and other secrets. It has a graphical user interface and is written in C++.

Project details

KeePassXC is written in C++.

Strengths and weaknesses

+ More than 50 contributors
+ Runs on multiple platforms
+ More than 1000 GitHub stars
+ The source code of this software is available

Typical usage

Password management
Secure storage

KeePassXC review

Passmgr

Introduction

Passmgr is a simple portable password manager written in Go. It helps with storing secrets, like passwords and API keys.

Project details

pass-rotate

Introduction

This tool makes it easier to rotate your passwords one at a time or in bulk. For example, when security events or as a routine to do a regular rotation of passwords.

Project details

pass-rotate is written in Python.

Strengths and weaknesses

+ The source code of this software is available

Typical usage

Password management

pass-rotate review

Aletheia

Introduction

Aletheia is a project to manage secrets in Google Cloud with CloudKMS and Cloud Storage. It can be used to store sensitive data like authentication details.

Project details

Aletheia is written in Python.

Strengths and weaknesses

+ The source code of this software is available

- Minimal or no documentation available
- No releases on GitHub available

Typical usage

Data security
Secure storage

Aletheia review

Gitrob

Introduction

Especially open source developers may share their code in a public repository like GitHub. This is a great way to collaborate between the developer(s) and the community. The risk of sharing code is that sensitive data is part of the repository and uploaded by accident. GitRob helps to detect this kind of accidental leaks.

Project details

Gitrob is written in Ruby.

Strengths and weaknesses

+ More than 1000 GitHub stars
+ The source code of this software is available

Typical usage

Data leak prevention
Information gathering
Penetration testing
Security assessment

Gitrob review

Confidant

Introduction

Most applications with a connection to a database or other software component, need some form of authentication. Often the related credentials are stored in a configuration file. A secret manager like Confidant will provide an alternative, by storing the details in a database. Only applications that need to access the secrets are allowed to obtain them. Often system administrators are denied access to them.

Project details

Confidant is written in Python.

Strengths and weaknesses

+ More than 1000 GitHub stars
+ The source code of this software is available
+ Supported by a large company

Typical usage

Secrets management
Secure storage

Confidant review

John the Ripper

Introduction

John the Ripper is a mature password cracker to find weak or known passwords. It works on Linux and other flavors of Unix and Microsoft Windows.

Project details

PassGen

Introduction

PassGen is a tool to help with password dictionary attacks to guess a password. It does not perform the attack but creates the related database.

Project details

PassGen is written in Python.

Strengths and weaknesses

+ The source code of this software is available

Typical usage

Password discovery
Password strength testing
Security assessment

PassGen review

THC Hydra (thc-hydra)

Introduction

THC Hydra is a brute-force cracking tool for remote authentication services. It supports many protocols, including telnet, FTP, LDAP, SSH, SNMP, and others.

Project details

THC Hydra is written in C.

Strengths and weaknesses

+ More than 25 contributors
+ More than 1000 GitHub stars
+ Project is mature (10+ years)
+ The source code of this software is available

Typical usage

Penetration testing
Security assessment

THC Hydra review

hashcat

Introduction

Hashcat can be used to discover lost passwords, or as part of a security assignment. For example, it could be trying to crack a password from a password file that was obtained during a penetration test.