Passage reads and writes standard .kdbx vaults, the format KeePass, KeePassXC and MacPass already use. Bring yours in. Take it back out whenever you like.
A native password manager for Mac
Safe passage.
Everything you'd expect from a password manager. A few things you wouldn't.
Free · macOS 13 or later
▾Vault
▸Personal
▸Work
Banking
▸Servers
Recycle Bin
TitleUsernamePasswordModified
Mailcasey••••••••Mar 9
Cloud consolecasey••••••••Today
Hostingcasey@example.com••••••••Aug 2
Registrarc.rivera••••••••Jun 17
Streamingcasey••••••••Jan 5
Routeradmin••••••••2024
Title
Cloud console
Username
casey
Password
mQ7!vLr2xK9z
GenerateTwo-Factor
••••••482 91321s
URL
console.example.com
Notes
••••••••
Two-factor codes sit right beside the password they belong to.
Quietly different.
The rest, you'll discover.
One-time codes appear next to the password they belong to. No second app. No second place to look.
Open every vault you keep at once, in windows or tabs. Drop one onto another and they share a window. One vault is never open twice, so nothing writes over itself.
Your full password once, at the start of the day, and never kept, not even in memory. After that, a PIN of your own: words or digits, anything you type fast. Gone the moment you quit.
Made to open your vault? Type your duress password instead. They see a vault. Just not yours.
A quiet window with a lot behind it. A wrong password gets a shake, not a lecture. We'll let you find the rest.
Duress password
For the day you hope
never comes.
Someone makes you open Passage. You type a different password, and your vault opens: same name, nothing in it. Your real one never moves.
Personal.kdbx is locked
Personal.kdbxNo entries
A very tidy vault. Nothing to see here.
Passes every test.
A look at the field in general, one box at a time.
| The field | Passage | |
|---|---|---|
| Opens standard .kdbx vaults | Some | |
| A real Mac app, not a web wrapper | Some | |
| No account, no sign-in | Some | |
| Makes no network connections of its own | Rarely | |
| Two-factor codes beside the password | Some | |
| Keeps every old version of an entry | Rarely | |
| A safety copy before it saves | Some | |
| Notes hidden until you ask | Rarely | |
| Several vaults open side by side | Some | |
| Never quietly writes over another app's changes | Rarely | |
| A quick PIN, letters or digits | Some | |
| A duress password | Rarely |
Compared with password managers in general, not any one app. Some of them do some of this; "Some" and "Rarely" describe how common each is. Features vary by app and version.
Don't take our word for it.
Passage makes no network connections of its own. You don't have to believe that. Here is how to check, in a minute, with tools already on your Mac.
Take it offline
Turn off Wi-Fi and use Passage for a day: unlock, search, copy, save, lock. Nothing breaks and nothing complains, because nothing in it needs the network. Then turn Wi-Fi back on and run the next check.
Ask for its connections
With Passage open and a vault unlocked, list every internet connection it has:
lsof -a -i -c Passage
Nothing comes back. Run it while you copy, search, and save, and it still doesn't.
Watch it live
Open Activity Monitor and choose the Network tab. Find Passage: its sent and received bytes stay at zero. Or put a firewall such as Little Snitch or LuLu in front of it and use the app all day: it never asks to connect.
Check the file you downloaded
The app is signed and notarized by Apple. Confirm it:
spctl -a -vv /Applications/Passage.app
It should say accepted, with the source as a notarized Developer ID.
About Passage.
Why is it free?
I made Passage for myself. Once it worked, sharing it cost me nothing extra, and I've used free tools for years, so this is me paying a little of that forward.
There is also a question I can't answer on my own: whether anyone besides me wants this. Free is the simplest way to find out.
Why is it closed?
Because I built it for myself, and an open project is a second job: reviewing contributions, answering requests, keeping up with forks. I'd rather spend that time on the app. I know that isn't the answer a security-minded person hopes for.
So I've tried to make the parts that matter checkable without the source: what the app is allowed to reach, whether it ever connects out, and a vault format other apps can open, so leaving costs you nothing. What those checks can't prove is what the code does with your passwords. If that's a dealbreaker, it's a fair one, and it's why I'd start with a copy of your vault, not the real thing.
Security
A password manager asks for a lot of trust, so I don't expect you to take my word. The four checks above are there so you don't have to. If you review Mac or security software and would like to look at it, I'd welcome that. If you find a problem, announce it.
Fair questions.
Is Passage a KeePass app for Mac?
Yes. It opens and saves the same .kdbx files as KeePass and KeePassXC, so you can move between them whenever you like. Your vault doesn't mind which app opened it last.
Does it work offline?
It only works offline. There's no online for it to go to: no account, no server, no sync service of its own.
Will my passwords leave my Mac?
Only if you move the file yourself. Passage makes no network connections of its own, and the checks above let you confirm that in a minute.
Does Passage keep my password in memory?
No. It opens your vault with it and lets it go. With a PIN set, what stays while Passage is locked is sealed, and only your PIN opens it.
Can I keep my vault in iCloud Drive or Dropbox?
Yes. It's a single file, so keep it wherever you keep files and let that service sync it. If another app or device changes it while Passage has it open, Passage asks before saving over those changes.
Can it replace the passwords saved in my browser?
It can hold them, in a file you own instead of an account. It doesn't fill in websites for you: you copy and paste, and the clipboard tidies up after itself.
What if I forget my password?
Then nobody can open your vault. Not you, not me, not anyone. That's the point, and also the bad news, so write it down and keep it somewhere safe.
Windows, Linux or Android?
Passage is Mac-only. Your vault isn't: it opens in KeePassXC on Windows and Linux, and in KeePass apps on Android.
Open it.
See for yourself.
No email needed. It wouldn't know where to send one anyway.
Try it on a copy of your vault first. Passage also makes a safety copy before it saves.
On iPhone? Your vault opens in any KDBX app, such as KeePassium or Strongbox.