head to head · open source
pwd.sh vs keypaste
pwd.sh has 1,562 GitHub stars, 133 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped 6 days ago. keypaste has 512 stars, 8 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped yesterday. pwd.sh leads on adoption by 205% (1,562 vs 512 stars). pwd.sh is written in Shell under MIT; keypaste is written in C# under AGPL-3.0. pwd.sh has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, keypaste 2%. keypaste was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (password-manager, secrets-management), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| pwd.sh | keypaste | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 1.6K | ★ 512 |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Shell | C# |
| Last push | 2026-10-19 | 2026-10-24 |
| Forks | ⑂ 133 | ⑂ 8 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick pwd.sh if
- You weight community size — 1.6K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Shell
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick keypaste if
- You want the keypaste feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C#
- You evaluated both and keypaste fits your workflow better
About pwd.sh
pwd.sh is a Bash script to manage text secrets, such as passwords, using GnuPG. Each secret is saved to a randomly named file in a directory. An encrypted index maps usernames to secrets contained in files. Both the index and files can be decrypted directly with GnuPG without pwd.sh. Install Download from Releases, or to use the latest version, clone the repository: Or download the script directly: Use Run the script interactively using ./pwd.sh or symlink to a directory in PATH : w write (create) a secret r read (access) a secret l list secret names and paths s generate a random secret u generate a random…
read the full pwd.sh overview →
About keypaste
keypaste keeps your logins and your projects' secrets in one KeePass compatible vault, and gives an AI agent a secret only when you allow it. The desktop app, built from source. It has no public release yet. What it does The published v0.3.0 CLI stores logins and environment variables in a local KDBX vault, runs commands with them, and asks you before an agent receives one. Everything else below is in source until the next release, and the desktop app has no public release; FEATURES records what exists where. As a password manager One KDBX 4 file on your disk, with no account and no network. KeePassXC opens and…
read the full keypaste overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is pwd.sh or keypaste more popular?
pwd.sh has 1,562 GitHub stars and keypaste has 512. pwd.sh has the larger community by that measure.
Are pwd.sh and keypaste free?
Both are open source. pwd.sh is licensed under MIT and keypaste under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between pwd.sh and keypaste?
pwd.sh is written in Shell and keypaste in C#. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, pwd.sh or keypaste?
Choose pwd.sh if you want the larger community (1,562 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose keypaste if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.