head to head · open source
pwd.sh vs passman
pwd.sh has 1,564 GitHub stars, 132 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped 25 days ago. passman has 829 stars, 120 forks, 101 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. pwd.sh leads on adoption by 89% (1,564 vs 829 stars). pwd.sh is written in Shell under MIT; passman is written in JavaScript under AGPL-3.0. pwd.sh has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, passman 14%. passman was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (password-manager), 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 | passman | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 1.6K | ★ 829 |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Shell | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-10-19 | 2026-11-11 |
| Forks | ⑂ 132 | ⑂ 120 |
| 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 passman if
- You want the passman feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and passman 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 passman
Passman Passman is a full featured, open source password manager for Nextcloud. Join us! Visit the “Passman General Talk” Telegram Group to participate in all sorts of topical discussions about Passman and its apps! Features Multiple vaults Vault keys are never sent to the server 256 bit AES encrypted credentials (see security) User defined custom credentials fields Built in OTP (One Time Password) generator Password analyzer Securely share passwords internally and via link Import from various password managers (experimental): KeePass LastPass DashLane ZOHO Clipperz.is EnPass ocPasswords Try a Passman demo here…
read the full passman overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is pwd.sh or passman more popular?
pwd.sh has 1,564 GitHub stars and passman has 829. pwd.sh has the larger community by that measure.
Are pwd.sh and passman free?
Both are open source. pwd.sh is licensed under MIT and passman under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between pwd.sh and passman?
pwd.sh is written in Shell and passman in JavaScript. 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 passman?
Choose pwd.sh if you want the larger community (1,564 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose passman if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.