head to head · open source
pwd.sh vs passwall-server
pwd.sh has 1,564 GitHub stars, 135 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. passwall-server has 767 stars, 101 forks, 14 open issues and last shipped 4 months ago. pwd.sh leads on adoption by 104% (1,564 vs 767 stars). pwd.sh is written in Shell under MIT; passwall-server is written in Go under AGPL-3.0. pwd.sh has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, passwall-server 13%. pwd.sh was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (password, 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 | passwall-server | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 1.6K | ★ 767 |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Shell | Go |
| Last push | 2026-08-24 | 2026-06-13 |
| Forks | ⑂ 135 | ⑂ 101 |
| 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 passwall-server if
- You want the passwall-server feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and passwall-server fits your workflow better
About pwd.sh
pwd.sh is a Bash script that manages text secrets such as passwords by storing each one in a GnuPG symmetric encrypted file, and it is for people who work in a terminal and prefer to keep their own encrypted store rather than hand it to a hosted password service.
read the full pwd.sh overview →
About passwall-server
Passwall Server is the Go based backend that powers the open source Passwall password manager platform, giving self hosters an API server to store credentials and access them from anywhere.
read the full passwall-server overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is pwd.sh or passwall-server more popular?
pwd.sh has 1,564 GitHub stars and passwall-server has 767. pwd.sh has the larger community by that measure.
Are pwd.sh and passwall-server free?
Both are open source. pwd.sh is licensed under MIT and passwall-server under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between pwd.sh and passwall-server?
pwd.sh is written in Shell and passwall-server in Go. 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 passwall-server?
Choose pwd.sh if you want the larger community (1,564 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose passwall-server if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.