head to head · open source
pwd.sh vs Strongbox
pwd.sh has 1,563 GitHub stars, 136 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. Strongbox has 1,465 stars, 126 forks, 230 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. pwd.sh leads on adoption by 7% (1,563 vs 1,465 stars). pwd.sh is written in Shell under MIT; Strongbox is written in Objective-C under AGPL-3.0. pwd.sh has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, Strongbox 9%. pwd.sh was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (cryptography, 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 | Strongbox | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 1.6K | ★ 1.5K |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Shell | Objective-C |
| Last push | 2026-08-24 | 2026-07-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 136 | ⑂ 126 |
| 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 Strongbox if
- You want the Strongbox feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Objective-C
- You evaluated both and Strongbox 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 Strongbox
Strongbox is an AGPL 3.0 licensed, Objective C password manager built natively for iOS and macOS that opens and writes the portable KeePass and Password Safe file formats, and it is aimed at Apple users who already keep their secrets in an open vault file as well as at developers and security reviewers who want to read the cryptography behind the app.
read the full Strongbox overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is pwd.sh or Strongbox more popular?
pwd.sh has 1,563 GitHub stars and Strongbox has 1,465. pwd.sh has the larger community by that measure.
Are pwd.sh and Strongbox free?
Both are open source. pwd.sh is licensed under MIT and Strongbox under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between pwd.sh and Strongbox?
pwd.sh is written in Shell and Strongbox in Objective-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 Strongbox?
Choose pwd.sh if you want the larger community (1,563 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Strongbox if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.