FAQ

Why KeePassXC instead of KeePassX?

KeePassX is an amazing password manager, but hasn't seen much active development for quite a while. Many good pull requests were never merged and the original project is missing some features which users can expect from a modern password manager. Hence, we decided to fork KeePassX to continue its development and provide you with everything you love about KeePassX plus many new features and bugfixes.

Why KeePassXC instead of KeePass?

KeePass is a very proven and feature-rich password manager and there is nothing fundamentally wrong with it. However, it is written in C# and therefore requires Microsoft's .NET platform. On systems other than Windows, you can run KeePass using the Mono runtime libraries, but you won't get the native look and feel which you are used to.
KeePassXC, on the other hand, is developed in C++ and runs natively on all platforms giving you the best-possible platform integration.

Is Auto-Type supported on OS X and Windows?

Yes, Auto-Type works on all three supported platforms.

Why is there no cloud synchronization feature built into KeePassXC?

Cloud synchronization with Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, Nextcloud etc. can be easily accomplished by simply storing your KeePassXC database inside your shared cloud folder and letting your desktop synchronization client do the rest. We prefer this approach, because it is simple, not tied to a specific cloud provider and keeps the complexity of our code low.

Has KeePassXC ever had an external security audit? Why?

At the time of writing (KeePassXC v2.2.0), No. Having a third-party security audit comes with a considerable price and at the moment, KeePassXC is a purely community-driven project. There is no company or business behind KeePassXC and we have other expenses. We receive some donations, but those are not enough to finance an audit. Maybe you can beg OSTIF or OTF for funding a KeePassXC audit.
In any case, keep in mind that:

• An audit is not a 100% proof that a software is safe and secure. Some flaws can be overlooked even by the best auditors.
• An audit is valid only for a “snapshot” of the code. If new code is added, new vulnerabilities can be introduced.

Which password database formats are compatible with KeePassXC?

KeePassXC currently uses the KeePass 2.x (.kdbx) password database format as its native file format. It can also import KeePass 1.x (.kdb) databases, but this is a one-way process.

Why doesn't KeePassXC support KDBX4?

We are working on it! There is a pull request, but dotting the i's and crossing the t's will take some time.

Why do I get an error when I try to build from source for this platform?

Please follow every step from our wiki page.

Why can't I copy advanced attributes to the clipboard or use certain shortcuts on KDE?

This is a “feature” in KDE's platform theme. It automatically adds ampersand (&) characters to on-screen text to allow you to trigger an action by pressing Alt+HOTKEY on your keyboard. Unfortunately, this “feature” causes more trouble than it does good. You can disable it by adding the following two lines to ~/.config/kdeglobals:

[Development]
AutoCheckAccelerators=false

If you are like us and think this is a stupid feature, please consider voicing your concerns to the KDE guys.

Why do the tray menu and in-app shortcuts not work on Ubuntu/Unity?

This is a bug caused by appmenu-qt5.
You have 3 options:

• Remove the appmenu-qt5 package
• Set the environment variable UBUNTU_MENUPROXY=''
• Set the environment variable QT_QPA_PLATFORMTHEME=''

Note: When you choose the first or third option, KeePassXC will lose the Unity look and feel.