📦 Pass Password Manager - Quick Reference

The Standard Unix Password Manager

Essential commands and workflows at your fingertips

Initial Setup

gpg --full-generate-key

Create a new GPG key (one-time setup)

pass init "email@example.com"

Initialize password store with GPG key

pass git init

Initialize git in password store

pass git remote add origin URL

Add remote repository for sync

pass git push -u origin main

Push to remote repository

Adding Passwords

pass insert path/to/password

Add a new password (prompted to enter)

pass insert -m path/to/password

Add multi-line entry (password + notes)

pass generate path/to/password 24

Generate random 24-character password

pass generate -n path/to/password 20

Generate alphanumeric password (no symbols)

pass generate -c path/to/password 32

Generate and copy to clipboard (don't display)

Viewing Passwords

pass

List all passwords in tree structure

pass path/to/password

Display password in terminal

pass -c path/to/password

Copy password to clipboard (clears in 45s)

pass show path/to/password

Show full multi-line entry

pass find keyword

Search for passwords containing keyword

pass grep "search term"

Search inside decrypted password files

Managing Passwords

pass edit path/to/password

Edit existing password in $EDITOR

pass rm path/to/password

Remove a password

pass mv old/path new/path

Move or rename a password

pass cp source/path dest/path

Copy a password to another location

pass rm -r folder/

Remove entire folder of passwords

Git Sync

pass git pull

Pull latest passwords from remote

pass git push

Push local changes to remote

pass git log

View password change history

pass git status

Check sync status

pass git diff

View uncommitted changes

GPG Key Management

gpg --list-keys

List all GPG public keys

gpg --list-secret-keys

List all GPG private keys

gpg --export-secret-keys email > key.asc

Export GPG private key for backup

gpg --import key.asc

Import GPG key on new machine

gpg --edit-key email

Edit key (use "trust" to set trust level)

Advanced Usage

pass init -p path/ key-id

Re-encrypt passwords in path with new key

pass init key1 key2 key3

Encrypt for multiple GPG keys (team sharing)

pass ls subfolder/

List passwords in specific subfolder

PASSWORD_STORE_DIR=~/other pass

Use alternate password store location

pass show -c5 path/to/password

Copy line 5 of multi-line entry to clipboard

Important Locations

~/.password-store/

Default password store directory

~/.gnupg/

GPG configuration and keys directory

~/.password-store/.gpg-id

File containing GPG key ID used for encryption

/usr/share/bash-completion/completions/pass

Bash completion script (source in .bashrc)

Security Reminder

Always use a private Git repository for your password store, even though passwords are encrypted. Never commit your GPG private keys to the repository.

Pro Tip

Use pass -c instead of pass show to avoid displaying passwords on screen. The clipboard auto-clears after 45 seconds for security.

Common Workflows

pass insert work/gitlab && pass git push

Add password and immediately sync

pass git pull && pass -c personal/email

Sync first, then copy password

pass find github | grep personal

Search and filter results

Troubleshooting

gpg-connect-agent reloadagent /bye

Reload GPG agent after config changes

pass init "$(cat ~/.password-store/.gpg-id)"

Re-encrypt all passwords with current key

cd ~/.password-store && git status

Check for sync issues manually

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Pass - The Standard Unix Password Manager

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