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Command-line password manager

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# pago

> [!WARNING]
> **pago is in [beta](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_release_life_cycle#Beta).**
> Using pago carries a greater risk of bugs, security vulnerabilities, and data loss than using mature software.

**pago** is a command-line password manager.
It has the following built-in features:
- [age](https://github.com/FiloSottile/age) public-key and password encryption
- Git version control of the password store ([go-git](https://github.com/go-git/go-git))
- A fuzzy finder similar to [fzf](https://github.com/junegunn/fzf) for choosing entries ([go-fuzzyfinder](https://github.com/ktr0731/go-fuzzyfinder))
- A multiline text editor for editing encrypted data without writing it to disk ([tview](https://github.com/rivo/tview))

## Description

pago encrypts passwords with one or more public keys using [age](https://github.com/FiloSottile/age) (pronounced with a hard "g").
The public keys are called "recipients".
Recipients can be:
- age recipients
- SSH public keys

A private key matching one of the recipient public keys can decrypt the password entry.
The private keys are called "identities".
Identities can be:
- age identities
- SSH private keys

The identities file is encrypted with a password, also using age.

pago implements an agent like [ssh-agent](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ssh-agent) or [gpg-agent](https://www.gnupg.org/documentation/manuals/gnupg/Invoking-GPG_002dAGENT.html).
The agent caches the identities, eliminating the need to re-enter the master password during a session.
pago starts the agent automatically the first time you enter the master password.
You can also start and stop it manually.

The pago password store format is compatible with [passage](https://github.com/FiloSottile/passage).
It has the following differences:

- The pago directory is located at `$XDG_DATA_HOME/pago/`, while passage uses `~/.passage/`
- passage supports both encrypted and unencrypted identities; pago supports only encrypted

## Threat model

An attacker who obtains your pago directory but not the master password should be unable to access the stored passwords except by [brute-forcing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brute-force_attack) the master password.

pago does not try to defend against an attacker who runs code as your user.
While the agent is running, that attacker can simply invoke pago to read each entry.
Without the agent, the attacker can wait for you to enter the master password and capture it.

pago tries to defend against other users on a shared system.
The data directory, the agent socket, and the directory that contains the socket are created with permissions that deny access to anyone but you.

## Motivation and alternatives

My primary password manager is [KeePassXC](https://github.com/keepassxreboot/keepassxc).
I use a secondary password manager to access a subset of secrets in cron jobs and scripts and on headless remote systems.

I used [`pass`](https://www.passwordstore.org/) for this purpose for a while.
While I appreciated the design of `pass` and found it pleasant to use, I did not like setting up GPG on a new system.
I searched for a `pass` replacement based on age because I had already replaced GPG with age for encrypting files.
The following is a late-2024 shortlist of password managers I compiled before deciding to develop pago.
It includes explanations for why I did not adopt them.

First, I needed the identities encrypted at rest and usable without reentering the password.
This ruled out [passage](https://github.com/FiloSottile/passage), which had no agent, and [pa](https://github.com/biox/pa), which did not support encryption for the identities file.
[kbs2](https://github.com/woodruffw/kbs2) did not integrate with Git.
[seniorpw](https://gitlab.com/retirement-home/seniorpw) met all my criteria and was the closest to `pass`.
It is what I would most likely be using if I had not decided to develop pago.
The [`-k`/`--key` feature](https://gitlab.com/retirement-home/seniorpw#editshowmoveremove-a-password) in seniorpw later inspired [TOML entries](#toml-entries) and the approach to [TOTP](#totp).

All of the above password managers are worth your attention.
For more options, see ["Awesome age"](https://github.com/FiloSottile/awesome-age).

## History

pago is a heavily modified fork of [pash](https://github.com/dylanaraps/pash) (archived).
It has been ported from POSIX shell to Tcl to Go and from [GPG](https://gnupg.org/) to age.

## Installation

You will need Go 1.25 or later to install pago.
Once Go is installed on your system, run the following commands:

```shell
# pago and pago-agent are two separate binaries.
# You should install both unless you have a specific reason not to.
go install dbohdan.com/pago/cmd/...@latest
```

Shell completion files for Bash and fish are available in [`completions/`](completions/).
To install completions for fish, clone the repository and run `install.fish`.

You may need to allow pago-agent to [**lock enough memory**](#memory-locking).

## Supported platforms

- pago is used by the developer on Linux, NetBSD, and (rarely) OpenBSD.
- pago is automatically tested on FreeBSD and macOS.
- pago does not build on Windows.

The pago agent and test suite do not work on Windows.
Instead of offering a partial and untested Windows build, the project does not support Windows.
Windows users interested in pago are encouraged to try it in [WSL](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Subsystem_for_Linux).

## Usage

### Initialize the password store

```shell
pago init
```

This will create a new password store, prompt you for a master password, and commit the recipients file to Git.

### Using SSH keys

To use pago with an SSH key as an identity, follow these steps.
Back up your `identities` file and install age for the command line before proceeding.

Note that the SSH key must not be encrypted, that is, must not have a password.
If necessary, remove the password with `ssh-keygen`.
pago encrypts `identities` with a password using age encryption.

You may wish to work with secrets in memory or on an encrypted disk.
On Linux with glibc, you typically have `/dev/shm/` available as temporary in-memory storage.

1. Add your SSH _public_ key to `.age-recipients`.
You can have multiple recipients.

```shell
# Repeat for every SSH public key.
cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub >> ~/.local/share/pago/store/.age-recipients

# Re-encrypt the password entries to the new recipients.
pago rekey
```

2. Add the corresponding SSH _private_ keys to the encrypted identities file.
This is not automated and requires decrypting the file manually using the `age` command.
We are going to use a directory in `/dev/shm/` in this example.

```shell
# Edit the identities file.
mkdir -p "/dev/shm/pago-$USER-temp/"
age -d -o "/dev/shm/pago-$USER-temp/identities" ~/.local/share/pago/identities

# Repeat for every SSH private key.
# Ensure a line break.
echo >> "/dev/shm/pago-$USER-temp/identities"
cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 >> "/dev/shm/pago-$USER-temp/identities"
age -a -e -p -o ~/.local/share/pago/identities "/dev/shm/pago-$USER-temp/identities"
```

If the agent is running, `pago rekey` or `pago rewrap` will push the updated identities to it.
You can also reload the identities by restarting the agent with `pago agent restart`.

### Add passwords

```shell
# Either generate or input a password.
pago add foo/bar

# Generate a random password.
pago add -r foo/bar

# Specify a custom length and character pattern (regular expression).
pago add -l 32 -p '[A-Za-z0-9#$%]' foo/bar

# Input your own password.
pago add -i foo/bar

# Read a multiline secret from stdin.
# This is useful for storing age keys or structured data.
# See the "TOML entries" section for more on the latter.
age-keygen | pago add -m foo/bar

# Strip trailing newlines from the password.
# Useful when piping a single-line secret with `echo`.
echo hunter2 | pago add -m -t foo/bar
```

Adding a password creates a Git commit by default.

### Access passwords

```shell
# Show a password.
pago show foo/bar

# Copy to clipboard (clears after 30 seconds).
pago clip foo/bar

# Copy with a custom timeout (in seconds; 0 to disable).
pago clip -t 20 foo/bar

# List all entries organized in a tree.
pago show

# List entries with a name that matches a regular expression.
pago find fo

# Select an entry interactively using a fuzzy finder.
pago show --pick

# The same as `pago show --pick foo`. Starts the search with `foo`.
pago pick foo
```

### Edit passwords

```shell
# Edit a password that already exists.
pago edit foo/bar

# Create a password if it does not exist.
pago edit foo/new -f

# Edit without mouse support.
# This makes Termux automatically display the virtual keyboard
# when you tap the terminal.
pago edit --no-mouse foo/bar
```

### Generate passwords

```shell
# Generate a password without saving it.
pago generate

# Customize the length and pattern.
pago generate --length 16 --pattern '[a-z0-9]'
```

### Delete passwords

```shell
# Delete with confirmation.
pago delete foo/bar

# Force delete without confirmation.
pago delete -f foo/bar

# Pick what password to delete using a fuzzy finder.
pago delete -p foo/bar
```

By default, this will commit the deletion to Git.

### Rename passwords

```shell
# Rename an entry.
pago rename foo/bar foo/baz

# Move an entry to a new directory.
pago rename foo/baz qux/quux
```

This creates a Git commit by default.

### Copy passwords

```shell
# Duplicate an entry.
pago cp foo/bar foo/baz

# Aliases: `pago copy`, `pago duplicate`.
# Use `-f` to overwrite an existing destination.
pago cp -f foo/bar foo/baz
```

The destination is encrypted with the current recipients,
so this is also a way to re-encrypt a single entry without rekeying the entire store.

### TOML entries

pago can store and retrieve structured data in the [TOML](https://toml.io/) format.
This is useful for storing multiple related values in a single entry, such as API keys, usernames, and URLs.

To create a TOML entry, use `pago add --multiline` and provide TOML content on standard input.
The content must start with the string `# TOML`.

```shell
pago add -m services/my-api <<EOF
# TOML
user = "jdoe"
password = "abcdef"
token = "tok-123"
url = "https://api.example.com"
numbers = [1, 1, 2, 3, 5]
EOF
```

When you `show` or `clip` a TOML entry without specifying a key, pago will use its default key.
If the default key for the entry is not set, the default key is `password`.
You can set a different default key by adding the key `default`.

```shell
pago add -m services/my-api-custom-default <<EOF
# TOML
default = "api-key"
api-key = "xyz-456"
EOF

pago show services/my-api-custom-default
# => xyz-456
```

You can retrieve other values from a TOML entry using the `-k`/`--key` option with `show`, `clip`, and `pick`.
The option can be repeated to access nested keys.
To see all available keys in alphabetical order, use the `-K`/`--keys` option with `show`.
You can combine this with `-k`/`--key` to list keys within a nested table.
Listing keys decrypts the entry, so it requires the master password just like reading a value does.

```shell
# List all keys in the entry.
pago show --keys services/my-api
# => numbers
# => password
# => token
# => url
# => user

# List all keys in a nested table.
pago show --keys -k table entry-with-table
# => key

# You can also pick an entry to list keys from.
pago show -K -p

# Show the user from the TOML entry.
pago show -k user services/my-api
# => jdoe

# Show a nested key.
pago show entry-with-table -k table -k key
# => value

# Show an array.
pago show -k numbers services/my-api
# => [1, 1, 2, 3, 5]

# Copy the key to the clipboard.
pago clip -k key services/my-api
```

When an entry is parsed as TOML, pago can retrieve scalar values (strings, numbers, booleans) and arrays of scalars.
Arrays and non-string scalars are encoded as TOML for output.
pago cannot retrieve tables directly, but it can traverse them to access nested values.

### JSON output

`find` and `show` accept `--json` for machine-readable output:

```shell
# List the names of all entries as a JSON array.
pago find --json
# => ["bar","baz","foo"]

# List the keys of a TOML entry.
pago show --json -K services/my-api
# => ["numbers","password","token","url","user"]

# Show the value of a key as JSON.
pago show --json -k numbers services/my-api
# => [1,1,2,3,5]

# A non-TOML entry is output as a JSON string.
pago show --json secret
# => "hunter2"
```

### TOTP

pago can generate [time-based one-time passwords (TOTP)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time-based_one-time_password) from a [TOML entry](#toml-entries).
To use this feature, store the `otpauth://` URI in any string-valued key.
pago generates a code whenever the resolved value starts with `otpauth://`.
The entry must start with `# TOML`.

```shell
pago add -m services/my-service <<EOF
# TOML
user = "jdoe"
otp = "otpauth://totp/Example:alice@google.com?secret=JBSWY3DPEHPK3PXP&issuer=Example"
EOF
```

When you use `show` or `clip` with the key `otp`, pago will generate and output a TOTP code.

```shell
# Show the TOTP code.
pago show -k otp services/my-service
# => 123456

# Copy the TOTP code to the clipboard.
pago clip -k otp services/my-service
```

### Git operations

```shell
# Run any git command in the password store directory.
pago git log --oneline
pago git status
pago git remote add origin git@example.com:me/pago-store.git
pago git push -u origin main
```

The command pago invokes is configurable with `--git-command`/`PAGO_GIT_COMMAND` (default: `git`).

A Git history view command is built in and doesn't require invoking external `git`:

```shell
# Show the latest 10 commits.
pago log

# Show the latest 5.
pago log -n 5
```

Each line has the form `YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM +ZZ "filename1.age" ["filename2.age" ...] subject`.
The filenames are quoted with [Go's `%q`](https://pkg.go.dev/fmt).

### Agent

The agent keeps your identities in memory to avoid repeated password prompts.
By default, the agent runs until manually stopped, but you can configure it to automatically expire after a period of inactivity.

```shell
# Start the agent automatically when needed.
pago show foo/bar

# Start manually.
pago agent start

# Start with automatic expiration after 1 hour of inactivity.
pago agent start --expire 1h

# By default, the agent locks its memory to prevent secrets from being written to swap.
# You may need to run the command `ulimit -l 100000` to let it lock enough memory.
# Alternatively, you can disable memory locking
# with the environment variable `PAGO_MEMLOCK=0` or the option `--no-memlock`.
pago agent start --no-memlock

# Run without an agent.
pago -s '' show foo/bar

# Shut down.
pago agent stop
```

### Memory locking

pago-agent defaults to [locking the process memory](https://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/9699919799/functions/mlockall.html) to prevent secrets from being written to swap.
Secrets could be recovered from unencrypted swap that was not erased at system shutdown.

pago-agent uses up to 100 MiB of memory on systems where it has been tested.
Most operating systems do not allow a process to lock this much memory by default.
Additionally, on Free/Net/OpenBSD, the agent apparently needs the limit on locked memory to exceed its virtual memory even though only around 100 MiB is reserved.
The amount of virtual memory can exceed 1 GiB.
(You do not lose 1 GiB of memory.)
Configure your system to allow this, or set the environment variable `PAGO_MEMLOCK=0` to disable locking.

Here is how to allow users to lock more memory on different operating systems.
In these examples, we set the limit to 8 GiB.

#### Linux (systemd)

1. Create `/etc/systemd/system.conf.d/` if it does not exist.
2. Edit `/etc/systemd/system.conf.d/limits.conf` to contain the following:

```ini
[Manager]
DefaultLimitMEMLOCK=8G
```

3. Restart your user session.

#### Linux (other init systems)

1. Edit `/etc/security/limits.conf` and add this line:

```none
* hard memlock 8589934592
```

2. Restart your user session.

#### Free/Net/OpenBSD

1. Edit `/etc/login.conf` and update the default value of `memorylocked`:

```
default:\
	[...]
	:memorylocked=8G:\
	[...]
```

2. On FreeBSD only, run the following command as root:

```shell
cap_mkdb /etc/login.conf
```

3. Restart your user session.

### Exit codes

pago uses these exit codes so scripts and agents can branch on the failure mode without parsing the error message:

| Code | Name             | Meaning                                       |
|------|------------------|-----------------------------------------------|
| 0    | Success          |                                               |
| 1    | Generic error    | Anything not covered below                    |
| 2    | Bad usage        | Invalid CLI arguments                         |
| 3    | Memlock error    | The agent could not lock its memory           |
| 4    | Not found        | The entry does not exist                      |
| 5    | Decryption error | Wrong master password or no matching identity |
| 6    | Agent error      | The agent could not be reached or started     |

### Environment variables

- `PAGO_AGENT`:
  The agent executable.
  Default: `pago-agent`.
- `PAGO_CLIP`:
  The command to use to copy text to the clipboard.
  When empty (default), the command is determined automatically using [atotto/clipboard](https://github.com/atotto/clipboard).
- `PAGO_CONFIRM`:
  Whether to ask for a new password twice for confirmation.
  `0` to disable.
  Default: `1` (enabled).
- `PAGO_DIR`:
  The pago data directory location.
  Defaults to:
    - Linux and BSD: `~/.local/share/pago`
    - macOS: `~/Library/Application Support/pago`
- `PAGO_EXPIRE`:
  Agent expiration time after which it will automatically shut down.
  Accepts a [Go duration string](https://pkg.go.dev/time#ParseDuration) (for example, `1h30m`) or a bare integer interpreted as seconds.
  Default: no expiration.
- `PAGO_GIT`:
  Whether to use Git.
  `0` to disable.
  Default: `1` (enabled).
- `PAGO_GIT_COMMAND`:
  The Git command used by `pago git`.
  Default: `git`.
- `PAGO_LENGTH`:
  The default length of random passwords.
  Default: `20`.
- `PAGO_MEMLOCK`:
  Whether the agent should lock its memory using [mlockall(2)](https://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/9799919799/functions/mlockall.html) to prevent secrets from being written to swap.
  `0` to disable.
  Default: `1` (enabled).
- `PAGO_PASSPHRASE_FD`:
  Read the master password from this file descriptor (one line per prompt) instead of the terminal.
  Useful for scripting and automation.
  Default: `-1` (disabled).
- `PAGO_MOUSE`:
  Whether to enable mouse support in the interactive editor.
  `0` to disable.
  Default: `1` (enabled).
- `PAGO_PATTERN`:
  The default character pattern (regular expression) for random passwords.
  Default: `[A-Za-z0-9]`.
- `PAGO_SOCK`:
  The agent socket path.
  The default path is determined by trying the candidate paths below in order.
  The first path where the parent directory of the pago directory exists wins.
  `${FOO:-default value}` with `FOO` in capital letters indicates an environment variable; `${foo}` indicates an internal pago variable.
    - Linux and BSD:
      - `${XDG_RUNTIME_DIR}/pago/socket`
      - `/var/run/xdg/${username}/pago/socket` on FreeBSD only
      - `/run/user/${uid}/pago/socket`
      - `/var/run/user/${uid}/pago/socket`
      - `${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/pago-${username}@${hostname}/socket`
    - macOS:
      - `${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/pago-${username}@${hostname}/socket`
- `PAGO_TIMEOUT`:
  The default timeout to clear the clipboard.
  Accepts a [Go duration string](https://pkg.go.dev/time#ParseDuration) (for example, `20s`) or a bare integer interpreted as seconds.
  Default: `30` (seconds).

### Interactive editor

![Screenshot of the editor in a terminal showing a TOML entry.
The TOML entry has a password "hunter2" and a test TOTP URL.](editor.svg)

The editor is implemented using a text area from the [tview](https://github.com/rivo/tview) library.
It has the following key bindings:

#### Session

- **Ctrl+C**: Exit without saving
- **Ctrl+D**: Save and exit

#### Navigation

- **←**: Move left one character
- **→**: Move right one character
- **↑**: Move up one row
- **↓**: Move down one row
- **Home**/**Ctrl+A**: Move to the start of the line
- **End**/**Ctrl+E**: Move to the end of the line
- **PgUp**/**Ctrl+B**: Page up
- **PgDn**/**Ctrl+F**: Page down
- **Ctrl+←**/**Alt+B**: Move to the start of the word
- **Ctrl+→**/**Alt-F**: Move to the end of the word
- **Ctrl+Home**: Move to the start of the text
- **Ctrl+End**: Move to the end of the text

#### Editing

- **Enter**: Insert newline
- **Tab**: Insert tab (`\t`)
- **Backspace**/**Ctrl+H**: Delete the previous character
- **Delete**: Delete the next character
- **Alt+Backspace**: Delete the previous word
- **Ctrl+W**: Delete back to the start of the word
- **Ctrl+K**: Delete to the end of the line
- **Ctrl+U**: Delete the entire line

#### Selection

- **Shift** + navigation key: Extend selection
- **Ctrl+L**: Select the entire text
- Mouse drag: Select text
- Left double-click: Select a word

#### Clipboard

The editor clipboard is synchronized with the system clipboard.

- **Ctrl+Q**: Copy selected text
- **Ctrl+X**: Cut selected text
- **Ctrl+V**: Paste from the clipboard

#### Undo/Redo

- **Ctrl+Z**: Undo
- **Ctrl+Y**: Redo

## License

MIT.
See the file [`LICENSE`](LICENSE).

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