{"slug": "strongbox", "name": "Strongbox", "category": "security", "category_name": "Security and passwords", "description": "", "recommenders": 3, "commenters": 4, "warners": 0, "score": 3.082, "rising": 0.35, "first": "2026-02-28", "latest": "2026-10-15", "why": "I switched to a product called StrongBox which is an Apple-specific app (iOS and Mac clients) that uses standard KeePass vaults.", "why_is_quote": true, "has_verdict": false, "sentiment": {"recommend": 3, "neutral": 1, "compare": 0, "warn": 0}, "spark": [0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 1], "listed": true, "loved": [], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "I switched to a product called StrongBox which is an Apple-specific app (iOS and Mac clients) that uses standard KeePass vaults.", "icon": false, "domain": null, "github_repo": null, "official_url": "https://strongboxsafe.com", "pricing": "", "aliases": ["Strongbox"], "verdict": null, "praise": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 801572256, "item_id": 50098266, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50098266", "by": "comex", "date": "2026-10-15", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Personally I use Strongbox on iOS and macOS, which stores everything (including passkeys) in a .kdbx file.", "excerpt": "You don\u2019t have to use a password manager that relies on an account. Personally I use Strongbox on iOS and macOS, which stores everything (including passkeys) in a .kdbx file. I then sync the .kdbx file over iCloud, but if I lost access to iCloud then there would still be copies of the file on all my devices. Overall this is not as secure as the more centralized alternatives, but it does leave me in control.", "context": "", "use_case": "password and passkey manager", "switched_from": "", "story": "Passkeys are not a trap"}, {"id": 784324832, "item_id": 49020302, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49020302", "by": "mlfreeman", "date": "2026-07-23", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "On macOS I use Strongbox's Print Database capability.", "excerpt": "I print a nice HTML document - each entry has each field/value in a HTML table and each group gets its own header. On macOS I use Strongbox's Print Database capability. On Windows, I'm testing a KeePass plugin I created that does the same thing and more (not quite ready for public release). If I'm still around and coherent, I can re-type it into a KDBX-supporting app by hand (or maybe if I'm lucky only enough entries", "context": "", "use_case": "printing password database backup", "switched_from": "", "story": "Passkeys were invented by engineers with zero understanding of consumer brain"}, {"id": 755181280, "item_id": 47198830, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47198830", "by": "xp84", "date": "2026-02-28", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I switched to a product called StrongBox which is an Apple-specific app (iOS and Mac clients) that uses standard KeePass vaults.", "excerpt": "I switched to a product called StrongBox which is an Apple-specific app (iOS and Mac clients) that uses standard KeePass vaults. Various free clients exist which I use for my Android and Windows devices, and you can sync using either direct integration with Dropbox, OneDrive, etc, or use the device\u2019s filesystem and sync it to whatever you like that way. It supports passkeys as well and you can have your iOS devices s", "context": "", "use_case": "password manager", "switched_from": "1Password", "story": "1Password pricing increasing 20% in March"}]}], "caveats": [], "who": [{"by": "willis936", "context": "self-hosts open source software", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50089695", "date": "2026-10-14"}], "tags": [], "use_cases": ["password and passkey manager", "keepass client on mac/ios", "printing password database backup", "password manager"], "compared": [{"slug": "1password", "name": "1Password", "co": 1, "switched_from": 1, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50088935", "title": "Passkeys are not a trap", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49007374", "title": "Passkeys were invented by engineers with zero understanding of consumer brain", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47139951", "title": "1Password pricing increasing 20% in March", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {}, "2025-12": {}, "2026-01": {}, "2026-02": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-03": {}, "2026-04": {}, "2026-05": {}, "2026-06": {}, "2026-07": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-08": {}, "2026-09": {}, "2026-10": {"neutral": 1, "recommend": 1}}, "quotes": [{"id": 801572256, "item_id": 50098266, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50098266", "by": "comex", "date": "2026-10-15", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Personally I use Strongbox on iOS and macOS, which stores everything (including passkeys) in a .kdbx file.", "excerpt": "You don\u2019t have to use a password manager that relies on an account. Personally I use Strongbox on iOS and macOS, which stores everything (including passkeys) in a .kdbx file. I then sync the .kdbx file over iCloud, but if I lost access to iCloud then there would still be copies of the file on all my devices. Overall this is not as secure as the more centralized alternatives, but it does leave me in control.", "context": "", "use_case": "password and passkey manager", "switched_from": "", "story": "Passkeys are not a trap"}, {"id": 801435122, "item_id": 50089695, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50089695", "by": "willis936", "date": "2026-10-14", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "If the sky falls and strongbox ceases working with mac/iOS I can use android and linux.", "excerpt": "I use nextcloud to sync my own keepass database across my devices. Both nextcloud and keepassxc are open source. Please explain how self hosting open source software is locking me into a vendor. If the sky falls and strongbox ceases working with mac/iOS I can use android and linux. Nobody is locking my lockbox.", "context": "self-hosts open source software", "use_case": "keepass client on Mac/iOS", "switched_from": "", "story": "Passkeys are not a trap"}, {"id": 784324832, "item_id": 49020302, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49020302", "by": "mlfreeman", "date": "2026-07-23", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "On macOS I use Strongbox's Print Database capability.", "excerpt": "I print a nice HTML document - each entry has each field/value in a HTML table and each group gets its own header. On macOS I use Strongbox's Print Database capability. On Windows, I'm testing a KeePass plugin I created that does the same thing and more (not quite ready for public release). If I'm still around and coherent, I can re-type it into a KDBX-supporting app by hand (or maybe if I'm lucky only enough entries", "context": "", "use_case": "printing password database backup", "switched_from": "", "story": "Passkeys were invented by engineers with zero understanding of consumer brain"}, {"id": 755181280, "item_id": 47198830, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47198830", "by": "xp84", "date": "2026-02-28", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I switched to a product called StrongBox which is an Apple-specific app (iOS and Mac clients) that uses standard KeePass vaults.", "excerpt": "I switched to a product called StrongBox which is an Apple-specific app (iOS and Mac clients) that uses standard KeePass vaults. Various free clients exist which I use for my Android and Windows devices, and you can sync using either direct integration with Dropbox, OneDrive, etc, or use the device\u2019s filesystem and sync it to whatever you like that way. It supports passkeys as well and you can have your iOS devices s", "context": "", "use_case": "password manager", "switched_from": "1Password", "story": "1Password pricing increasing 20% in March"}]}