First Steps Tutorial - KeePass (2024)

A short tutorial showing you the basic usage of KeePass.

This short tutorial shows you how to use KeePass. It describes only thebasic usage, advanced features are covered on separate pages.

Creating a new database

The very first step is creating a new password database. KeePass will store allyour passwords in such a database. To create one, click 'File' → 'New...'in the main menu or click the leftmost toolbar button.A window will appear, which prompts you for a master password and/or key file.The database will be encrypted with the password you enter here. The passwordyou enter here will be the only password you will ever have to remember from nowon. It should be long and built up of mixed characters. Keep in mind that whensomeone gets your database file and guesses the password, he could access allpasswords you stored in the database.

For this tutorial, we just use a password, not a key file.Click into the password edit field and enter a password of your choice.The password edit control is not limited in length, so feel free to even entera whole sentence (just keep in mind that you need to remember it).

Now you see the main window. On the left, you see the entry groups. On theright, you see the actual password entries. The password entries aregrouped together into the password groups you see on the left. So, dependingon which group on the left you selected, it shows you the entries in this groupin the right view. KeePass has created a few default groups for you, but youare free to delete them and create your own ones.

Adding an entry

Time to store your very first password in the KeePass database! Right-clickinto the right password entry view and choose 'Add Entry...'. A windowwill pop up. In this window you can now edit your entry: enter a title forit, a user name, a URL, the password, etc. If you do not need some of thefields, just leave them empty. When you are done, click [OK].

Using entries

Your new entry is displayed in themain entry list now.There are various ways how you can use it.

For example, you can copy the user name of the entry into the clipboard.In order to invoke the 'Copy User Name' command, double-click onto theuser name cell in the main entry list.Alternatively, the command can be invoked via the main menu,the context menu, the toolbar button, or by pressingCtrl+B.When the user name is in the clipboard, you can paste it into thetarget window.

Copying passwords and other fields works analogously.

Alternatively, you can drag&drop fields into other windows.For details, see .

Saving the database

It is time to save your database. Click onto the 'Save' toolbar button(which has a disk icon).

More

That is it! You have made the first steps in using KeePass!You can now have a look at the more advanced features of KeePass.

Passwords and Key Files: In the tutorial above,we have encrypted the database using a password. However, KeePass also supportskey files, i.e. you can lock your database using a file (which you can carryaround on your USB stick for instance).It even supports combining those two methods for maximum security.

TAN Entries: TAN entries are one-time passwords. Manybanks are using TANs for better security. KeePass supports TAN entries, bymaking them expire automatically when using them.

Auto-Type: The auto-typing functionality is a verypowerful feature. In the tutorial above, you have copied the user name and passwordof an entry to the clipboard. Wouldn't it be nice if KeePass would just typethose strings for you into other windows? Wouldn't it be nice if you could definewhole sequences of keypresses that KeePass should type for you? That is exactlywhat the auto-type feature does: it sends simulated keypresses for you toother windows!

URL Field: The URL field supports URLsof course. In the tutorial, you have learned that you can enter simple URLs intothis field and KeePass will open the browser window for you. However, the URL fieldcan do more! It actually supports many different protocols (not just http)and supports executingWindows command lines through the cmd:// virtual protocol. Thefield also features a powerful substitution engine, replacing codesby other fields (user name, password, ...) of this entry.

Command Line Parameters: You can open .kdb(x) files bypassing the file name to the KeePass executable file. However, did you know that you canalso send the password for the database and key file location over the command line?You can also use the command line to preselect a key file for you.

Plugins (1.x, 2.x):KeePass features a powerful plugin architecture.If you miss some functionality, have a look at the plugins page to see if thereare other people that have already written plugins for this. Many plugins existto import/export data from/to other file formats.