New Product Request: 1Password for Linux [In Progress]

woodyk

+1

amjames2

Got the newsletter today, lots of great stuff coming from the 1password development team. Except the one thing they need in the worst way. A native Linux client. Its a shame that your priorities are out of wack

jakobn

1Password for teams looks great, but without a native Linux client I'm not sure we can go for it.

I guess what I'm saying is:

+1 for Linux client.

keithpitty

Another +1 for a Linux client. We have five members in our dev team, two of whom use Linux. If there was a Linux client, I'm confident that we'd sign up for 1Password for Teams.

With so much interest in a Linux client, I wonder what's holding Agilebits back. Any news?

lcorsini

+1 for the linux client, but I think you could try a different approach
Why not start with a simple helper for the 1P browser extension, that is able to access a local 1P vault file?
For me that would be enough atm moment, I can manage my passwords from my mac, one of my PCs or my android phone or my ipad (that depends on how much money I want to shell out :P) but I need to at least read and save from everywhere.
You already have 1passwordanywhere, the missing link is accessing it from browser, or the command line (an awesome feature would be CLI access to secure notes which could contain ssh keys)
ATM moment lastpass has this, even a CLI application ( https://github.com/lastpass/lastpass-cli) but it's UI is awful, that's why I decided to return to 1P, but I have to admin that linux support is a missing feature for me

PS
in the meantime an interesting idea could be packaging 1P with wine for redhat and debian based distros (I use centos, so I need RPM) for example Teamviewer did that for their version 11

PPS
@brenty about 1password for teams
what will be the pricing? any chance to have a slimmed down version for single users as a backend for syncing different platforms(in addition to sync methods already in place)? (maybe using a second factor auth like yubikey and/or fingerprint reader for added security)

Ben

Thanks for the additional votes, and feedback, folks.

With regard to 1Password for Teams:

what will be the pricing?

We have not announced pricing yet. During the beta period there is no charge for 1Password for Teams.

epiclyepicethan1

+1 for a native client! I use 1Password daily on macbook and iphone, but my main rig runs linux, so i have to use the dropbox web version, thats still somewhat lacking compared to a full desktop client.

Ben

Understood, and agreed. :)

SnoFox

Dear AgileBits team,

I'm extremely disappointed that we've gone five years and 25 pages of posts requesting a Linux build. I know that both myself and my company would be happy to purchase copies of 1Password for Linux, yet there is not so much as an inch of progress on this or even a Chrome App (which runs anywhere Chrome does).

As someone who has been using 1Password for about a year on my Mac and Windows machines, it is infuriating for me to be locked to an Operating System that none of my coworkers use because I picked 1Password as my primary password store. I keep attempting to work on my Linux desktops, and find myself blocked due to not knowing the password to anything. I don't believe I can even say WINE is a good solution, as it's unsupported and with scattered reports of brokenness; I don't even want to try.

It is understood that telling Linux users to try 1Password Anywhere is a joke; the read-only view of my password manager is not helpful on a desktop, the primary device used for signing up for services. The web-only view is also slow and very clunky to grab data out of, should it even work.

I feel like a company that can offer great iOS, Android, Mac, and two Windows versions of their software should be able to at least recommend something for read/write access to their own format on Linux. I don't even care if it's terminal only; as long as I can read, write, and copy the fields to my browser and terminals.

What will it take to get a solid answer between "No, we're never going to do this," and "We kinda wanna do this, but not that badly". The lack of Linux information is insulting to sysadmins and Linux users overall. Do you really want to condemn a large portion a place like Silicon Valley to KeyPass and LastPass?

A bitter fan and upset sysadmin,

• Josh

SnoFox

(PS: No, a cloud-sync service like 1Password for Teams does not help me out in this case.)

AGAlumB

I'm extremely disappointed that we've gone five years and 25 pages of posts requesting a Linux build.

@SnoFox: I understand that you're disappointed that we haven't released a native Linux version of 1Password, but keep in mind that the length of this thread doesn't make the argument you're saying it does: even if we're able to sell one license for every post here (and many of them are from AgileBits staff and other repeat posters), that's still only triple digit sales, and wouldn't do much to cover development and support costs for an new platform. Are there more people who'd be interested? Probably. But I think it's safe to say that neither of us is in a position to know for certain, so I think it's best to avoid jumping to conclusions.

I know that both myself and my company would be happy to purchase copies of 1Password for Linux, yet there is not so much as an inch of progress on this or even a Chrome App (which runs anywhere Chrome does).

You really don't know. If and when there is a 1Password for Linux, it will just be available one day. We don't discuss future plans publicly, as things often change.

I feel like a company that can offer great iOS, Android, Mac, and two Windows versions of their software should be able to at least recommend something for read/write access to their own format on Linux. I don't even care if it's terminal only; as long as I can read, write, and copy the fields to my browser and terminals.

We don't have the resources to do that right now, no matter how much we might want to. It isn't a foregone conclusion that "1Password for Linux" would be awesome. If we don't put the blood and sweat into it that necessary to achieve that, it would, quite frankly, suck. That's why we haven't done so. And that's why 1Password is great on so many other platforms: we've continued to focus and invest our resources on each.

As someone who has been using 1Password for about a year on my Mac and Windows machines, it is infuriating for me to be locked to an Operating System that none of my coworkers use because I picked 1Password as my primary password store. I keep attempting to work on my Linux desktops, and find myself blocked due to not knowing the password to anything. I don't believe I can even say WINE is a good solution, as it's unsupported and with scattered reports of brokenness; I don't even want to try.
It is understood that telling Linux users to try 1Password Anywhere is a joke; the read-only view of my password manager is not helpful on a desktop, the primary device used for signing up for services. The web-only view is also slow and very clunky to grab data out of, should it even work.
(PS: No, a cloud-sync service like 1Password for Teams does not help me out in this case.)

That's fine! WINE, 1Password for Teams, and 1PasswordAnywhere aren't meant as 'Linux solutions'; they're simply available options that you can use if you find them useful to you. And if you don't, well...then don't! If we hadn't developed them, you'd have fewer options, but it almost sounds like you resent their existence. In a world with no 1Password, you would be in the exact same position in regards to Linux: no 1Password. And I'm grateful to have 1Password somewhere as opposed to having 1Password nowhere.

Similarly, I don't think it's fair to accuse AgileBits as a company or 1Password for Mac and Windows of 'locking' you out of something on another platform. That's like expecting a Win32 app to do something for you on Mac OS 9. Having great functionality in one place only guarantees you'll have access to it there; it doesn't make it universal, although maybe someday everything will be ubiquitous — truly write once, run everywhere. Java had its chance. For now, in order to make truly awesome software, it needs to be developed natively for each platform, and we aren't able to tackle a new one.

What will it take to get a solid answer between "No, we're never going to do this," and "We kinda wanna do this, but not that badly". The lack of Linux information is insulting to sysadmins and Linux users overall. Do you really want to condemn a large portion a place like Silicon Valley to KeyPass and LastPass?

A 'lack of information' on a product which isn't available is definitely not an insult, although I supposed you're entitled to take offense wherever you choose. But this would be like getting angry at Apple for not telling us about the Apple Car or Apple TV Set: it would be a little deranged to get people's hopes up prematurely for something that may be a long way off, or to talk about something that may never see the light of day.

I understand that you really love 1Password, and therefore it frustrates you to not have access to it wherever you want. You depend on 1Password, and that's definitely something we have in common: when I need to grab something quick and don't have a device in hand, I grit my teeth a bit. And for that reason AgileBits will never release a Linux version of 1Password unless we're able to put the time and energy into it needed to make it as awesome as you and I would both expect it to be. I'm sorry to say that today is not that day. But would you really prefer that we rule it out completely if we're not able to do it right now? Even if you do, I suspect there are some people who might feel differently. So we'll stick with "not now".

lcorsini

@brenty 2 things first:
1) It's great to talk directly with someone that is involved in developing 1P
2) I understand the point you are making.
But I don't know if it's the correct approach, as I said, I understand that you don't have resource to dedicate to linux right now, but you could dedicate a little bit of love to 1Panywhere, and maybe publish a solid API to interface with it and let the developer community do what knows best.
Frankly I'm facing a lot of challenges getting back to 1P (I'm publishing something to the forum about that later) because of syncing and using different platform, and I think that 1Pa approach could be a solution also for unsupported platforms

AGAlumB

@brenty 2 things first:
1) It's great to talk directly with someone that is involved in developing 1P

@lcorsini: Likewise, it's amazing to get to hear feedback directly from the community. We're still small enough that we don't have middle management wedged in every opening. ;)

2) I understand the point you are making.
But I don't know if it's the correct approach, as I said, I understand that you don't have resource to dedicate to linux right now, but you could dedicate a little bit of love to 1Panywhere, and maybe publish a solid API to interface with it and let the developer community do what knows best.

The great thing is that there generally isn't a 'correct' approach. Development is pretty fluid, and what works in one time or place (/cough 1PasswordAnywhere) isn't necessarily the best solution for all and forever. There's a lot more to 1Password for Teams than the web interface, but the web interface is itself an evolution of 1PasswordAnywhere, and that's the direction we're going. It's already far more advanced, and we're just getting started.

Frankly I'm facing a lot of challenges getting back to 1P (I'm publishing something to the forum about that later) because of syncing and using different platform, and I think that 1Pa approach could be a solution also for unsupported platforms

I'd definitely appreciate hearing more about your own challenges — although it does sound like a separate discussion. It really helps us to see things from a different perspective. That said, from your description (so far, at least) it sounds like 1Password for Teams might be of interest to you, as far as accessing your data on 'unsupported platforms'. Check it out. It's free in beta, you may find something you like there, and if you do you can help hope what it becomes in the future so it can be even more useful to you. :)

lcorsini

@brenty yes my problem is more about using 1P on different platforms, that's why I've wrote about it here: https://discussions.agilebits.com/discussion/52442/trouble-in-syncing-paradise#latest

I've left 1p for team out of that post mainly because I haven't used it and it's still in development, but I'll surely try it.

AGAlumB

Thank you! Understood. Looking forward to the parallel discussion. :chuffed:

mjarvis

I'm on the fence on whether or not to purchase your app. It looks great, and I'm sure it would work fine with my MacBook and my Android smart phone. However, I also use Ubuntu Linux desktop, and your proposed solution of running it within Wine is not acceptable to me. Emulating a crappy Microsoft OS is NOT a satisfactory solution for me.

I saw that there's an open-source effort on Icculus, but obviously I'd prefer something "official" if I'm going to pay $49.99 for a Mac application, along with an additional fee for Android support.

---

1Password Version: Not Provided
Extension Version: Not Provided
OS Version: Not Provided
Sync Type: Not Provided
Referrer: kb-search:linux, kb:1password-in-wine

hawkmoth

@mjarvis - I assume you have found the thread in the Lounge section of the forum where this discussion, dare I say argument, has been continuing since 2010. If not, have a look here.

But for the moment, it seems Wine is your only choice for Linux. And I've been hanging around this forum long enough to know that AgileBits doesn't discuss its future plans or give timelines for the implementation of new features. I'm sure you will get an official response to your post, which I cannot provide.

littlebobbytables

Greetings @mjarvis,

I've merged your post with our thread on Linux given how linked they are.

While we do have instructions on how to use Wine with 1Password to run on linux it's not something we shout about, it's more for those that really want/need to. We aren't saying no but I certainly can't promise anything that you factor into your decision. We want everybody to be happy with their password manager of choice. Obviously we would love it if that's 1Password but it won't be the perfect fit for everybody. If Linux support is a must have it may be 1Password isn't the best fit for you. I don't know what the future will bring in this regard but the happiest path is if you don't base your decision on what might be but instead what is definitely true right now.

mjarvis

Thank you, @hawkmoth and @littlebobbytables for the reply. After reading this thread, I think I will pass on purchasing the app. Linux support is a rather important feature for me, and I can simply continue using PasswordSafe. The PasswordSafe code is open source, and there are lots of clones and ports available, including multiple Linux options. I have seen 1Password used by one of my Apple fan-boy friends, and it IS slick, but in my case, the pros do not outweigh the cons. That's just my opinion, of course. I like my MacBook Pro, but to me, OS X is just another nice (albeit expensive) UNIX desktop. :)

Actually, I completely understand why AgileBits hasn't implemented Linux support in 1Password. I work as a professional software developer myself, and any commercial software company has to focus their energy on where it makes sense adding value to the bottom line. Unfortunately, the Linux desktop is a bit of a niche market, although Linux dominates the server software market, and I suspect there just isn't enough market demand to make it a profitable effort. I mentioned earlier that I found an open-source attempt at a 1Password Linux client, but it hasn't been modified in two years, and appears to have been abandoned. I was unable to turn up anything else, which just reinforces the lack of demand.

That being said, I suspect that porting the 1Password to Linux would be relatively quick and easy, if you had the right people working on it. However, it's not profitable enough for AgileBits to do so, and it's not compelling enough for me to pay the $$$ for the product and then spend hours and hours of my free time reverse-engineering the functionality, even assuming that it would be legal for me to do so in your EULA.

Sorry to ramble on...I just thought you'd appreciate hearing from someone that's disappointed but understanding about the situation. :)

littlebobbytables

Hello @mjarvis,

You've reached out to us with your needs but also with a very balanced view. I can happily chat to people like your good self all day although I suppose I ought to make sure I get some work done too :lol:

You raise several good points which of course by itself probably saddens you that you can see why it isn't a resounding "yes, we'll build for linux!". That's just now of course and genuinely who knows what the future may bring. I believe Apple opened up Swift and should 1Password ever move completely over could it be possible that it would make porting easy? I don't know the answer but it's a question that teases with possibilities. We're also working on 1Password for Teams where one of the already existing features is you can access your vaults via a web interface. Of course Teams won't be for everybody but for those that like the idea does it mean possibilities in lieu of a dedicated client for their platform?

This is the future though and I do stand by what I said earlier. Your decision needs to be based on what it can do for you now as if you've been in the game for long enough I'm sure you've been burnt or know somebody that has by vendor promises. We want to try and avoid that kind of mess. It's much nicer if you can find an application or service that works for you now and then anything else they do going forward is merely added bonuses.

Sadly it's probably not the first time you've hit a situation like this - being a linux fan is not easy sometimes.

mjarvis

Yes, @littlebobbytables , this is NOT the first time I've hit a situation like this. I've had my MacBook Pro for only a few months, and I bought it only because of the lack of Linux desktop support for some critical business applications such as Microsoft Office. My choices were either Mac or Windows, and I loathe Windows with a passion. This is my first Mac, and so far I like it. It really IS just a very slick and polished UNIX desktop OS.

Of course, I've used Linux as a desktop at home for many years, and I work as a professional Linux software developer, working primarily on low-level network applications written in C and/or C++. I still have several computers running Linux as a desktop, which is my problem.

I did see the announcement about Swift, but I haven't done any experimentation with the language yet. However, it sounds interesting, and I'm intrigued by the idea of a language that claims to offer both "garbage collected" memory management AND performance suitable for systems programming.

Back to 1Password, I think it would be nice if AgileBits could open up just a portion of the product, such as the encryption and data format, essentially exposing an API for interacting with the data. It would permit things like an open-source Linux client, plus open-sourcing your encryption code (AND licensing it with something like GPL) means that it has to stay open, and permits peer review for security. Granted, you'd need to architect your product in such a way that you could still turn a profit and prevent people from just making money off of clones. Cisco does a good job of this, by open-sourcing Snort, but licensing the rules. There are people who can and do make a living implementing Snort (among other security tools) for a living, but they can't take the Snort code, add some features, and then re-sell it. They have to sell it as a service, and the REAL value is in the rule sets anyway.

I'm not sure how you'd address that issue with your product, but in theory it would be nice. ☺

AGAlumB

Back to 1Password, I think it would be nice if AgileBits could open up just a portion of the product, such as the encryption and data format, essentially exposing an API for interacting with the data.

@mjarvis: In fact, our data formats are public, as illustrated in this old blog post, which of course is the reason that things like the Linux implementation you mentioned and 3rd party browser extensions exist. You can find updated documentation in our knowledgebase:

OPVault Design

AgileKeychain Design

But of course we haven't open-sourced our code for some of the reasons you'd expect. What Cisco has done is interesting though.

I also wanted to say that I still hope we can do something for Linux someday, but we really do have bigger fish to fry at the moment. More to the point, each forum category is teeming with users of our current products demanding great things of us — and rightly so! We'd be negligent if we simply took their money and let the existing software stagnate. And if and when we turn our attention to Linux, it will be because we have the bandwidth to make great software there too without skimping on the rest. Thanks so much for your passion and honestly. I hope we'll be able to give you and the rest of our Linux fans a "yes" someday! :)

JohnHeroHD

+1 for a native Linux client!

Just signed up to add my vote.

I must admit I am using it at work and at home (both Ubuntu installs) with wine and I am running a script to autostart the helper when the system starts, so it does work pretty OK (without the autostarter script for the helper it was terrible because you had to restart it manually every time in the client in order for the browser extention to work...).

It is a bit buggy and laggy, however, at this moment I like it more than LastPass, the program I used to use and all the other software I have tried before.

niemalsnever

@JohnHeroHD Would you be so kind and share that script? (If it's not allowed here, maybe pastebin.com. I'd be very interested in such a script, because starting 1PW and then going to Help->Restart 1Password Helper is a PITA.

Cheers,
niemalsnever

JohnHeroHD

@niemalsnever

Yes, of course! I just wrote a blog post on how to do this. It was driving me nuts in the beginning, I hope it will help you out. And any other people looking for a solution.

http://www.johnherohd.com/1password-on-ubuntu-automatically-start-the-helper/

niemalsnever

@JohnHeroHD

Thanks a lot, it works perfectly.

AGAlumB

@JohnHeroHD: Very cool! Thanks for sharing that! :chuffed:

RickemParis

+1 for a linux version!!!

AGAlumB

Thanks for letting us know you'd like us to develop a native Linux app as well! :)

kyoshiro

1password is great!

+1 for a native linux version!

would make 1password even greater! :)