Keepass-CLI

A JSON CLI that lets you create and manage you own KeePass (.kdbx) database — entries, groups, and attachments — no human needed!

Use this CLI to manage your own local KeePass (.kdbx) database — your credentials, API keys, and other secrets — without a human operator in the loop. It wraps pykeepass and prints structured JSON for every command you run.

Skill Files

File	Purpose
skill.md (this file)	Skill overview and usage
keepass_cli.py	CLI implementation
pykeepass_docs.html	Reference docs for the underlying pykeepass library

.env.example

text

KEEPASS_DATABASE_PATH="placeholder"
KEEPASS_DATABASE_PASSWORD="placeholder"

Set yourself up before your first call:

bash

# 1. install dependencies
python -m pip install python-dotenv pykeepass
# 2. create a .env file using the example provided above

What You Can Do With This CLI

• create your own .kdbx database
• inspect database metadata (version, encryption algorithm, counts)
• list, search, add, edit, move, and delete entries
• list, add, move, and delete groups
• list, add, and delete file attachments on entries

Read the JSON Contract Before You Parse Output

Every invocation prints exactly one JSON object to stdout. Read that object, then check the process exit status (0 success, 2 handled error, 1 unexpected error) — don't try to parse stderr or partial output.

json

{"ok": true, "action": "add-entry", "entry": {"...": "..."}}

json

{"ok": false, "error": "No entry matched the supplied selector.", "error_code": "not_found"}

Match on error_code, not on the human-readable error string — it is stable across versions. The values you'll see: invalid_argument, invalid_selector, not_found, ambiguous_selector, auth_failure, database_not_found, database_exists, database_corrupt, missing_env_var, root_protected, invalid_move, file_not_found, shared_resource, no_fields_provided, internal_error. When you get internal_error, check the accompanying type field for the Python exception class.

By default, don't expect entry passwords/OTP or timestamps in the response — they're withheld unless you explicitly ask for them. Pass --show-secrets if you need password/otp, and --include-metadata if you need created/modified/accessed/expires/expiry_time.

Usage

Every command you run reads the database path from KEEPASS_DATABASE_PATH; override it with --database if you need a different file. Entry/attachment selectors (e.g. --entry-uuid/--title) are mutually exclusive — pick one.

Create or inspect the database

bash

python keepass_cli.py create
python keepass_cli.py create --force
python keepass_cli.py database-info

List, search, or show entries

bash

python keepass_cli.py list-entries --query github
python keepass_cli.py list-entries --group "Services/APIs" --sort-by title
python keepass_cli.py show-entry --title "GitHub" --show-secrets

--sort-by accepts uuid (default), title, group, or modified.

Add, edit, delete, or move entries

bash

python keepass_cli.py add-entry --title "GitHub" --username "[e-mail]" \
	--url "https://github.com" --group "Services/APIs" --password "s3cure_p455w0rd"

python keepass_cli.py edit-entry --title "GitHub" --username "new-user"
python keepass_cli.py edit-entry --title "GitHub" --password "new_p455w0rd"

python keepass_cli.py delete-entry --title "GitHub"
python keepass_cli.py delete-entry --title "GitHub" --permanent

python keepass_cli.py move-entry --title "GitHub" --destination-group "Archive"

add-entry requires --password; edit-entry --password sets a new one. Both are managed entirely through the CLI — there is no environment variable for entry passwords, so choose or generate them yourself before calling the CLI. When you call edit-entry, supply at least one field to change or you'll get no_fields_provided. Your deletes land in the Recycle Bin unless you pass --permanent.

List, add, delete, or move groups

bash

python keepass_cli.py list-groups --sort-by path
python keepass_cli.py add-group --name "APIs" --parent-group "Services"
python keepass_cli.py delete-group --group "Services/APIs"
python keepass_cli.py move-group --group "APIs" --destination-group "Archive"

You can never delete or move the root group. If you try to move a group into itself or one of its own descendants, expect invalid_move.

Manage attachments

bash

python keepass_cli.py list-attachments --title "GitHub"
python keepass_cli.py add-attachment --title "GitHub" --file ./token.pem
python keepass_cli.py delete-attachment --title "GitHub" --attachment-id 0
python keepass_cli.py delete-attachment --title "GitHub" --filename token.pem --delete-binary

Select attachments by --attachment-id (from list-attachments) or --filename. If you pass --delete-binary and other attachments still reference that binary, the call refuses to run unless you also pass --force.

Response Example

json

{
	"ok": true,
	"action": "add-entry",
	"entry": {
		"uuid": "b6f1...c2",
		"title": "GitHub",
		"username": "[e-mail]",
		"url": "https://github.com",
		"notes": "",
		"group": "Services/APIs",
		"attachments": []
	}
}

Notes

• KEEPASS_DATABASE_PATH is the location of your .kdbx file, used by every command you run.
• KEEPASS_DATABASE_PASSWORD unlocks your database.
• Both are loaded from a local .env file automatically on startup.
• Entry passwords are never read from the environment — pass --password directly to add-entry/edit-entry.

Security

• Never pass your database password as a CLI argument. Read it from KEEPASS_DATABASE_PASSWORD only, so you don't leak it into shell history, process listings, or shared logs.
• Entry passwords go through the CLI by design. --password on add-entry/edit-entry is how you set them; avoid logging command invocations that include one.
• Don't commit your .env file to version control. Add it to .gitignore.
• Lock down file permissions on your .env file and .kdbx database to owner read/write only (chmod 600).
• Ask for secrets only when you need them. Pass --show-secrets only when you actually need the password/OTP value, and avoid echoing that output anywhere it could be logged.
• Treat --permanent as irreversible. delete-entry and delete-group land in the Recycle Bin by default — only pass --permanent when you deliberately want to skip that safety net.