Passbolt — The Complete Guide: Encrypted Team Password Sharing on Your Own Office Server
Passbolt is built for sharing passwords within a team. You install the server on Linux or in Docker, and staff connect through a browser extension, a desktop app or mobile. Community Edition is open source under AGPL-3.0, free for commercial use too, with no user limit.
Passbolt Community Edition
Passbolt SA
Team password manager you install on your own office server, with encrypted sharing by user and group and no user limit.
Get it from the vendorWhat you get
- Per-user encryption — each password is OpenPGP-encrypted only for those allowed to see it.
- Group sharing — permissions by team, project or department.
- Folders and tags — order among supplier accounts, servers and project portals.
- Browser extension and mobile — autofill of sign-in details.
- Your data stays with you — the server and backups are under the office’s control.
Who it suits
A design office that shares passwords for supplier accounts, permit systems and client portals between engineers and wants to stop sending them by email. You need a server and basic maintenance and backup skills; support is community-only, and SSO, LDAP sync and the activity log are in the paid Pro edition. Security tip: back up the server key and the database together, somewhere separate from the server, and test a restore at least once.
Related tools
For a cloud password manager with no server to maintain — Bitwarden. For a personal local vault in a file — KeePassXC. For two-factor codes for each employee — Ente Auth.
Bitwarden
Bitwarden Inc.
Open-source password manager with end-to-end encrypted sync; the free plan has unlimited passwords and devices.
Get it from the vendor
KeePassXC
KeePassXC team
Local encrypted password manager — passwords for portals, software licences and equipment in one file you control.
Get it from the vendor
Ente Auth
Ente Technologies
Open-source two-factor (2FA) code generator with encrypted backup and sync, and apps for desktop and browser as well.
Get it from the vendor
Proton Pass
Proton AG
End-to-end encrypted password manager from Switzerland’s Proton, with email aliases that hide your real address.
Get it from the vendorThe bottom line
The cleanest free way to share passwords in a team without an outside cloud, provided someone is there to maintain the server.