gopass vs Rubywarden
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted password managers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | gopass | Rubywarden |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 91 · Excellent | 11 · At risk |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| Category | Password Managers | Password Managers |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | Go | Ruby |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 32 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | binary, bare-metal, source | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 7,220 | ★ 587 |
| First released | 2017 | 2017 |
| Replaces | 1Password, LastPass | Bitwarden, 1Password |
What are gopass and Rubywarden?
gopass
gopass is a feature-rich command-line password manager written in Go that is compatible with the standard Unix password store. It adds team features, multiple stores and improved tooling.
- pass-compatible encrypted store
- Multiple mounted stores
- Team and per-secret access control
- Browser and editor integrations
Rubywarden
Rubywarden is an unofficial, self-hosted server that implements the Bitwarden API in Ruby, allowing Bitwarden clients to sync against a private backend. It is a lightweight alternative server for personal and small deployments.
- Bitwarden-compatible API
- Works with official clients
- Lightweight Ruby stack
- SQLite storage
gopass vs Rubywarden: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Rubywarden's repository is archived and no longer developed, while gopass is actively maintained. Gopass is written in Go, while Rubywarden is built with Ruby. Gopass is the lighter option, starting around 32 MB of RAM against 128 MB for Rubywarden. Gopass has the considerably larger community, at 7,220 GitHub stars versus 587.
Why pick each one
Choose gopass if…
- Great for teams using git
- Single static binary
Watch out for
- Still command-line focused
Choose Rubywarden if…
- Simple personal deployment
- Compatible with Bitwarden apps
Watch out for
- Explicitly experimental
- Not recommended for large teams
Frequently asked questions
Is gopass or Rubywarden better?
Neither is universally better. gopass has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are gopass and Rubywarden free and open-source?
Yes. gopass is licensed under MIT and Rubywarden under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run gopass and Rubywarden with Docker?
gopass: check the project docs for container support. Rubywarden: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, gopass or Rubywarden?
gopass has the smaller minimum footprint at 32 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for Rubywarden. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.