Agent skill
pass
Complete guide for using pass, the standard Unix password manager. Use this skill whenever the user asks about pass, password-store, managing passwords from the terminal, GPG-encrypted passwords, setting up pass for the first time, inserting or generating passwords, syncing a password store with git, using pass-otp for TOTP codes, importing passwords from another manager, or any task involving the `pass` CLI. Trigger on phrases like "set up pass", "add a password to pass", "sync my password store", "generate a password", "pass git", "pass-otp", "pass-import", or any variation.
Install this agent skill to your Project
npx add-skill https://github.com/majiayu000/claude-skill-registry/tree/main/skills/other/other/pass
SKILL.md
pass — The Standard Unix Password Manager
Each password is a GPG-encrypted file under ~/.password-store/. The store is
plain files in a folder hierarchy; no proprietary formats, no daemon.
1. Installation
Linux
| Distro | Command |
|---|---|
| Arch / Manjaro | pacman -S pass |
| Debian / Ubuntu | apt install pass |
| Fedora / RHEL | dnf install pass |
| openSUSE | zypper in password-store |
macOS
brew install pass
2. GPG Key Setup
pass requires a GPG key. Skip this block if you already have one.
# Generate a new key (use RSA 4096 or ed25519)
gpg --full-generate-key
# List your keys — note the key ID or email
gpg --list-secret-keys --keyid-format LONG
The key ID looks like 3AA5C34371567BD2 or you can use the email you registered.
3. Initialise the Store
pass init "[email protected]"
# or using the key ID:
pass init 3AA5C34371567BD2
This creates ~/.password-store/ and a .gpg-id file.
Multiple GPG IDs are supported (for team use):
pass init [email protected] [email protected]
Use -p to scope a different GPG key to a subfolder (useful for shared stores):
pass init -p work/ [email protected]
Running pass init on an existing store re-encrypts all entries with the new key(s).
4. Data Organisation Convention
Store each entry as a multiline file with this structure:
<password>
url: https://example.com
username: [email protected]
notes: anything extra
- First line is always the password.
pass -cand clipboard tools only copy line 1. - Use lowercase keys (
url:,username:,notes:) for compatibility with browser extensions andpass-import. - Organise with folders that mirror context, not the URL structure:
~/.password-store/
├── email/
│ ├── gmail
│ └── fastmail
├── dev/
│ ├── github
│ └── npm
└── finance/
├── bank-hsbc
└── revolut
5. Daily Usage
List the store
pass # full tree
pass email/ # subtree
pass ls email/ # explicit alias
Find entries by name
pass find github # lists all entries whose path matches "github"
Read a password
pass email/gmail # print all lines to stdout
pass -c email/gmail # copy line 1 to clipboard (clears after 45s)
pass -c2 email/gmail # copy line 2 (e.g. the username) to clipboard
Search inside decrypted content
pass grep username # grep across all decrypted entries
pass grep -i "amazon" # case-insensitive; accepts any grep option
Insert an existing password
pass insert email/gmail # prompted twice for confirmation
pass insert -e email/gmail # echo password as you type (single prompt)
pass insert -m email/gmail # multiline (recommended, ends with Ctrl-D)
pass insert -f email/gmail # overwrite without prompt
Generate a new password
pass generate email/gmail # 25-char password (default length)
pass generate email/gmail 20 # custom length
pass generate -n email/gmail 20 # no symbols
pass generate -c email/gmail 20 # copy to clipboard instead of printing
pass generate -i email/gmail 20 # replace only line 1, keep rest of file
pass generate -f email/gmail 20 # overwrite without prompt
Edit an entry
pass edit email/gmail # opens $EDITOR; creates entry if it doesn't exist
Remove an entry
pass rm email/gmail
pass rm -r email/ # remove a folder recursively
pass rm -f email/gmail # no confirmation prompt
Move / copy
pass mv email/gmail email/gmail-old
pass mv -f email/gmail email/gmail-old # overwrite without prompt
pass cp email/gmail backup/gmail
pass cp -f email/gmail backup/gmail # overwrite without prompt
6. Git Sync
Initialise git inside the store:
pass git init
pass git remote add origin [email protected]:you/pass-store.git
Every pass insert, generate, edit, rm automatically creates a git
commit. Push and pull manually:
pass git push
pass git pull
To clone the store on another machine:
# Import your GPG key first:
gpg --import private-key.asc
gpg --edit-key [email protected] # then: trust → 5 → quit
# Clone the store:
git clone [email protected]:you/pass-store.git ~/.password-store
7. Extensions
pass-otp (TOTP / 2FA codes)
# Install
pacman -S pass-otp # Arch
brew install pass-otp # macOS
# Add a TOTP secret (use the otpauth:// URI from your provider)
pass otp insert totp/github
# paste: otpauth://totp/GitHub:[email protected]?secret=BASE32SECRET&issuer=GitHub
# Generate a code
pass otp totp/github
# Copy to clipboard
pass otp -c totp/github
pass-import (migrate from another manager)
pip install pass-import # or: pacman -S pass-import
# Import from Bitwarden (JSON export)
pass import bitwarden bitwarden-export.json
# Import from 1Password (1PUX export)
pass import 1password export.1pux
# List all supported formats
pass import --list
pass-update
# Install
git clone https://github.com/roddhjav/pass-update ~/.password-store/.extensions/update.bash
# Update a password interactively
pass update email/gmail
8. Shell Completion
# bash — add to ~/.bashrc
source /usr/share/bash-completion/completions/pass
# zsh — add to ~/.zshrc
autoload -U compinit && compinit
# fish — works out of the box after install
9. Useful Environment Variables
| Variable | Purpose |
|---|---|
PASSWORD_STORE_DIR |
Override default ~/.password-store |
PASSWORD_STORE_KEY |
Default GPG key ID |
PASSWORD_STORE_GIT |
Override git directory |
PASSWORD_STORE_CLIP_TIME |
Seconds before clipboard clears (default 45) |
PASSWORD_STORE_ENABLE_EXTENSIONS |
Set to true to enable user extensions |
EDITOR |
Editor used by pass edit |
10. Troubleshooting
gpg: decryption failed: No secret key
Your GPG key is not available. Import it with gpg --import and set trust.
gpg-agent keeps asking for passphrase
Add to ~/.gnupg/gpg-agent.conf:
default-cache-ttl 3600
max-cache-ttl 14400
Then restart: gpgconf --kill gpg-agent
Clipboard does not clear on Wayland
Install wl-clipboard and set PASSWORD_STORE_CLIP_TOOL=wl-copy or pass -c
with wl-clipboard in PATH.
pass git shows dirty tree after clone
Run pass git status; if only .gpg-id is untracked, run pass git add .
and pass git commit -m "add gpg-id".
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