How to set up 1Password on Linux
For years, 1Password hasn’t paid much attention to the Linux platform. Sure, they’ve made it possible to use the service using the Firefox or Chrome browser extensions, and they even have a useful (albeit confusing) terminal application that users can use to bridge the gap. Still, they’ve never released the official desktop app.
That has changed. As of now, users can install the official 1Password desktop program via the Ubuntu Snap Store or as a downloadable AppImage.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to download the 1Password application and guide you through the initial setup. To get started, ensure you have a 1Password account and follow along below!
Editor’s Note: 1Password is not a free service. It does offer a free trial, but to utilize the software thoroughly, you will need to pay for a subscription. For more information, click here.
Install official 1Password app on Linux
To get started with using the official 1Password application on your Linux PC, you must install the app. To install, open up a terminal window and follow the command-line installation instructions down below.
Snap package
The Snap store is the number one way to get 1Password working on Linux. 1Password developers put the app in the store (although it’s still in development), and they strongly suggest installing it with this method.
If you plan to install the app via a Snap package, you must have the Snap package runtime set up on your computer. To set up the Snap runtime, install the “snapd” package on your computer and enable the snapd.socket service using systemctl enable. Or, if you’re unsure about how to set up Snapd, follow our guide on the subject.
After setting up the Snap runtime on your computer, the installation of the 1Password app can begin. Using the snap install command below, install the latest release of 1Password for the desktop.
sudo snap install --edge 1password
When the snap install command finishes executing, the 1Password app will be set up on your computer. From here, launch the app and continue with the instructions.
AppImage preview
Although the 1Password website doesn’t advertise it, there is an AppImage release of the official desktop app, which can run on any Linux desktop environment and doesn’t require a runtime like Snapd.
To get started with the 1Password AppImage, you must download it. To download it, launch a terminal window and use the wget command to grab the file.
wget https://onepassword.s3.amazonaws.com/linux/appimage/1password-latest.AppImage
After downloading the AppImage file, create a new folder in your home directory with the name of “AppImages.” Using the mkdir -p command, make the new folder.
mkdir -p ~/AppImages
Using the mv command, move the 1Password AppImage file into the new “AppImages” folder. Placing the 1Password AppImage file in the “AppImages” folder will help you remember where the file is.
mv 1password-latest.AppImage ~/AppImages/
Now that the AppImage file is in the AppImages directory, you must update the permissions of the 1Password AppImage so that it can execute as a program. To do that, run the following chmod command.
chmod +x ~/AppImages/1password-latest.AppImage
With the permissions changed, the app is ready to run. To start it up, run the two commands below. Alternatively, open up the Linux file manager, open up the “AppImages” folder, and double-click on “1password-latest.AppImages”.
cd ~/AppImages ./1password-latest.AppImage
Browser extensions
The 1Password app is enough to manage your passwords on Linux, but if you want to be able to fill out passwords in a Linux browser automatically, the app is not enough.
Currently, you can get the 1Password app for Firefox, Chrome, and other Chrome-based browsers such as Chromium, Brave, and Opera.
- To get your hands on the Firefox extension for 1Password, click on this link.
- For Chrome and other Chrome-based browsers on Linux, the link is here.
Once the app is installed, log in to your 1Password account, and you’ll be ready to go!
Setting up 1Password
Setting up 1Password is easy. To start the process, launch the app. Then, follow the step-by-step instructions below.
Step 1: When 1Password is open up on the Linux desktop, you will see a message that says, “Welcome to 1Password!” followed by the login button. Select the “Visit 1Password.com to Sign in” button to log into your account.
Step 2: Once you’ve logged in, you will see the 1Password Account overview. Locate the “New Item” button, and click on it with the mouse. After selecting the “New Item” button, a menu will appear. Select the “Login” button to add a new login.
Step 3: Fill out the login information for the account you want to add to your 1Password password account. Repeat this process till you have all of your passwords filled out and added to the vault.
I just use bitwarden… 100% open source!!! It’s a lot better than 1Password ever thought it was!