How to Use Buttercup Password Manager on Windows

There are quite a few useful password managers for Windows. However, a lot of them are paid apps. If you’re an advanced Windows user and you’d like a password manager that is open and respects your privacy, Buttercup is for you.

This guide will show you how to get Buttercup working on Windows and how to use it to manage your passwords. Here’s how to get it working on your system.

How to install Buttercup on your Windows system

Before you can use the Buttercup application on your Windows PC to manage your passwords, it must be installed. To install it, head over to its official website. Once you are there, scroll down and locate “Buttercup for Desktop.”

When you’ve found “Buttercup for Desktop,” select the green Windows icon with the mouse. Selecting this button will begin the Buttercup installer EXE download. This download should be quick, as the file is only about 50 MB.

Once the Buttercup installer EXE is done downloading, open up the Windows Explorer app, and select the “Downloads” button. Then, double-click on the Buttercup installer EXE.

After double-clicking on the Buttercup installer EXE, the Windows “User Account Control” pop-up will appear. Select the “Yes” button to allow the installer to run as administrator.

The installation tool will allow Buttercup to install it onto your computer automatically. There’s no need to interfere with the installer or anything. Once the process is complete, the Buttercup installer will create a desktop shortcut on the desktop.

Brew installation

If you’re an advanced Windows user, you can install the Buttercup password manager on your system using the Brew tool. First, ensure you have Brew set up on your Windows computer (via Windows Subsystem for Linux).

Assuming you’ve already set Brew up on your system, you can quickly get the Buttercup password manager for the desktop using the following brew install command.

brew install --cask buttercup

How to set up your passwords in Buttercup on Windows

Now that the Buttercup application is installed on your Windows PC, you can use it. Follow the step-by-step instructions below to set up your passwords on Buttercup.

Find the Buttercup icon on the Windows desktop and double-click on it to launch the app. Once it is open, you’ll see “A Fresh Start,” followed by “No vaults have been added yet..”. Next, select the “Add Vault” button.
When you click the “Add Vault” button, a pop-up window will appear on the screen. This screen shows will ask you to choose a type of password vault. Choose the “File” option to create a local password database.
Upon selecting the “File” option, you’ll see “Do you wish to create a new vault or read an existing one?” Select the “Create New” button in Buttercup.
After selecting the “Create New” button, a Windows Explorer window will appear on the screen. In the “File name” box, write in “passwords,” and click the “Create” button.
Once you’ve selected the “Create” button, the Buttercup application will prompt you to add a new Vault password. Enter a secure and memorable Vault password. If you have issues coming up with a good password, use the StrongPasswordGenerator tool to create one.
After entering your vault password, select the “Add Vault” button to add your newly created vault to the Buttercup Desktop app on Windows.

With your vault added, Buttercup password manager is ready to use to manage your passwords on your Windows PC.

How to add passwords to Buttercup in Windows

Follow the steps below to add passwords to Buttercup on your Windows PC.

Open up the Buttercup app by double-clicking on the shortcut on the desktop. Then, enter your vault password to log into your password vault.
Find the “General” folder, and select it with the mouse.
After selecting “General,” find the “New Entry” button and click on the button to the right of it. Finally, select the “Website” option.
Once you’ve selected the “Website” option, you can enter your username and password, the website’s name in “Title,” and the website URL in the “URL” box. When done, click the “Save” button to add the login to your vault.

Repeat steps 1-4 to add as many logins as you wish to your Buttercup Desktop Windows app. Alternatively, select the “Import” option in the “Current Vault” menu to import passwords from an existing password manager.

How to use your saved passwords in Buttercup

To use a saved password in the Buttercup Desktop app in Windows, do the following. First, select the “General” folder with the mouse. Then, locate your login, and highlight the password.

After highlighting the password, click on the clipboard icon to copy the password to your clipboard. You can then use the password to log in.