Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

1password is considering a self-hosted option to store vaults

1password.community

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

71–80 of 228 posts

Re: 1password is considering a self-hosted option to store vaults

#71

Post by xoa »

krull10 wrote: post #52
xoa wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FWIW, though it's hard to find nowadays AFAIK the standalone license is still offered and I still use mine with the latest version. You can use unlimited local vaults and network sync them via Dropbox (or a janky WiFi thing). The local sync hasn't gotten any TLC in a while but it works same as always without any limits.

And this whole discussion is because they’ve announced that will be dropped with version 8. No more standalone licenses, local vaults or syncing via Dropbox/iCloud. Even this (potential) “self-hosted” option sounds ridiculous; users are going to have to run a version of their cloud server locally and use that for syncing instead of just having a vault they can sync locally or through the service of their choice.

Yeah, I just noticed that though too late to edit my post to note it :(. Sounds like they plan to nuke the native Mac application, the core original value proposition, in favor of some cross platform Electron thing as well. Oh well, it had a good run, but the business incentives are pretty inexorable forces I guess when they're aiming for a multi-billion valuation cash out.

Although devil's advocate:

>users are going to have to run a version of their cloud server locally and use that for syncing instead of just having a vault they can sync locally or through the service of their choice.

I don't see that as inherently ridiculous if it genuinely was a full standalone version with no internet dependencies. Lots of local software going back ages and ages in Unix splits up "server" and "client" sides of things and it can be a sensible architecture in some instances and does not by itself mean anything bad. Like, I don't see what your issue would be vs "sync locally", if it's all under your control, potentially on the same system even, how would that not be merely another way to sync locally just a different implementation? And I don't see the value of "a service of my choice" vs literally just being able to run it as my own service. "Service of my choice" should mean who provides the VPS or colo or whatever, or what VPN I use to access my own local server. A true self-host eliminates the need for Dropbox or iCloud which is fine by me.

Of course this being modern AgileBits I kind of expect a fairly large number of asterisks here that neuter it in practice. But then again that they are even asking at all is something I wouldn't have predicted, I guessed they'd eventually attempt to full force everyone into their subscription model and that would be the end of my 1P upgrades/usage. Maybe it will be anyway if the application starts sucking even harder moving forward, but local host on a normal pay model could change my mind.

Re: 1password is considering a self-hosted option to store vaults

#72

Post by cosmojg »

featdd wrote: post #6

When I was evaluating which password manager to use I instantly favoroud 1password, but not having the possibility to self host my data was non-negotiable for me. I will definitely stay up to date whether this really comes or not.

Have you heard of Bitwarden/Vaultwarden? It facilitates exactly what you want.

Re: 1password is considering a self-hosted option to store vaults

#73

Post by PragmaticPulp »

notafraudster wrote: post #64

I used 1password for about ten years. Every interaction I had with the developers was pretty hostile. Even if they encouraged self-hosting and version-based upgrading instead of a SaaS, I'd still stick with a competitor. At this point I'm irrationally bothered by the fact that it's a 100+ staff company just to make a product that's no better than it was when they had 10 staff and is now more expensive.

> At this point I'm irrationally bothered by the fact that it's a 100+ staff company just to make a product that's no better than it was when they had 10 staff and is now more expensive.

Supporting more customers and larger scale is inherently more expensive, but I still don’t understand how the product feels like it peaked about 5 years ago and has been treading water ever since.

I don’t mind paying $50 or even $100 for a good password manager that I could rely on for several years. However, it feels like these moves toward subscription software are aimed at extracting $300 or more from me for the same time period, all while failing to provide a decently updated experience.

I do routinely pay $150/year or more for other software packages like JetBrains IDEs, but those are constantly updated. With 1Password it feels like the move to subscription was a step backwards in features with a huge step up in long term price. No thanks.

Re: 1password is considering a self-hosted option to store vaults

#76

Post by runlevel1 »

pscoutou wrote: post #33
AnonC wrote: post #13

They made the standalone license almost impossible to find and get, forced a subscription on users, and made the password vault storage online for the subscriptions. Now this self-hosting survey comes as a surprise, and it would be of some relief if/when it’s implemented. I do wonder how the licensing and pricing will be handled though. Bitwarden officially allows self-hosting for the personal use tiers, but it seems…

> They made the standalone license almost impossible to find and get, forced a subscription on users, and made the password vault storage online for the subscriptions. 1Password recently raised $100 million at a $2 billion valuation. Looks like they're going down the Dropbox path. Shame as 1Password used to be one of my favorite apps.

Hidden for now, gone in the next release.

Source: https://1password.community/discussion/115018/support-for-lo...

Re: 1password is considering a self-hosted option to store vaults

#77

Post by ceocoder »

celeritascelery wrote: post #75

I always assumed that they didn’t have the keys to unlock my vault, so even if something was compromised it is all encrypted with no way for them to access it. What is the advantage of self hosting?

Not having to rely at all on someone else’s infrastructure- including ssl certs. Not worrying about credit card expiring or any pivots in business.

Re: 1password is considering a self-hosted option to store vaults

#78

Post by bruckie »

j1elo wrote: post #62
fy20 wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do this, works perfectly for sharing common passwords among my family (streaming services and utilities mainly). I moved from 1Password, and my main gripe with Bitwarden are the apps aren't as polished. If it's not too expensive I'd consider switching back (1Password family is $60 per year, so I assume this will be less).

I'm paying for a Bitwarden subscription because I want to support their product and their vision. But I don't know, time passes and some much needed improvements don't seem to arrive. The most glaring issue (for me, anyway; I fully understand I'm just a sample size of 1!) they have is relying on the pop-up UI of the browser, which I guess is stateless (state is lost when the popup closes, it seems?). The decision of…

Tavis Ormandy (of Google Project Zero) has a pretty convincing post arguing that relying on browser extensions that modify the DOM (which includes [almost?] all password managers) is a bad idea: https://lock.cmpxchg8b.com/passmgrs.html

(he recommends using your browser's built-in password manager, which isn't as convenient but is much more secure)

Re: 1password is considering a self-hosted option to store vaults

#79

Post by hanklazard »

gizdan wrote: post #70
hanklazard wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I self-host Bitwarden_rs and use the client apps on Windows, Linux, and MacOS. To me, the UI seems very usable, polished and attractive. It doesn’t seem that different from 1Password, which I switched from a few years ago. What exactly about the UI needs improvement?

Personally the UI itself is fine. The UX on the other hand not so much. - Firefox Extension doesn't work fully in a private window in Firefox. - Extension loses data when you click away from it. - Extension is hard to navigate using keyboard - e.g. there is no way to copy specific username/password/otp code. There is lots more issues.

Good to know, extensions always feel like the weak link in password manager security (again, not a developer so happy to be proven wrong here) so I don't use them. I always just copy out of the desktop app (Ctrl + P), still a really fast keyboard-only workflow once you get used to it.

Re: 1password is considering a self-hosted option to store vaults

#80

Post by gumby »

microtonal wrote: post #5

Semi-related: this survey was announced alongside 1Password 8 for Windows early access. Apparently 1Password 8 for Windows uses Electron and there was some discussion about AgileBits wanting to move to the same architecture on all platforms. Does anyone know if 1Password 8 on macOS will also be an Electron app? Their Linux Electron app is pretty good and definitely much better than having no 1Password at all. However…

One reason I use 1Password is because it’s a native app. Electron apps never have the affordances of the platform, so are frustrating to use whenever you leave the “happy path”. Because it’s so heavily used this would be a reason to leave it.

Separately, Electron is itself a large piece of code and integrating it would increase the attack surface — of a piece of security code! Another good reason to switch if this comes to pass.

Post reply on HN