The KeepassXC snap package now “just works” with web browsers like Firefox, as the latest update gains support for native messaging through secure desktop portals.
KeePassXC is a cross-platform, open-source password manager billed as a ‘community-driven port of the Windows application ‘Keepass Password Safe’”. It’s available on Linux (including CLI) and a snap package has been available since 2017.
Yet, until now users who installed the KeePassXC snap app to make use of browser integration (e.g., auto-fill usernames and passwords on websites they visit, or saving credentials for new accounts they create back to KeePassXC) haven’t been able to easily.
An external script was provided to ‘plug’ the gap but, apart from making the snap a hassle to use compared to the DEB, unvetted scripts carry implications for security, overhead/efficiency, and general tidiness (we all like a nice clean system, right?).
Thankfully, the KeePassXC 2.7.9 update negates the need. It offers out-of-the-box support for browser integration with support for most modern web browsers irrespective of their packaging format (ergo you don’t have to use a snap-based browser).
While the v2.7.9 update landed last September (!) it has taken a veritable age to land in the stable channel—the snap is no longer a priority, the team say—on the the Canonical Snap store for Ubuntu users which is where snap-friendly features matters most!
Still, it’s here now.
If you have the KeePassXC snap installed you will be good to go once the snap updates (usually in the background, silently – but check via App Center > Manage).
KeePassXC browser integration in Ubuntu will auto-enable itself the upgrade. If you have v2.7.9 or later and browser integration doesn’t work you can try adding the new permission manually by running the following command in a Terminal window:
sudo snap connect keepassxc:browser-native-messaging
New installs of KeePassXC should get this permission automatically.
Other changes in KeePassXC 2.7.9:
- Ability to remove a passkey from an entry
- Improved entry placeholder resolution
- Fix password clear timer inconsistency
- Fix page overflow printing HTML export
- Fix SSH Agent broken decrypt button
An important note: KeePassXC developers maintain and update the KeePassXC snap but the store listing states only ‘minimal support’ for snap as a distribution method is provided. Users are encouraged to switch to the official Flatpak which is ‘fully supported’.
I take ‘minimal support’ in this context to mean they won’t provide hand-holding assistance to snap users finding quirks or needing help to troubleshoot any snap-specific issues. They’d rather Ubuntu users use an official build from Flathub, their PPA, or use the AppImage.
The KeepPassXC team maintain a list of known issues with KeePassXC snap which may be worth reading before filling any issues.
Content retrieved from: https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2025/02/keepassxc-snap-update-adds-native-messaging-support-i-e-browser-integration.
