Command Line Arguments
Invoking Password Safe with no arguments will cause the application to prompt you for the
combination of the last database that was opened, or for the
combination of a new database if none was previously opened on
your machine (e.g., the first time you use Password Safe).
It is, however, possible to modify this by invoking Password Safe as
follows:
- pwsafe database
This will open the specified database file, instead of the last one
opened. If just a filename is
given, without a path, it will be searched for in the directory in which the
application was invoked. Note that if the filename and/or path has
spaces, it should be enclosed in double quotes.
- pwsafe -r [database]
This will open the specified database in read-only mode. If a database is not
specified, then the application will prompt the user for a
database, which will be opened in read-only mode.
- pwsafe -e filename
This will prompt the user for a passphrase, and encrypt the file with a
key derived from the passphrase. Note: The file can
be any file. The encrypted file will have the same
name as the original file, with ".PSF" appended to it.
- pwsafe -d filename
This will prompt the user for a passphrase, and decrypt the file with a
key derived from the passphrase. Note: This will
work only on files that were encrypted by invoking pwsafe with the '-e'
option (see above).
- pwsafe -c
This will start the application closed, that is, with no
database, and without the initial opening dialog (To access a database,
use the File menu).
- pwsafe -s [database]
This will start the application "silently", that is,
minimized and with no database (unless one is specified). When the application
is restored, the user is presented with the opening dialog box (This option
is meant for starting the application upon login, via a shortcut in the user's
Startup folder). Note: This implicitly puts the application in the system tray.
- pwsafe -m
This is the same as the '-c' option, with the
addition that the application is started as minimized.
In addition, the following options are accepted and may be useful if you wish to
share the same preferences across several machines, for example,
when running Password Safe from a disk-on-key.
- -u username
This will cause the application to read and write preferences under the specified
username, instead of under the login name.
- -h hostname
This will cause the application to read and write preferences under the specified
hostname, instead of under the machine's name.
- -g config_file
This will cause the specified file to be used for loading and storing
preferences, instead of the default pwsafe.cfg. If just a filename is
given, without a path, it will be searched for in the directory in which the
application was invoked. Note that if the filename and/or path has
spaces, it should be enclosed in double quotes. This is useful in a
"wrapper" script/batch file on a portable device (e.g., disk-on-key),
setting the config dir as needed. See also the description of
PWS_PREFSDIR in
the Preferences Section.
Finally, there are some special command line flags beginning with "--". They are:
- --novalidate
This will prevent Password Safe validating databases automatically when they are
opened. Some validation is always required e.g. uniqueness of the entry's ID and the
group/title/username combination.
- --testdump
This allows testers to verify the mini-dump production when Password Safe has
a problem to help developers resolve the isssue.
- --cetreeview
A new feature allows two entries to be selected and compared either via the Edit menu or
by right-clicking on either. Selecting more than one entry is natively supported
in the List view but not in the Tree view. This flag enables "Compare Entries"
in the Tree view via an extra dialog to select the "other" entry. Supporting
multiple selction in the Tree view is under development. Once supported,
this flag will be ignored.