The OpenVireo Sync Server keeps a database in sync between your devices. It runs on a server you control (see the openvireo-sync-server project) and only ever stores your encrypted .kdbx file: it never sees your master password and cannot read your entries. Every merge happens in OpenVireo on your devices.
Your database keeps its own master password and key file. To sync with OpenVireo on other computers and with OpenVireo Web without managing a server yourself, see OpenVireo Accounts instead.
Connecting a Database
Open and unlock the database, then open Database → Database Settings… → Remote Sync.
Enter a name for the configuration and set Type to OpenVireo Sync Server.
Enter the Server URL and the Database ID, the name of the database on the server (for example
personal). A new database ID is created on the first upload.Enter an Access token or a pairing code (see Adding Another Device). Access tokens are stored on this device only, in the macOS Keychain, the Windows Credential Manager, or the Secret Service on Linux, and never in the database file. Each device has its own token, so one device can be signed out on the server without affecting the others.
Click Test Connection to check the server, URL, and token.
Turn on Sync automatically to keep the database in sync without doing anything (see Automatic Sync), then click Save next to the name and Save at the bottom of the window.
The configuration is added to the Database → Remote Sync… menu. Select it there to sync at any time.
Adding Another Device
To add another of your devices without asking the server’s admin for a new token, click Pair Device… next to Test Connection on a device that is already connected. It shows an eight-character pairing code that is valid for 10 minutes and can be used once. On the new device, enter the code wherever an access token is asked for, in the Remote Sync settings or the Import Wizard. OpenVireo trades it for the new device’s own token and names the device after the computer.
The server’s admin can also create a pairing code or a token for a user with the server’s command line tool.
Automatic Sync
With Sync automatically turned on, OpenVireo syncs after each save, when the database is unlocked, when your computer comes back online or OpenVireo comes to the front, and every minute while the database is open. When the server announces changes from your other devices, OpenVireo syncs at once and checks every five minutes instead.
Background syncs never interrupt you: they wait while you edit an entry or have unsaved changes, and never show a dialog. The sync status chip at the far right of the header shows what is happening:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
Synced | The database matches the server. Hover over the chip to see when it last synced. |
Syncing… | A sync is in progress. |
Offline | The server can’t be reached. OpenVireo tries again automatically; click the chip to try now. |
Sync failed | The last sync failed. Click the chip to sync again. |
Unlock needed | The database on the server uses a different password or key file. Click the chip to unlock it. |
Token needed | This device has no access token for the server yet. Click the chip to open the Remote Sync settings. |
Check server | The server sent an older copy than this device has already seen (see below). Syncing is paused until you review it. |
Conflicts
When the same database changed on two devices, OpenVireo merges both copies field by field, using the copy from the last sync to tell which device changed what. A field changed on only one device keeps that change. When both devices changed the same field differently, the newer change is kept, the other is in the entry’s history, and a message lists the entries concerned. Entries that were deleted on one device and changed on another are listed as well, so you can check them.
Protection Against Old Copies
OpenVireo remembers the newest version of the database it has seen from the server. If the server later serves an older copy, or a database this device has synced before disappears, syncing stops and the status chip shows Check server. This can happen when the server was restored from a backup, but it can also mean someone is tampering with it. Clicking the chip explains the problem; syncing anyway merges the server’s copy into your database and uploads the result, so nothing on this device is lost.
Older Versions
The sync server keeps the latest versions of each database. Select Database → Remote Sync… → Versions on <name>… to list them. Opening a version downloads it and opens it next to your database, locked, so you can unlock it and copy entries from it or merge it into your database. Nothing on the server changes.
The User Guide guide covers OpenVireo, based on KeePassXC 2.8.0, last updated 23 October 2026. Found a mistake? Help improve the docs on GitHub.