What I learned building a local-only password manager (PassForgePro)
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Show HN: What I learned building a local-only password manager (PassForgePro)Hi HN,I built PassForgePro as a learning project to better understand password manager design, local-first security, and common cryptographic pitfalls.The goal was not to replace mature tools like Bitwarden or KeePass, but to explore:* how a local-only, zero-knowledge style design can work * key derivation with PBKDF2 and encrypted SQLite vaults (AES-256-GCM) * handling sensitive data in memory and clipboard cleanup * defining a realistic threat model and its limitationsThis project is experimental and unaudited. I’m sharing it mainly to get feedback on the architecture, crypto choices, and overall approach, and to discuss what I got wrong or could improve (audits, reproducible builds, testing, etc.).I’d really appreciate feedback, especially from people with security or cryptography experience.Repo: https://github.com/can-deliktas/PassForgePro Docs / demo: https://can-deliktas.github.io/PassForgePro
HN · launched Jan 21, 2026 · 5 upvotes (top 90%) · 0 views
Niche: password management tools · 92 launches, 18 in the last 7 days · Explore this niche →
Category and tags
- Security
- Vertical SaaS
- Prosumer
- Not AI
- Hobby / open-source project
Visit website ↗ Source listing ↗
More like this: all 92 launches in password management tools →
Could you build this?
Yes A local-only password manager consists of a standard desktop or CLI UI using standard cryptographic libraries (e.g., Argon2id and AES-GCM) to encrypt and decrypt a local database.
Discussion
3 comments analyzed.
Concerns raised: No API for remote access or cloud sync, Experimental project, not production-grade, Does not defend against compromised OS or malicious local software, Potential accessibility API exposure risk
Competitors
Other products that read as similar to this one : 100 launches clear the similarity bar, closest 8 shown.
Attention rank: #98 of 101 (itself plus its competitors, highest first, normalized so YC and Product Hunt are compared fairly).
Launched 83 days after the earliest competitor.
- Localock: Password Manager · ph · 2026-11-14 · 1 upvotes · similarity 0.58
- Ravenpass · ph · 2026-09-30 · 1 upvotes · similarity 0.55
- Keepr · hn · 2025-11-14 · 17 upvotes · similarity 0.51
- Shrouded, secure memory management in Rust · hn · 2026-03-23 · 5 upvotes · similarity 0.50
- Bramble · hn · 2026-07-02 · 153 upvotes · similarity 0.49
- I Dedicated 4 Years to Mastering Offline Password Cracking · hn · 2026-05-21 · 268 upvotes · similarity 0.45
- Dodo Password Manager · ph · 2026-11-13 · 1 upvotes · similarity 0.45
- Open Passkey · hn · 2026-04-19 · 10 upvotes · similarity 0.43
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