apw

apw command [options]

apw (Apple Passwords) is a command-line interface for accessing Apple Passwords (formerly iCloud Keychain) on macOS. It provides shell access to iCloud-synced login credentials and OTP secrets without opening System Settings. The tool uses a daemon-based architecture where a background process communicates with macOS's built-in Passwords helper tool.
Authentication uses native macOS prompts (Touch ID or password dialog), so credentials are never exposed insecurely. The list subcommands output JSON for scripting and automation.

start

Start the background daemon

Authenticate the CLI with the daemon

Interactively list and search passwords

List passwords in JSON format, optionally filtered by domain

Interactively list and search OTP tokens

List OTP secrets in JSON format, optionally filtered by domain

Display help information

Show version number

Requires macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later. The daemon must be running and authenticated before querying. Authentication is required after each system restart.

apw was created by Ben Dews (bendews), written in TypeScript with Deno and compiled to a static binary. It is licensed under GPL-3.0 and first released in March 2024.

pass(1), security(1), keychain(1)