[FEATURE] Local external directory use

[Rudd-O]

Those of us who do not / cannot use Git, and therefore use Syncthing / rsync / restic / other solutions to synchronize passwords with our phones, have been left in the cold with the (prior administration's) decision to remove local directory use.

This drastically reduces the usefulness of such an app, because not everybody is willing to put their password storage (even if encrypted) on a repository exposed to the Internet. Beyond that, most people don't actually know anything about Git, nor should they be required to learn anything about Git, just to use a password manager.

I would like this option to be restored.

Chief complaint in the decision to remove this key feature[1] was the use of old APIs that were no longer going to be supported by Android. At the time, I am not sure why anyone failed to point out that the exact same functionality should be implementable using SAF. It's worth noting that the old version of the app which has this feature works perfectly using Storage Scopes too.

Please bring it back. Thanks.

[1] android-password-store#1849

Describe the solution you'd like

Use SAF to restore the local folder mode, which, when turned on, also cancels the requirement that Git be used for anything.

Less optimal: use ~/Android/media/ to store GPG files. These files will not be accessible by other apps, except for file managers (e.g. Syncthing, other apps with manage external storage permission), thus the security expectations are preserved while still allowing local folder to sync.

It should in any case be possible to disable any and all Git use / requirement.

Describe alternatives you've considered

Switching to KeePassXC.

Additional context

The first version of the app I installed (accidentally!) that stopped including this feature was version 1.15.4 on F-Droid, today.

The last version of the app that didn't lose this key feature (which I restored from backup of my old phone) was 1.13.5. This one targets SDK 29 and asserts minSdk to be 23.

[freijon]

Just to add some context to this: The lack (or better: removal) of this feature made this app useless for me. I don't want to upload my passwords to a cloud (some git remote). I also don't want to self-host git somewhere. I just want password files, synced in my local network. I currently use a self-made script on Termux that extracts / copies the password using gopass. This is good enough for me, but I share some pw-stores with my wife. Telling her to run some script in Termux will be a no-go. So on her device I still use the old build with Local storage and OpenKeyChain support. It's a pity that the former maintaianer decided to remove basically all good features of this app.

[agrahn]

I am sorry for this, but my resources are limited and I cannot delve into the SAF specifics that are needed to implement the wanted feature. Why don't you set up a central Git repo somewhere in your local network? All you need is a (Linux) machine that you can connect to via ssh and which has the Git command line utility on it. I did this on a v1 Raspberry-Pi that is connected to my home router and the bare Git repo resides in my home directory.

[jumper047]

I'm also one of those people who still using old password-store because of local storage (and sometimes looking at all these new features with envy)). My usecase for local storage - sometimes I'm going into relatively long trip for month or two, and turning off most of my home electronics. With local storage this is not an issue - passwords still can be synced between my laptop and smartphone

[agrahn]

Thank you for reaching out. I would appreciate contributions that implement this feature. Maybe someone has the ability and time to do it?

[kayibea]

I get some of you guys, but here you don't even need to learn git, the tool does all the commit for you. All you do is just in the app pull down so it sync from the remote.
Running you local git server, pretty simple, as the maintener said, you just need a little computer, or if you don't have one you can use a old phone with termux to host a bare repo you can pull and push from using ssh, even if you don't have one too? The same phone can also host the bare repo, the downside is just that if you share with someone else they now depends on your physical presence to sync