# How to Vibe Code Your Own Enpass (and Stop Paying for It)

> Password Management Your Way

- Site: https://enpass.io
- Category: Security & Privacy / Password Manager
- Platforms: macOS app, Windows app, Linux app, iOS app, Android app, Browser extension
- Verdict: **Serious undertaking** (32/100 vibecodeable)
- Estimated effort: 3 to 6 months of focused engineering

## Verdict

Build a personal subset for desktop or keep paying; the multi-platform native sync and encryption architecture is an enormous engineering slog.

Attempting to clone a cross-platform zero-knowledge password manager with native apps, browser extensions, and arbitrary cloud sync is a monumental undertaking for a solo developer. While an AI agent can quickly scaffold a single-platform Electron or Tauri desktop wrapper with SQLCipher, getting multi-device conflict resolution over WebDAV or iCloud right without corrupting encrypted database payloads will test your patience. Furthermore, browser extension messaging and native biometrics integration involve deep OS-specific rabbit holes that consume weeks of debugging.

### What you can't replicate

- Years of edge-case bug fixes across 5 operating systems and browser extension lifecycles
- Independent third-party security audits (SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001)
- Built-in ecosystem trust and massive user base

## What it does

Cross-platform, zero-knowledge password and passkey manager built around data sovereignty, allowing users to store encrypted vaults on local storage or personal cloud accounts.

### Core features

- Zero-knowledge AES-256 local database encryption using SQLCipher
- Cross-platform desktop and mobile native application interfaces
- Peer-to-peer cloud synchronization via iCloud, Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, WebDAV
- Secure credential autofill and browser extension integration
- Built-in TOTP authenticator and password generator
- WebAuthn Level 3 passkey storage and authentication
- Master password derived key processing via PBKDF2

## The business

### Pricing

- Individual Plan: $1.99/mo
- Family Plan: $3.99/mo
- Business Plan: $1.99/user/mo

Founded 2019.
Team size: 50-70.

## The hard parts

- Implementing secure SQLCipher local database encryption and side-channel-resistant key derivation without leaking the master password
- Building a bulletproof multi-device conflict resolution engine for encrypted SQLite blocks over third-party object storage APIs
- Developing native browser extension messaging hosts for secure autofill and credential capture across Chrome, Firefox, and Safari
- Handling biometric keychain bindings (Touch ID, Face ID, Windows Hello) securely on every target OS

## How to vibe code Enpass

### Prerequisites

- Node.js (Free): Required for running the build toolchain and bundling frontend scripts.
- Rust & Tauri CLI (Free): Required to build lightweight native desktop application binaries.
- Cursor ($20/mo): AI-native code editor for multi-file code generation and iterative refinement.

### Recommended AI tools

- Cursor: Ideal for writing and iterating on complex TypeScript and Rust integration code across the frontend and Tauri backend.
- Claude Code: Superb for autonomous multi-file refactoring and implementing cryptographic modules.

### Stack

- Frontend: React / TypeScript with Tailwind CSS inside a Tauri desktop shell
- Backend: Rust (Tauri system commands, SQLCipher bindings, local sync worker)
- Database: Encrypted local SQLite via SQLCipher
- Auth: Local Master Password + PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA512 key derivation + OS Biometrics (Keychain/Credential Manager)
- Payments: None (Personal-use local clone)
- Other: WebDAV / Cloud client SDKs for vault file synchronization

### Hosting

- Cloudflare (Hosting documentation and personal landing page if needed; vault sync relies entirely on personal user cloud storage (iCloud/Dropbox/WebDAV).): $0/mo

### Build guide

1. **Scaffold Tauri Desktop Application and UI Shell** — Initialize a new Tauri project with React and TypeScript. Establish a clean master layout featuring a sidebar for vault categories (Logins, Secure Notes, Credit Cards), a central item list view, and a detail pane.

```
Create a new Tauri v2 project using Vite, React, and TypeScript. Set up a modern dashboard layout using Tailwind CSS with a dark mode theme matching standard privacy-first apps. Build a sidebar component with navigation items for All Items, Logins, Secure Notes, Passwords, and Trash. Create a responsive three-pane layout: sidebar, item list, and detail view. Ensure the UI compiles cleanly and runs as a native desktop window via Tauri.
```

2. **Implement SQLCipher Local Database & Zero-Knowledge Key Derivation** — Integrate SQLCipher within the Rust backend to handle fully encrypted local SQLite storage. Implement PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA512 key derivation with 320,000 iterations from a user-supplied master password.

```
Implement a secure cryptographic vault manager in the Rust backend using SQLCipher and ring or pbkdf2 crates. Create a command to initialize a new encrypted SQLite database file using a master password, running PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA512 with 320,000 iterations to derive the 256-bit AES encryption key. Expose Tauri commands to open the vault, lock the vault, and execute parameterized queries against the decrypted SQLCipher database handle in memory.
```

3. **Build Vault Item CRUD & Password Generator Engine** — Implement data models for secure items (Logins, Passwords, TOTP codes, custom fields) and build a robust cryptographically secure password generator.

```
Build the core vault item management logic in TypeScript and Rust. Define schema tables for items (id, uuid, title, category, username, password, url, notes, otp_secret, custom_fields, created_at, updated_at). Implement a secure password generator module with configurable length, character sets (uppercase, lowercase, numbers, symbols), and pronounceable options. Create Tauri commands to securely insert, update, soft-delete, and query items from the SQLCipher database.
```

4. **Integrate OS Biometric Authentication** — Hook into macOS TouchID / Windows Hello / OS keychains to store a secure token allowing biometric vault unlocking without re-entering the master password.

```
Integrate OS-level biometric authentication (Touch ID on macOS, Windows Hello on Windows) into the Tauri desktop app. When a user enables biometrics, securely encrypt the master key or a derived unlock token using the operating system's native keychain (Keychain/Credential Manager) protected by biometric verification. Implement a Tauri command to prompt for biometrics and retrieve the key to unlock the SQLCipher database seamlessly.
```

5. **Develop Cloud Synchronization & Conflict Resolution Engine** — Implement a sync module that downloads, merges, and uploads the encrypted database file to personal cloud providers or a custom WebDAV server.

```
Build a synchronization engine in Rust that connects to user-configured WebDAV endpoints or personal cloud storage APIs. The sync engine must download the remote encrypted SQLite database file, compare file modification timestamps or vector clocks with the local database, handle merge conflicts safely by preserving both versions if concurrent edits occur, and upload the resulting encrypted database file back to the cloud storage provider without ever decrypting payloads on any intermediary server.
```

6. **Build Browser Extension for Autofill** — Create a companion browser extension for Chromium and Firefox that communicates with the desktop app via native messaging to perform secure credential matching and autofill.

```
Create a browser extension (manifest v3) for Chrome and Firefox that communicates with the local Tauri desktop app via native messaging hosts. Implement content scripts that detect login input fields on web pages, query the desktop app for matching credentials based on current domain URL, and safely inject usernames and passwords upon user confirmation or keyboard shortcut trigger.
```

### Cost vs paying

**Starting costs (one-time):**

- AI Coding Tools (Cursor + Claude Pro): $40
- Total: $40 one-time

**Ongoing costs (monthly):**

- Local vault storage / Personal Cloud: $0/mo
- Total: $0/mo

- Paying for the SaaS instead: $1.99/mo
- Build time: 80-120 hours
- AI tool credits: $40 ($20 Cursor + $20 Claude Pro)
- Break-even: Not applicable (build is for learning/sovereignty, pure economic loss vs $1.99/mo)

## Sources

- [Enpass Official Website](https://enpass.io)
- [Enpass Security Whitepaper](https://www.enpass.io/docs/security/enpass-security-whitepaper.pdf)
- [Enpass Pricing](https://enpass.io/pricing/)