Macpass: [Feature Request] Automatically save database when modified

[BlackSwiftSoftware]

Can we please (pretty please?) have the option to auto-save the database after changing entries?

I can accomplish this in KeePass (Windows) by using the trigger system, but that's undoubtedly more work than needed at the moment.

My biggest concern is that I'll add or edit entries and then lose this information if I forget to save, the program crashes, etc.

[mstarke]

Should be easily possible. MacPass starting to get a bit of a settings-monster :)

[SashaOv]

+1

One more use case for this feature (quite frequent for me):

1. Change entry without saving
2. Switch out of the app and continue work
3. After some time, close the application. It prompts you to save. You pick "save"
4. Because the database is locked, you cannot save and lose the changes

[mstarke]

That's a buggy workflow. Thanks for pointing that out. Needs to be fixed regardless of the feature.

[SashaOv]

I thought about filing this as a separate issue but couldn't come up with a decent way to fix it:

1. Keep the password around in case you need it for saving -- bad security,
2. Ask for password again before saving -- bad UX (has to be done anyways to fix the issue).
3. Secure save log that can be re-opened and re-applied as soon as the original file is opened -- too much sweat for little gain. For this sort of effort, you can have autosave _and_ undo (versioning).

[ghost]

+1

[gdovicak]

I was just burned bad by this. I had entered 5 or 6 passwords over the course of the past month and never saved. My mac just crashed. I rebooted and opened MacPass only to realize I never saved any of them.

For me, autosave would be a great feature, but I would be very happy with a more obvious notification that I have unsaved changes.

Because of my workflows I tend not to think of MacPass as a utility that reads and writes kdbx files, but more a password manager regardless of where they are saved. I don't utilize different password files across different machines like many others probably do so the fact that I have to save a file is not obvious to me.

[auge]

If we can have auto-save, I would propose (according to comment https://github.com/mstarke/MacPass/issues/287#issuecomment-68295328 ) to also enable auto-save on locking (this is also what can be set for KeePass).

[christophfroehlich]

+1

[mstarke]

@auge Autosave on locking is added in the current master.

[jeffmcneill]

Autosave on not locking and update-notify would be the magic combo for me. I've got at least two desktops (upstairs/downstairs) that could have a database open as well as a mobile device using Kypass. Autosave would really help and then for the other opened db getting a "database has updated / reload?" message, or even better simply auto-reloading. That way both systems will always be concurrent.

[mstarke]

@jeffmcneill autosafe on locking as well as modification notification is implemented and should work in 0.6.2 already.

[jinnko]

I'm using 0.6.2 (12420) and my laptop just crashed, losing a whole series of changes I made over a couple of hours :(

MacPass didn't lock within the time I was working. Not sure exactly what "modification notification" refers to.

[jeffmcneill]

Hi @mstarke I still get conflicts with 0.6.2 and as far as I can tell there is no locking. Can this feature be better described so we can check to see if and when it is working?

[mstarke]

Current master uses Autosave functionality from NSDocument so every change that is registered via the undo manager will trigger a save. All changes to entries and groups should therefor be stored immediately. There might be some kinks to work out. The .lock file is not monitored so MacPass will modify a file regardless!

[viktor-sc]

Hi,
is there a way to disable the autosave feature? I like to have the control about it...

Thanks,
Viktor

[mstarke]

@viktor-sc A checkbox was added to disable autosave. 0.7.7 will include this. I think I need to add an advances preferences tab to make "low level" settings more obvious, since normal users might not fully grasp what consquences disabling autosave might have.