How to Set Up Bitwarden for PWTray

You only do this once. After setup, relaunches only require one Bitwarden master-password unlock.

Prerequisites

  • Install Bitwarden CLI (bw) from Bitwarden official docs: bitwarden.com/help/cli.
  • Confirm CLI is available on your machine:
    bw --version
  • Download PWTray, then install it.

PWTray does not bundle or install bw. It uses your existing Bitwarden CLI installation.

If macOS blocks installation, open the macOS troubleshooting guide.

Make sure PWTray can find bw

  • On Windows, prefer the Bitwarden CLI .exe installer.
  • After install, add the folder containing the bw command to the system Path environment variable (for example bw.exe or bw.cmd).
  • If needed, set PWTRAY_BW_PATH to the full path of the Bitwarden CLI binary.

If PWTray cannot resolve the bw command (for example bw.exe or bw.cmd), credential lookup will fail and PWTray can show a "Not responding" state.

Step-by-step

  1. Go to vault.bitwarden.com and sign in to your Bitwarden vault.
  2. In the left sidebar, go to Settings.
  3. Expand settings and click Security.
  4. Open the Keys tab.
  5. Copy both values: client_id and client_secret.
  6. Open PWTray.
  7. In PWTray first launch, paste client_id and client_secret when prompted.
  8. If prompted, enter your Bitwarden master password to unlock your vault.
  9. On future app relaunches, you only need to unlock once with your master password.
Bitwarden Vault UI showing Settings, Security, and Keys tab where client_id and client_secret are available.

Bitwarden path: Settings → Security → Keys (copy client_id and client_secret).

PWTray first-launch setup view where API key fields (client_id and client_secret) will be shown.

Preview of PWTray first-launch setup screen. Please add your vault client_id and client_secret here.

Security and trust model

Your Bitwarden credentials are handled locally. PWTray does not store your client_id or client_secret. Bitwarden CLI stores required secrets encrypted on your machine.

Never share your API key values publicly.

Need more context? Visit the FAQ or the macOS troubleshooting guide.