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layered-soul/skills/vaultwarden-secrets/references/bw-cli-quirks.md
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2026-06-14 01:48:32 +02:00

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bw CLI Quirks & Gotchas

Encountered during the May 29, 2026 Vaultwarden setup session.

Option Naming Inconsistency

bw is inconsistent with dashes vs no-dashes in multi-word options:

Expected Actual
--collection-id --collectionid
--organization-id --organizationid

Always check bw <command> --help | grep <keyword> before assuming flag format.

--apikey Interactive Prompt

bw login --apikey uses an interactive prompt that doesn't work with <<< heredoc or piped input. The readline interface crashes with ERR_USE_AFTER_CLOSE when stdin closes early.

Only use BW_CLIENTID + BW_CLIENTSECRET env vars.

Organization API Keys Rejected

bw login --apikey with organization.xxx client_id returns:

Invalid API Key; Organization API Key currently not supported

Must use a personal API key (user.xxx) from Account Settings → Security → Keys → View API Key. The personal user then accesses org data through their org membership.

--passwordenv vs --raw

  • bw unlock --passwordenv BW_PASSWORD — prints a human-friendly message with the session key embedded
  • bw unlock --passwordenv BW_PASSWORD --raw — prints ONLY the session key (for scripts)
  • Prefer --session flag on individual commands over BW_SESSION env var for explicitness

bw create item Limitations

  • No --collectionid or --organizationid flags (despite docs suggesting otherwise)
  • Items created by org members go to personal vault by default
  • Must use bw encode pipe pattern for full JSON control
  • Move to collection after creation with bw edit item

Vaultwarden Session Behavior

Unlike Bitwarden Cloud, Vaultwarden requires explicit bw logout && bw login --apikey to refresh expired sessions. The bw unlock --raw approach returns a fresh session key each time.

npm install -g Browser Extension Prompt

During npm install -g @bitwarden/cli, npm may show:

You can't autofill passwords without the browser extension
Are you sure you don't want to add the extension now?

Skip it. The bw CLI is headless — browser extension is irrelevant for agent use.