Bitwarden & SSH-Key

Bitwarden, a popular password management tool, had been discussing the possibility of enabling SSH key support in its service. This feature was expected to include SSH key import, storage, and generation capabilities. The goal was to provide full support for storing and importing SSH keys through various methods such as copy-paste or drag-and-drop and even to create SSH keys right within Bitwarden. The implementation plan included the development of a WebAssembly (WASM) wrapper library, adding SSH storage support in Bitwarden, creating a graphical user interface (GUI) for importing private keys, and full generator support.

Progress was made on this front, with the WASM library being substantially improved and the necessary infrastructure code being added to the clients. However, there were still several aspects of this feature that had yet to be implemented, including server support for SSH keys, mobile support, UI for clients other than the web, UI for importing encrypted SSH keys, and potentially adding either an ssh-agent client or server support to the desktop implementation.

However, the Bitwarden product team reviewed this feature and decided not to proceed with it at this time. They noted that custom item types were on their roadmap, and they believed this would provide a more inclusive solution for the time being. Hence, the SSH key support project was put on hold. The original feature request asked for loading keys into the operating system’s ssh-agent (or providing a custom ssh-agent) directly from within Bitwarden Desktop, similar to how 1Password does it, which would require a standardized way to store SSH keys. The team responded that custom item types would be user-defined and arrive before additional predefined item types.

Source: community.bitwarden.com