Vaultwarden

Self-hosted Bitwarden-compatible password manager. Vaultwarden is a lightweight Rust implementation of the Bitwarden server API, compatible with all official Bitwarden clients (iOS, Android, browser extensions, desktop apps). Supports SQLite, PostgreSQL, and MySQL backends.

Set domain before creating any user accounts

Vaultwarden 1.33+ crashes at startup if domain is empty. Even when the server starts, leaving domain unset breaks WebSocket notifications, attachment URLs, and all email links (invites, 2FA, password reset). Always configure domain with your full public HTTPS URL before first use.

Key Features

Bitwarden compatible — works with all official Bitwarden clients and browser extensions
Multiple database backends — SQLite (default), PostgreSQL, or MySQL
Database auto-detection — database.mode: auto selects backend by configuration precedence
Argon2 admin token — hardened admin panel with Argon2 PHC token support
Signups disabled by default — new registrations blocked until explicitly enabled
SMTP integration — email for invites, 2FA codes, and password reset
NetworkPolicy — optional ingress/egress policy for network isolation
S3 backup — supports SQLite tar, pg_dump, and mysqldump based on active backend

Installation

HTTPS repository:

helm repo add helmforge https://repo.helmforge.dev
helm repo update
helm install vaultwarden helmforge/vaultwarden -f values.yaml

OCI registry:

helm install vaultwarden oci://ghcr.io/helmforgedev/helm/vaultwarden -f values.yaml

Deployment Examples

# values.yaml — Vaultwarden with SQLite and TLS
domain: 'https://vault.example.com'

vaultwarden:
  signupsAllowed: false # default — enable only temporarily to create first accounts

admin:
  token: '$argon2id$v=19$m=65540,t=3,p=4$...' # use: docker run --rm -it vaultwarden/server /vaultwarden hash

data:
  persistence:
    enabled: true
    size: 10Gi

ingress:
  enabled: true
  ingressClassName: traefik
  annotations:
    cert-manager.io/cluster-issuer: letsencrypt-prod
  hosts:
    - host: vault.example.com
      paths:
        - path: /
          pathType: Prefix
  tls:
    - secretName: vaultwarden-tls
      hosts:
        - vault.example.com

# values.yaml — Vaultwarden with external PostgreSQL
domain: 'https://vault.example.com'

vaultwarden:
  signupsAllowed: false

database:
  mode: auto
  external:
    vendor: postgres
    host: postgresql.database.svc.cluster.local
    port: '5432'
    name: vaultwarden
    username: vaultwarden
    existingSecret: vaultwarden-db-credentials
    existingSecretUrlKey: database-url

admin:
  existingSecret: vaultwarden-admin
  existingSecretTokenKey: admin-token

data:
  persistence:
    enabled: true
    size: 5Gi

ingress:
  enabled: true
  ingressClassName: traefik
  hosts:
    - host: vault.example.com
      paths:
        - path: /
          pathType: Prefix

# values.yaml — Full production Vaultwarden with SMTP, backup, and resource limits
domain: 'https://vault.example.com'

vaultwarden:
  signupsAllowed: false
  invitationsAllowed: true
  sendsAllowed: true
  passwordIterations: 600000

admin:
  existingSecret: vaultwarden-admin
  existingSecretTokenKey: admin-token

smtp:
  enabled: true
  host: smtp.example.com
  port: 587
  from: vault@example.com
  fromName: Vaultwarden
  security: starttls
  username: vault@example.com
  existingSecret: vaultwarden-smtp
  existingSecretPasswordKey: smtp-password

database:
  mode: auto
  external:
    vendor: postgres
    existingSecret: vaultwarden-db-credentials
    existingSecretUrlKey: database-url

backup:
  enabled: true
  schedule: '0 3 * * *'
  s3:
    endpoint: https://s3.amazonaws.com
    bucket: my-vaultwarden-backups
    existingSecret: vaultwarden-s3-credentials

resources:
  requests:
    memory: 64Mi
    cpu: 50m
  limits:
    memory: 256Mi
    cpu: 200m

data:
  persistence:
    enabled: true
    size: 5Gi

ingress:
  enabled: true
  ingressClassName: traefik
  annotations:
    cert-manager.io/cluster-issuer: letsencrypt-prod
  hosts:
    - host: vault.example.com
      paths:
        - path: /
          pathType: Prefix
  tls:
    - secretName: vaultwarden-tls
      hosts:
        - vault.example.com

# values.yaml — Vaultwarden with NetworkPolicy for strict cluster isolation
domain: 'https://vault.example.com'

vaultwarden:
  signupsAllowed: false

admin:
  existingSecret: vaultwarden-admin

data:
  persistence:
    enabled: true
    size: 5Gi

networkPolicy:
  enabled: true
  ingress:
    allowSameNamespace: true
    additionalFrom:
      # Allow only from Traefik ingress namespace
      - namespaceSelector:
          matchLabels:
            kubernetes.io/metadata.name: ingress-system
        podSelector:
          matchLabels:
            app.kubernetes.io/name: traefik
  egress:
    enabled: true
    allowDns: true
    additionalTo:
      # Allow egress only to the database namespace
      - namespaceSelector:
          matchLabels:
            kubernetes.io/metadata.name: database

ingress:
  enabled: true
  ingressClassName: traefik
  hosts:
    - host: vault.example.com
      paths:
        - path: /
          pathType: Prefix

Admin Token (Argon2)

Use an Argon2 PHC hash for the admin token in production

Setting admin.token to a plain text string works but exposes the token via bcrypt-equivalent checks. Argon2 is significantly more secure. Generate one using the container itself:

docker run --rm -it vaultwarden/server:1.35.4 /vaultwarden hash
# or with argon2 CLI:
echo -n 'your-password' | argon2 "$(openssl rand -base64 32)" -e -id -k 65540 -t 3 -p 4

Store the resulting $argon2id$... string in admin.token or in a Kubernetes Secret via admin.existingSecret.

Configuration Reference

Core

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`nameOverride`	string	`""`	Override the chart name.
`fullnameOverride`	string	`""`	Override the full release name.
`commonLabels`	object	`{}`	Extra labels added to all resources.
`clusterDomain`	string	`cluster.local`	Kubernetes cluster domain.
`domain`	string	`""`	Required. Public HTTPS URL for Vaultwarden.

Image

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`image.repository`	string	`docker.io/vaultwarden/server`	Vaultwarden container image.
`image.tag`	string	`"1.35.4"`	Image tag.
`image.pullPolicy`	string	`IfNotPresent`	Image pull policy.
`imagePullSecrets`	array	`[]`	Pull secrets for private registries.

Vaultwarden Settings

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`vaultwarden.signupsAllowed`	boolean	`false`	Allow new user self-registration. Disabled by default.
`vaultwarden.signupsVerify`	boolean	`false`	Require email verification for new signups.
`vaultwarden.signupsDomainsWhitelist`	array	`[]`	Restrict signups to specific email domains when `signupsAllowed: false`.
`vaultwarden.invitationsAllowed`	boolean	`true`	Allow admin to invite users by email.
`vaultwarden.invitationOrgName`	string	`Vaultwarden`	Organization name shown in invitation emails.
`vaultwarden.invitationExpirationHours`	integer	`120`	Hours before invite and verification tokens expire.
`vaultwarden.sendsAllowed`	boolean	`true`	Allow Bitwarden Send file and text sharing.
`vaultwarden.emergencyAccessAllowed`	boolean	`true`	Allow emergency access features.
`vaultwarden.emailChangeAllowed`	boolean	`true`	Allow users to change their email addresses.
`vaultwarden.orgEventsEnabled`	boolean	`false`	Enable organization event logging.
`vaultwarden.orgCreationUsers`	string	`""`	Who may create organizations: `""` (all), `"none"`, or comma-separated emails.
`vaultwarden.passwordIterations`	integer	`600000`	Server-side PBKDF2 iterations for password hashing.
`vaultwarden.passwordHintsAllowed`	boolean	`true`	Allow users to set password hints.
`vaultwarden.showPasswordHint`	boolean	`false`	Show hints on the login page (avoid if SMTP is configured).
`vaultwarden.websocket.enabled`	boolean	`true`	Enable WebSocket notifications for real-time vault sync.
`vaultwarden.logLevel`	string	`info`	Log verbosity.
`vaultwarden.proxy.ipHeader`	string	`X-Real-IP`	Header used to identify the real client IP behind a reverse proxy.

signupsAllowed defaults to false

New user self-registration is disabled by default. To create the first accounts, either temporarily set signupsAllowed: true (then revert), use invitationsAllowed: true and invite via the admin panel, or restrict to specific email domains with signupsDomainsWhitelist.

Admin Panel

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`admin.token`	string	`""`	Admin panel token. Use Argon2 PHC hash for production.
`admin.existingSecret`	string	`""`	Existing secret containing the admin token.
`admin.existingSecretTokenKey`	string	`admin-token`	Key inside the existing secret.

SMTP

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`smtp.enabled`	boolean	`false`	Enable SMTP for email notifications.
`smtp.host`	string	`""`	SMTP server hostname.
`smtp.port`	integer	`587`	SMTP port.
`smtp.from`	string	`""`	Sender email address.
`smtp.fromName`	string	`Vaultwarden`	Sender display name.
`smtp.security`	string	`starttls`	Connection security: `starttls`, `force_tls`, or `off`.
`smtp.username`	string	`""`	SMTP authentication username.
`smtp.password`	string	`""`	SMTP password (prefer `existingSecret`).
`smtp.existingSecret`	string	`""`	Existing secret containing the SMTP password.
`smtp.existingSecretPasswordKey`	string	`smtp-password`	Key inside the existing secret.
`smtp.timeout`	integer	`15`	SMTP connection timeout in seconds.
`smtp.debug`	boolean	`false`	Enable verbose SMTP troubleshooting logs.
`smtp.acceptInvalidCerts`	boolean	`false`	Accept invalid TLS certificates. Not recommended.
`smtp.acceptInvalidHostnames`	boolean	`false`	Accept invalid TLS hostnames. Not recommended.

Database

Auto-detection precedence when database.mode: auto:

database.external.host or database.external.existingSecret → external DB
postgresql.enabled: true → PostgreSQL subchart
mysql.enabled: true → MySQL subchart
SQLite fallback

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`database.mode`	string	`auto`	Database mode: `auto`, `sqlite`, `external`, `postgresql`, or `mysql`.
`database.sqlite.enableWal`	boolean	`true`	Enable SQLite WAL mode for better read concurrency.
`database.connection.retries`	integer	`15`	Startup retries for database connection. `0` = infinite.
`database.connection.timeout`	integer	`30`	Timeout in seconds when acquiring a connection.
`database.connection.idleTimeout`	integer	`600`	Seconds before idle connections are closed.
`database.connection.minConnections`	integer	`2`	Minimum pool size.
`database.connection.maxConnections`	integer	`10`	Maximum pool size.
`database.external.vendor`	string	`postgres`	External database vendor: `postgres` or `mysql`.
`database.external.host`	string	`""`	External database hostname.
`database.external.port`	string	`""`	External database port.
`database.external.name`	string	`vaultwarden`	Database name.
`database.external.username`	string	`vaultwarden`	Database username.
`database.external.password`	string	`""`	Database password (prefer `existingSecret`).
`database.external.existingSecret`	string	`""`	Existing secret with a complete `DATABASE_URL` value.
`database.external.existingSecretUrlKey`	string	`database-url`	Key inside the existing secret.
`database.external.parameters`	string	`""`	Optional query string appended to the generated `DATABASE_URL`.

Persistence

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`data.persistence.enabled`	boolean	`true`	Enable PVC for `/data` (SQLite DB, attachments, sends, icons).
`data.persistence.size`	string	`5Gi`	PVC size.
`data.persistence.storageClass`	string	`""`	StorageClass for the PVC.
`data.persistence.accessMode`	string	`ReadWriteOnce`	PVC access mode.
`data.persistence.existingClaim`	string	`""`	Use an existing PVC.
`data.persistence.selectorLabels`	object	`{}`	Label selectors for pre-bound PV matching (useful for DR restores).

Service

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`service.type`	string	`ClusterIP`	Kubernetes service type.
`service.port`	integer	`80`	Service port.
`service.targetPort`	integer	`80`	Container port.
`service.annotations`	object	`{}`	Annotations for the Service.

Ingress

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`ingress.enabled`	boolean	`false`	Enable an Ingress resource.
`ingress.ingressClassName`	string	`traefik`	Ingress class name.
`ingress.annotations`	object	`{}`	Annotations for the Ingress (e.g. cert-manager).
`ingress.hosts`	array	`[]`	Ingress host and path rules.
`ingress.tls`	array	`[]`	TLS configuration.

NetworkPolicy

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`networkPolicy.enabled`	boolean	`false`	Create a NetworkPolicy for Vaultwarden.
`networkPolicy.ingress.allowSameNamespace`	boolean	`true`	Allow traffic from pods in the same namespace.
`networkPolicy.ingress.additionalFrom`	array	`[]`	Extra ingress peer selectors.
`networkPolicy.egress.enabled`	boolean	`false`	Enable egress policy (blocks all egress when enabled, add rules).
`networkPolicy.egress.allowDns`	boolean	`true`	Allow DNS egress (port 53) when egress is restricted.
`networkPolicy.egress.additionalTo`	array	`[]`	Extra egress peer selectors.

Backup

The backup CronJob automatically selects the correct dump tool based on the active database:

SQLite — tar + cp via Alpine (archives /data)
PostgreSQL — pg_dump
MySQL — mysqldump

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`backup.enabled`	boolean	`false`	Enable scheduled S3 backup CronJob.
`backup.schedule`	string	`"0 0 * * *"`	Cron schedule for backups.
`backup.suspend`	boolean	`false`	Suspend the CronJob without deleting it.
`backup.successfulJobsHistoryLimit`	integer	`3`	Successful job records to keep.
`backup.failedJobsHistoryLimit`	integer	`3`	Failed job records to keep.
`backup.resources`	object	`{}`	Resources for backup containers.
`backup.s3.endpoint`	string	`""`	S3-compatible endpoint URL.
`backup.s3.bucket`	string	`""`	Target bucket name.
`backup.s3.prefix`	string	`vaultwarden`	Key prefix within the bucket.
`backup.s3.createBucketIfNotExists`	boolean	`true`	Create the bucket if it does not exist.
`backup.s3.existingSecret`	string	`""`	Existing secret with S3 access and secret keys.
`backup.s3.existingSecretAccessKeyKey`	string	`access-key`	Key for the S3 access key.
`backup.s3.existingSecretSecretKeyKey`	string	`secret-key`	Key for the S3 secret key.
`backup.database.postgresDumpArgs`	string	`--clean --if-exists`	Extra arguments passed to `pg_dump`.
`backup.database.mysqlDumpArgs`	string	`--single-transaction --quick --skip-lock-tables --no-tablespaces`	Extra args for `mysqldump`.

Probes

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`probes.startup.enabled`	boolean	`true`	Enable startup probe on `/alive`.
`probes.startup.initialDelaySeconds`	integer	`10`	Startup probe initial delay.
`probes.startup.periodSeconds`	integer	`10`	Startup probe period.
`probes.startup.failureThreshold`	integer	`30`	Startup probe failure threshold.
`probes.liveness.enabled`	boolean	`true`	Enable liveness probe on `/alive`.
`probes.liveness.initialDelaySeconds`	integer	`30`	Liveness probe initial delay.
`probes.liveness.periodSeconds`	integer	`20`	Liveness probe period.
`probes.liveness.failureThreshold`	integer	`6`	Liveness probe failure threshold.
`probes.readiness.enabled`	boolean	`true`	Enable readiness probe on `/alive`.
`probes.readiness.initialDelaySeconds`	integer	`10`	Readiness probe initial delay.
`probes.readiness.periodSeconds`	integer	`10`	Readiness probe period.
`probes.readiness.failureThreshold`	integer	`6`	Readiness probe failure threshold.

Resources and Security

Vaultwarden runs fully hardened: non-root (UID 1000), all capabilities dropped, seccomp RuntimeDefault.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`resources`	object	`{}`	CPU and memory requests and limits.
`podSecurityContext.runAsUser`	integer	`1000`	UID for the pod.
`podSecurityContext.runAsGroup`	integer	`1000`	GID for the pod.
`podSecurityContext.runAsNonRoot`	boolean	`true`	Enforce non-root execution.
`podSecurityContext.fsGroup`	integer	`1000`	Filesystem group for volume ownership.
`podSecurityContext.seccompProfile.type`	string	`RuntimeDefault`	Seccomp profile type.
`securityContext.allowPrivilegeEscalation`	boolean	`false`	Disallow privilege escalation.
`securityContext.capabilities.drop`	array	`["ALL"]`	Drop all Linux capabilities.

Scheduling

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`nodeSelector`	object	`{}`	Node selector for scheduling.
`tolerations`	array	`[]`	Tolerations for scheduling.
`affinity`	object	`{}`	Affinity rules.
`topologySpreadConstraints`	array	`[]`	Topology spread constraints.
`priorityClassName`	string	`""`	PriorityClass for the pod.
`terminationGracePeriodSeconds`	integer	`60`	Termination grace period.
`podLabels`	object	`{}`	Extra labels for the pod.
`podAnnotations`	object	`{}`	Extra annotations for the pod.

Subcharts

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`postgresql.enabled`	boolean	`false`	Deploy the bundled PostgreSQL subchart.
`postgresql.auth.password`	string	`""`	Required for deterministic `DATABASE_URL` generation.
`mysql.enabled`	boolean	`false`	Deploy the bundled MySQL subchart.
`mysql.auth.password`	string	`""`	Required for deterministic `DATABASE_URL` generation.

Extra

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`extraEnv`	array	`[]`	Extra environment variables for the container.
`extraVolumes`	array	`[]`	Extra volumes to attach to the pod.
`extraVolumeMounts`	array	`[]`	Extra volume mounts for the container.