CSV files and organizing passwords?

Ask the Community Password Manager
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I prefer using Chrome as a password manager but it’s frustrating and annoying at times.

For instance, Google added a “Note” feature to go along with your password. But it’s limited because the contents aren’t searchable.

I am trying to organize the passwords by saving them as a CSV and editing them in a spreadsheet that have notes attached to them, then upload to BW so I can search for the notes in BW.

But now, BW gives me a generic error when I try to upload the Chrome CSV file. There is no option for a standard Windows CSV file.

Furthermore, I can’t create another VAULT to import the most current CSV file too, plus there is no merge and delete duplicate in BW which is frustrating.

Any workarounds you can suggest?

1 Like
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Please provide the exact wording (or better, a screenshot) of this “generic error”. Also, when you say that you are trying to “upload” the CSV, do you mean that you are using Bitwarden’s Import Tool to import the CSV file by specifying the “Chrome (csv)” file format? Or are you simply uploading a file attachment that is attached to one of your vault items?

“CSV” just means “comma separated values”, and applies to any file in which values belonging to different data columns are separated using a comma character (,). For Bitwarden to import a CSV file, it must be able to determine to purpose and meaning of each data column. Therefore, you must either use one of the predefined CSV formats (corresponding to formats used by various password managers, including Chrome), or use the generic “Bitwarden (csv)” format after conditioning the CSV file so that it contains the required columns with standard column titles.

Why not?

If your CSV file contains duplicates, then clean it up in any spreadsheet app (e.g., Excel), which have easy-to-use deduplication tools. Do this before importing, and you will not have any duplicates in Bitwarden.

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@grb

Thanks for the reply, but it appears you weren’t paying attention.

The generic error is as follows:
Resolve the errors below and try again.

Name Description
Data is not formatted correctly. Please check your import file and try again.

I am aware of what CSV is but your definition seems quite convoluted and complex. Additionally, as I have stated, editing (in a spreadsheet) does not work. The “pre-defined” CSV formats are limited/restricted. A spreadsheet isn’t going to save the CSV file in any of the “pre-defined” formats you mentioned.

In regards to creating a NEW vault, isn’t it crystal clear why I can’t? It’s because the option isn’t there to create a NEW vault.

I am sorry for being snippy, but your reply is unhelpful, not sorry.

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new-account
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This is a community forum, we are just bitwarden users, like you and anyone else, trying to help each other.

With this attitude I don’t think you’ll get much selfless help from many community members.

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As other’s already pointed out: in Bitwarden you have only one personal vault. You can’t create another (second, third, …) personal vault in your Bitwarden account. But you can create a new vault by creating another new Bitwarden account.

A workaround may be to import into a (separate) folder? Each import could at least be associated with a separate folder instead of having everything mixed together. (but I don’t know exactly, what you were trying to achieve with the new-vault-approach in the first place)

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@Balky, please review the Community Guidelines before posting again.

The “problems” you have described are all fixable, but attacking those who would assist you is not the way for you to find a solution.

Good luck! :wave:

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Life-hint. A conditional “thanks” or “sorry” is a strong indicator of insincerity, and serves as a useful hint that it is time to set the conversation aside and return later, presumably with a more neutral or positive tone.

I’m with @grb. I’m sorry, but I don’t understand why Please help me understand why you are using Bitwarden this way. If you are happy with Chrome password manager, it seems like searching the CSV would be easier that loading into a second password manager.

And, if you truly want to use Bitwarden, It seems like it would be simpler to fully embrace it, avoiding the complexity of keeping two password managers in sync and understanding the intricacies of both.

That sounds like you have a comma or newline in a note (or a password) and that the field is not being properly quoted, making it impossible to tell where the note ends and the next column begins.

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There’s really no practical solution for editing, organizing, and exporting passwords using Google CSV files, unless you’re a skilled programmer. Honestly, I’m unsure why these options exist, except for assisting new users in initial password imports.

Open-source applications like Bitwarden, especially Chrome extensions, are unfortunately susceptible to hacking incidents on platforms like GitHub. This highlights a common dilemma in the tech world: the trade-off between open-source accessibility and potential security risks.

It’s a no-brainer that a duplicate cleaner feature should exist, if not for every user, at least for premium users. It would convince others to buy premium.