Exporting to json (unencrypted) delivers source code to Notepad!

Ask the Community Password Manager
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1

I am brand new last night and already having problems! Wow should it really be this difficult?

I exported to csv just to see if it works and it’s fine except secure note I made (under 100 characters) was not included.

So I exported to json. I have option of opening in Notepad. All I get is source code. I have option of installing Notepad++ but I have never heard of Notepad++, have no idea if it’s scammy. What’s wrong with native Windows 10 Notepad?

Here is what I get for each entry:

{
“encrypted”: false,
“folders”: ,
“items”: [
{
“passwordHistory”: null,
“revisionDate”: “not showing you this…”,
“creationDate”: “not showing you this…”,
“deletedDate”: null,
“id”: “not showing you this…”,
“organizationId”: null,
“folderId”: null,
“type”: 1,
“reprompt”: 0,
“name”: “not showing you this…”,
“notes”: null,
“favorite”: false,
“login”: {
“fido2Credentials”: ,
“uris”: [
{
“match”: null,
“uri”: “not showing you this…”
}
],
“username”: “not showing you this…”,
“password”: “not showing you this…”,
“totp”: null
},
“collectionIds”: null
},
{

Thank you,

Cat

2

ok I’m sorry, I found the secure note in the csv file. But notepad/json still doesn’t work. No worries, I just won’t use json.

3

@cat2 Hi!

Since I have no unencrypted json at hand, I can not say anything to your original question.

Just be aware, that

  1. the csv export doesn’t include cards and identities (see here: Export Vault Data | Bitwarden Help Center) (BTW, honestly, I’m not sure if both, csv and json, include passkeys?!)
  2. so mostly, a json export is recommended
  3. if you export in an unencrypted form - regardless of csv or json - where you store that file, even if you delete it, it leaves “traces” of that unencrypted data (if your data storage is itself encrypted, that might be a lesser problem - but be aware of that fact)
  4. because of both facts (a json-export contains more data and can be encrypted), the common export-recommendation is: password-protected json export (BTW, if you do that, that export-password should be on your emergency sheet then as well)
4

@cat2 Welcome to the forum!

What you see is not “source code”, per se. You are looking at is a text-based format for representing structured information. The standards for this format follow the syntax used by JavaScript objects, and therefore this format is known as JavaScript Object Notation (abbreviated JSON).

If you want a more human-friendly display of the JSON structure, you will need to use some kind of JSON viewer app or extension; alternatively, if you have a FireFox browser, it does a pretty good job of displaying JSON-structured data, if you open the .json file in the browser.

5

Thank you. I chose non encrypted in order to be able to print out all my passwords in a format that I can read… I’m not worried about anyone getting onto my computer physically. I guess a hacker program could get in and read it? But I plan to change my master password quite often so hopefully that should help.

6

Thank you. I just viewed it in Firefox! It works but is written in a very unfriendly format-
It’s too bad I have to download a 3rd party json viewer- seems to kind of contradict the point of protecting my passwords since the authors of the program or extension could have programmed in some sort of recording device that will relay all my passwords back to them. CSV is working for me. Thank you.

7

You’re welcome.

Okay… you can do that. But there’s no real need for that, I think. Especially if you add or change a vault item - do you want to print out your whole list every time? :thinking:

Besides Firefox or json-viewers, there are two main methods to get access to a password-protected export in need:

  1. create a temporary and free new Bitwarden account and import it there
  2. relatively new: the free password manager “KeePassXC” can import password-protected json exports from Bitwarden (obviously one needs the password for that)

Just a sidenote - changing passwords without a reason is not recommended since a few years, so unfortunately that is nothing that “helps”. A short explanation can be found here for example: NIST Password Guidelines and Best Practices for 2020 (Section “2. Eliminate Periodic Resets”)

A strong master password (common recommendation: an (at least) 4 random words-passphrase) doesn’t “get worse” over time - though one could argue, the chance of a breach increases with time, so I tend to “every few years changing would be ok”. (for one further reason: maybe a master password must be even stronger in 5 years than today… but again, this alone would be a reason for a change…)

8

.CSV format is good if you are using the export to migrate you password to a different password manager, but beware that it omits a fair amount of information (including all credit card and identity items, and all passkeys).

If you’re creating exports to use as a backup (in case something happens to your vault or its contents), the the .JSON format is superior, and the password-protected .JSON is the recommended way of exporting your data.