Passkey noob setup and use

Ask the Community Password Manager
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Hello, I’m trying to move from Bitwarden passphrases to passkeys.

I use:

  • browser: Firefox 142.0.1 (aarch64)
  • desktop: Ubuntu latest
  • phone: iOS 18.5
    • app Bitwarden Version: 2025.7.0 (2278)

Anyway, tried testing with passkeys.io, but couldn’t setup a passkey.

Considering maybe using keepassxc if I can’t make bitwarden work…no usb keys, just cloud or local cold storage/backup is the plan.

I read this also which mentions Bitwarden: https://tuxcare.com/blog/passkeys-on-linux-breaking-free-from-platform-lock-in/

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I am not sure if I understand what you are trying to accomplish. Do you want to login to Bitwarden with a Passkey or do you want to store Passkeys in Bitwarden?

Can you explain further what exactly did not work as expected?

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Sorry, as a passkey noob, I currently use passphrases.

I think passkeys are more secure, however the UX may still be immature.

Basically I would like to create a passkey for my accounts.

For example. passkeys.io → create account → add email → verify email → add passkey (how?).

I think I need to use Bitwarden at this step in my 3rd party new account passkey creation or no?

4

You do not create one Passkey for several accounts, but one Passkey for each account.

Do you have the Bitwarden browser extension installed?

When I enter an e-mail address at passkeys.io, the next step is a big blue button “Create a passkey”. After clicking it, the browser extension asks me to create a key.

Please be aware that this key can only be used to login at passkeys.io, a demo website.

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@kotgc For passkey usage (storage and “autofill”) on desktop you need the Bitwarden browser extension (in your case for Firefox then).

On iOS the mobile app is needed.

I would recommend to have a look into this Help Site first: Autofill Passkeys | Bitwarden (both for the extension and for iOS)

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Just a sidenote to the “passphrases ↔ passwords” topic: using passphrases only makes sense when you have to memorize the “secrets” or (regularly) have to type them in – or both. In most or all other cases, passwords of comparable length are recommended (as they are way more secure than passphrases).

(And yeah, passkeys are a great “new” option!)

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Bitwarden extension browser freshly installed (I used desktop website log in until now), looks good and functional.

However, Bitwarden error prompts no passkey was added, when testing with passkeys.io?

Screenshot of after I selected the blue button ‘Continue’. (I have no hardware security key like a USB key or YubiKey).

passkeysFailBitwarden1of2
passkeysFailBitwarden1of21920×950 105 KB

Screenshot of after I selected the white button ‘Sign in with a passkey’.

passkeysFailBitwarden2of2
passkeysFailBitwarden2of21920×963 114 KB

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:+1:

Did you “create an account” there first? → You can only sign in with a passkey, when you create a passkey first.

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I previously today created a passkeys.io account with only a verified email (as I didn’t know how to use a passkey), before installing the Bitwarden browser extension.

The screenshots I provided are trying to log in to passkeys.io with the verified email address and after Bitwarden browser extension is installed.

I guess I’ll have to contact passkeys.io support on how to remove the account, so I can use the email with a new setup, to enable Bitwarden browser extension to activate the passkey generator thingy?

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It is just a demo website, you can enter any gibberish e-mail like ab@cde.fr

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Like @marlin suggested, as it is just a demo site, you could use another email address to create a passkey. – You can also create a passkey for this forum here, as this usually works very well. (Profile → Preferences → Security → Passkeys)

You’ll see that not all sites implement passkeys that well, unfortunately.

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Oh la la, francais courriel/email! Viva la France hon hon hon…go the lefties :france:

TLDR; the webpage is fighting with 3 passkey and password manager prompts when I tap the cursor in the username field, for me to tap prompt Bitwarden passkey extension, Firefox browser password manager, KeePassXC passkey extension.

Tried the Bitwarden Community website log in with passkey and multiple errors for 1st time users, however finally logged in with Bitwarden passkey by navigating to the log in webpage and tapping Log in with a Passkey.

I think this can be labelled the solution, I just need to clean up the browser log in page so other 3rd parties’ prompts/interruptions stop appearing over Bitwarden.

Thanks to the helpers and good luck to any noobs trying a 1st time passkey :smile:

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