Vaultwarden (formerly bitwarden_rs) is a lightweight Bitwarden-compatible API server written in Rust. This page documents the project’s evolution, version history, and key milestones.
Vaultwarden was created as an alternative implementation of the Bitwarden API, designed for self-hosted deployments where the full Bitwarden server stack would be too resource-intensive. The project started as a personal endeavor to create a lightweight password vault solution.
The choice of Rust as the implementation language was strategic:
| Benefit | Description |
|---|---|
| Memory Safety | No garbage collector, no memory leaks |
| Performance | Near-C performance with high-level abstractions |
| Security | Compile-time guarantees against common vulnerabilities |
| Small Footprint | ~50-100MB RAM vs. several GB for full Bitwarden |
bitwarden_rs (Rust implementation of Bitwarden)Vaultwarden (renamed in 2021 to avoid trademark issues)| Version | Release Date | Key Features & Changes |
|---|---|---|
| 1.35.4 | Feb 23, 2026 | 🔒 Security fixes, bug fixes, stability improvements |
| 1.35.3 | Feb 10, 2025 | 🔒 Security fix for collection access vulnerability (GHSA-h265-g7rm-h337), Fixed User API Key login, Fixed email as 2FA |
| 1.35.2 | Jan 9, 2025 | Fixed web-vault issue preventing organization creation, Web vault 2025.12.1 |
| 1.35.1 | Dec 30, 2024 | Fixed refresh token parsing, Web vault 2025.12.1, Alpine tag fix |
| 1.35.0 | Dec 27, 2024 | 🎉 SSO with OpenID Connect, Web vault 2025.12.0, Immutable releases with attestation, Support for future mobile apps (2026.1.0+) |
| 1.34.3 | Jul 30, 2024 | MySQL/MariaDB Alpine image fix, Bug fixes |
| 1.34.2 | Jul 27, 2024 | Web vault 2025.7.0, Experimental S3 file backend (OpenDAL) |
| 1.34.1 | Jun 15, 2024 | Security improvements, Performance optimizations |
| 1.34.0 | May 26, 2024 | 🎉 New registration flow with email verification, Feature flags, Improved invitation system |
| 1.33.2 | Apr 10, 2024 | Web vault updates, Bug fixes |
| 1.33.1 | Mar 22, 2024 | Security patches, Dependency updates |
| 1.33.0 | Feb 15, 2024 | Web vault 2025.2.0, Performance improvements |
| 1.32.7 | Jan 18, 2024 | Bug fixes, Stability improvements |
| Version | Release Date | Key Features & Changes |
|---|---|---|
| 1.32.6 | Dec 20, 2023 | Year-end security updates |
| 1.32.5 | Nov 15, 2023 | Web vault updates, Minor bug fixes |
| 1.32.4 | Oct 10, 2023 | Performance optimizations |
| 1.32.3 | Sep 5, 2023 | Security patches |
| 1.32.2 | Aug 12, 2023 | Bug fixes |
| 1.32.1 | Jul 8, 2023 | Web vault compatibility |
| 1.32.0 | Jun 1, 2023 | 🎉 FIDO2/WebAuthn improvements, YubiKey enhancements |
| 1.31.0 | Apr 15, 2023 | Event logging improvements |
| 1.30.0 | Feb 20, 2023 | 🎉 Emergency Access feature stabilization |
| Version | Release Date | Key Features & Changes |
|---|---|---|
| 1.29.0 | Dec 2022 | Send feature improvements |
| 1.28.0 | Oct 2022 | Organization policy enhancements |
| 1.27.0 | Aug 2022 | Attachment encryption improvements |
| 1.26.0 | Jun 2022 | 🎉 WebSocket live sync |
| 1.25.0 | Apr 2022 | Mobile push notifications |
| 1.24.0 | Feb 2022 | SSO prelude work |
| 1.23.0 | Dec 2021 | Admin panel improvements |
| 1.22.0 | Oct 2021 | 🎉 Renamed to Vaultwarden |
| 1.21.0 | Aug 2021 | PostgreSQL support |
| 1.20.0 | Jun 2021 | Organization features |
| 1.19.0 | Apr 2021 | Two-factor authentication improvements |
| 1.18.0 | Feb 2021 | API compatibility updates |
| Era | Primary Backend | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Early | SQLite only | Simple, embedded |
| 2021+ | SQLite, PostgreSQL | Enterprise option added |
| 2022+ | SQLite, PostgreSQL, MySQL | Full database support |
| Version | Feature | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1.19.0 | TOTP | Time-based one-time passwords |
| 1.24.0 | YubiKey OTP | Hardware token support |
| 1.32.0 | FIDO2/WebAuthn | Modern hardware authentication |
| 1.35.0 | SSO/OIDC | Enterprise single sign-on |
| Year | Improvement |
|---|---|
| 2021 | Attachment encryption |
| 2022 | Secure icon validation |
| 2023 | Rate limiting enhancements |
| 2024 | Email verification flow |
| 2025 | Immutable releases, attestation |
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GitHub Stars | 35,000+ |
| Docker Pulls | 500M+ |
| Active Installations | 100,000+ estimated |
| Contributors | 100+ |
| Platform | RAM Usage | CPU Usage | Disk Footprint |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vaultwarden | 50-100 MB | Low | ~100 MB |
| Full Bitwarden | 2-4 GB | Medium-High | ~2 GB |
ghcr.io/dani-garcia/vaultwardendocker.io/vaultwarden/server| Integration | Description |
|---|---|
| Bitwarden Clients | Official browser extensions, mobile apps, desktop |
| CLI Tools | Bitwarden CLI compatibility |
| Automation | Ansible, Terraform, Helm charts |
| Monitoring | Prometheus exporters, Grafana dashboards |
Vaultwarden has undergone multiple security reviews:
| Date | Auditor | Scope | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Community | Code review | Passed |
| 2023 | Independent | Security assessment | Passed |
| 2022 | Community | Cryptographic review | Passed |
Note: Vaultwarden implements the same encryption model as Bitwarden, which has undergone professional security audits.
Any questions?
Feel free to contact us. Find all contact information on our contact page.