Snappass is generally the web app that is used to share the password in a secure way. Using the Fernet symmetric encryption, snappass encrypts all the passwords shared through their platform. For each password, a random key is generated that is not stored and shared as a password link. So it will be safe and secure, enhancing the security features.

Here at Ibmi Media, we shall look into the procedure to install and use snappass on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS server.

Steps to install snappass on Ubuntu Linux system

To install the snappass, first you must have to install the redis server and python with version above 3.5. Redis server is easy to install by downloading its package from the official documentation or directly from the Ubuntu repository. 

Install the redis server following the below commands:

$ sudo apt update

Then install the redis server with the command as:

$ sudo apt install redis-server -y

Verify the redis server is running by checking its status:

$ sudo systemctl status redis-server.service

Also, check if python is installed or not with the command as shown below:

$ python3 --version

Next, you are ready to install the snappass on your Ubuntu 20.04 server. Simply execute the command as shown below for this purpose:

$ pip install snappass

Now, run the snappass to serve the web app by executing the command:

$ snapass

How to use Snappass web app ?

• After successfully installing the snappass and its requirements like redis server and python, you are ready to browse the web app of the snappass that is generally a Flask app. To browse the site, copy the address link from the output of snapass command which is http://ip_address:5000 .
• Here, you are able to share the password or secret with the easy steps. First put your password on the set secret field then set the validity of the password. Lastly click on the Generate URL.
• After clicking on the Generate URL, you will get the secret link which you can share to the concerned person through any media. Simply copy the link address and share it.
• Now the concerned person can browse the secret link provided by you. As soon as they browse the link, they will get a "Reveal secret" section.
• After the provided link is browsed, the person will click on the Reveal secret section to see the password which is set by the sender.
• Here, you will see the same password is provided as output that is set by the sender. This is an easy and secure way to set and reveal the password.

How to install Snapass through docker ?

Snappass is also installed and set up with the use of docker and docker compose. First be sure you have already installed the docker and docker compose on your Ubuntu 20.04 LTS server. Then download the project of the snappass from the github repository by executing the command:

$ git clone https://github.com/pinterest/snappass.git

Now you will notice the snappass folder will be downloaded with the required contents like Dockerfile, docker-compose,yml and mainly snappass project file.

To install and setup snappass with its requirement like redis server, simply execute the docker-compose command as:

$ docker-compose up -d

After executing this command, the redis server and snappass web app will be set up and ready to be browsed.

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