Fixing Password Safe After a .deb Upgrade on Ubuntu: Wrong Command Name and Unmet Dependencies

Nothing in your password database is broken and no data was lost. Two separate things are going on: the package installs its executables under the name pwsafe, not passwordsafe, and on current Ubuntu releases the 1.26 .deb can finish installing with unmet library dependencies that prevent the graphical program from starting at all. Both are fixable in a few minutes.

The package name and the program name are not the same

Debian-family packages frequently ship binaries whose names differ from the package name. The passwordsafe package installs two programs — pwsafe for the graphical interface and pwsafe-cli for the console — normally in /usr/bin. That is why the terminal reports passwordsafe: command not found: no executable by that name exists. Running bash passwordsafe fails for a second reason: it asks bash to execute a file called passwordsafe in the current directory, which also does not exist.

Automated assistants often guess the command from the package name, so verify it yourself. The first thing to try is simply:

pwsafe

Confirm what the package actually installed

To list the executables delivered by an installed package:

dpkg -L passwordsafe | grep bin

To inspect a .deb file before installing it:

dpkg-deb -c passwordsafe-*.deb | grep bin

If the binary lands outside your PATH — possible with a nonstandard installation prefix — either add that directory to PATH or point your launcher at the full path. sudo updatedb && locate pwsafe is a quick way to find where it went.

Why the menu icon and "Open with" do nothing

A desktop entry can appear in the applications menu even when the program behind it cannot run. If a shared library is missing, the process exits the instant it starts and the launcher shows nothing. And if the menu entry is stale or points at a URL or file rather than a command, clicking it can hand off to your browser instead — which matches the symptom of the icon opening Firefox.

Inspect the entry:

• Look at /usr/share/applications/pwsafe.desktop, or a copy under ~/.local/share/applications/, and check its Exec= line.
• Or right-click the menu item, open its properties, and read the Command field. It should run pwsafe; correct it if it does not.

Also note that ii in dpkg -l only means dpkg considers the package installed — it does not prove every runtime library is present. Launching pwsafe from a terminal prints the real error, and ldd /usr/bin/pwsafe | grep "not found" lists any missing libraries.

Repair the unmet dependencies

On recent Ubuntu releases, the 64-bit-time transition renamed several libraries: libwxgtk3.2-1 became libwxgtk3.2-1t64, libxerces-c3.2 became libxerces-c3.2t64, and so on. The Password Safe 1.26 package still declares the old names, so installing it with dpkg -i can end in dependency errors and leave the package unconfigured. APT resolves this on its own:

sudo apt --fix-broken install

(sudo apt install -f is equivalent.) APT substitutes the renamed t64 packages automatically, because in this case only the package names changed — the shared-library files themselves kept their names. Then finish any pending configuration:

sudo dpkg --configure -a

Test the console build first, since it depends on fewer libraries:

pwsafe-cli --help

One caveat: the t64 renaming is mostly cosmetic, which is why the substitution works here. Other library transitions change the actual binary interface, and no dependency fix helps then — the package simply has to be rebuilt for your release.

Install the build that matches your release

The project publishes release-specific packages (for example passwordsafe-ubuntu24-1.26-amd64.deb versus passwordsafe-ubuntu26-1.26-amd64.deb). They are built against different library versions, so a package intended for a different Ubuntu release can produce exactly the unmet-dependency errors described above. Download the one matching your release from the official project's releases page, then install and repair in one go:

sudo dpkg -i passwordsafe-ubuntuNN-1.26-amd64.deb
sudo apt --fix-broken install

If the GUI still refuses to start afterwards, check the project's issue tracker — the maintainers are aware of the dependency naming on current Ubuntu and Debian releases and are tracking it.

Quick prevention checklist

• Always grab the package built for your exact distribution release.
• Run dpkg -L after installing to learn the real binary names.
• Treat command names suggested by AI assistants as guesses until verified.
• Prefer sudo apt install ./package.deb over plain dpkg -i when you want dependencies handled immediately.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does clicking the app icon open my browser?

Most likely the desktop entry is stale or points at a URL or file instead of a program. Check the Exec= line in the .desktop file and set it to run pwsafe.

Is my existing .psafe3 database affected?

No. Upgrades replace the program, never your database. Your .psafe3 file is untouched, though keeping a backup before any upgrade is always good practice.

What is the difference between pwsafe and pwsafe-cli?

pwsafe is the graphical application; pwsafe-cli is a console version useful for scripting and for verifying that the package works when GUI libraries are the problem.

Does "ii" in dpkg -l mean everything is fine?

It means dpkg believes the package is installed and configured. It does not guarantee that every runtime library is present or that the launcher points at the right binary.

How do I see the actual launch error?

Run pwsafe from a terminal instead of the menu — error messages appear there. Missing libraries can be listed with ldd /usr/bin/pwsafe | grep "not found".

Should I use apt or dpkg for .deb files?

dpkg -i installs but does not resolve missing dependencies; following it with sudo apt --fix-broken install does. Alternatively, sudo apt install ./package.deb handles dependencies in a single step.