# Arguments for/against using vault password files

**URL:** <https://forum.ansible.com/t/arguments-for-against-using-vault-password-files/23744>\
**Category:** Ansible Project\
**Created:** [February 16, 2017, 1:01pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/arguments-for-against-using-vault-password-files/23744 "2017-02-16T13:01:40Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Andrew\_Feller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@Andrew\_Feller](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Andrew_Feller)\
**Post date:** [February 16, 2017, 1:01pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/arguments-for-against-using-vault-password-files/23744/1 "2017-02-16T13:01:40Z")

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Hi everyone,

I would appreciate hearing peoples’ various arguments for/against using vault password files versus manually entering passwords.

I’ve been manually entering in vault passwords as I didn’t want to leave keys on my laptop in case stolen / compromised. I’ve seen posts about configuring git to [decrypt vault files for diffing purposes](https://selivan.github.io/2016/11/29/ansible-human-readable-git-diff-for-vault.html) using vault password files for ease. After my knee-jerk wtf, I started thinking about it in terms of using SSH identity and authorized key for traversing hosts within your network easily.

Thank you for your thoughts and insights,  
Andy

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**Author:** ![Nehal\_J\_Wani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a9a28c/32.png) [@Nehal\_J\_Wani](https://forum.ansible.com/u/Nehal_J_Wani)\
**Post date:** [February 16, 2017, 2:02pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/arguments-for-against-using-vault-password-files/23744/2 "2017-02-16T14:02:28Z")

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Another option, IMO is to use GPG [https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/7174](https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/7174)