Skip to main content

​
Overview

Ciphers are the core vault items in Bitwarden. They can represent:
  • Login credentials (username/password)
  • Secure Notes
  • Card information (credit/debit cards)
  • Identity information (personal details)
  • SSH Keys

​
Get Cipher

Retrieve a specific cipher by ID. 
GET /ciphers/{id}
​
id
string
required
The cipher ID

​
Response

​
id
string
required
Cipher unique identifier
​
type
number
required
Cipher type (1=Login, 2=SecureNote, 3=Card, 4=Identity, 5=SSHKey)
​
name
string
required
Encrypted cipher name
​
notes
string
Encrypted notes
​
login
object
Login credentials (for type=1)
​
card
object
Card information (for type=3)
​
identity
object
Identity information (for type=4)
​
favorite
boolean
Whether cipher is marked as favorite
​
organizationId
string
Organization ID if cipher is shared
​
collectionIds
array
Collections containing this cipher

​
Get Cipher Details

Retrieve detailed cipher information including collection associations. 
GET /ciphers/{id}/details
​
id
string
required
The cipher ID

​
Get Cipher as Admin

Retrieve cipher details with admin permissions. 
GET /ciphers/{id}/admin
​
id
string
required
The cipher ID
This endpoint requires admin or manager permissions for the organization.

​
List All Ciphers

Retrieve all ciphers accessible to the authenticated user. 
GET /ciphers

​
Response

Returns a list of all ciphers including personal and organization ciphers.

​
List Organization Ciphers

Retrieve all ciphers for a specific organization. 
GET /ciphers/organization-details?organizationId={organizationId}&includeMemberItems={includeMemberItems}
​
organizationId
string
required
The organization ID
​
includeMemberItems
boolean
default:"false"
Include items in user’s default collections

​
List Assigned Organization Ciphers

Retrieve organization ciphers assigned to the current user. 
GET /ciphers/organization-details/assigned?organizationId={organizationId}
​
organizationId
string
required
The organization ID

​
Create Cipher

Create a new cipher. 
curl -X POST "https://api.bitwarden.com/ciphers" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer {access_token}" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "type": 1,
    "name": "2.encrypted_name",
    "notes": "2.encrypted_notes",
    "login": {
      "username": "2.encrypted_username",
      "password": "2.encrypted_password",
      "uris": [
        {"uri": "2.encrypted_uri"}
      ]
    },
    "folderId": null,
    "favorite": false
  }'

​
Request Body

​
type
number
required
Cipher type (1=Login, 2=SecureNote, 3=Card, 4=Identity, 5=SSHKey)
​
name
string
required
Encrypted cipher name
​
notes
string
Encrypted notes
​
login
object
Login data (required for type=1)
​
secureNote
object
Secure note data (required for type=2)
​
card
object
Card data (required for type=3)
​
identity
object
Identity data (required for type=4)
​
folderId
string
Folder ID to place cipher in
​
organizationId
string
Organization ID if creating organization cipher
​
favorite
boolean
default:"false"
Mark as favorite
​
lastKnownRevisionDate
string
Last known revision date for conflict detection

​
Create Cipher with Collections

Create a cipher and assign it to collections in one operation. 
POST /ciphers/create
​
cipher
object
required
Cipher object (same as Create Cipher)
​
collectionIds
array
required
Array of collection IDs to assign cipher to

​
Update Cipher

Update an existing cipher. 
PUT /ciphers/{id}
​
id
string
required
The cipher ID

​
Request Body

Same as Create Cipher, all fields should be provided.

​
Partial Update Cipher

Update only specific fields of a cipher (folder and favorite status). 
PUT /ciphers/{id}/partial
​
id
string
required
The cipher ID
​
folderId
string
New folder ID (null for no folder)
​
favorite
boolean
Favorite status

​
Share Cipher

Share a personal cipher with an organization. 
PUT /ciphers/{id}/share
​
id
string
required
The cipher ID
​
cipher
object
required
Updated cipher object with organizationId
​
collectionIds
array
required
Collections to share cipher with

​
Update Cipher Collections

Update which collections a cipher belongs to. 
PUT /ciphers/{id}/collections
​
id
string
required
The cipher ID
​
collectionIds
array
required
New array of collection IDs

​
Bulk Update Collections

Add or remove collections for multiple ciphers. 
POST /ciphers/bulk-collections
​
organizationId
string
required
Organization ID
​
cipherIds
array
required
Array of cipher IDs to update
​
collectionIds
array
required
Array of collection IDs
​
removeCollections
boolean
default:"false"
Remove collections instead of adding them

​
Archive Cipher

Archive a single cipher. 
PUT /ciphers/{id}/archive
​
id
string
required
The cipher ID

​
Bulk Archive Ciphers

Archive multiple ciphers at once. 
PUT /ciphers/archive
​
ids
array
required
Array of cipher IDs to archive (max 500)

​
Unarchive Cipher

Restore an archived cipher. 
PUT /ciphers/{id}/unarchive
​
id
string
required
The cipher ID

​
Bulk Unarchive Ciphers

Restore multiple archived ciphers. 
PUT /ciphers/unarchive
​
ids
array
required
Array of cipher IDs to unarchive (max 500)

​
Soft Delete Cipher

Move a cipher to trash (soft delete). 
PUT /ciphers/{id}/delete
​
id
string
required
The cipher ID

​
Bulk Soft Delete

Move multiple ciphers to trash. 
PUT /ciphers/delete
​
ids
array
required
Array of cipher IDs (max 500)

​
Restore Cipher

Restore a soft-deleted cipher from trash. 
PUT /ciphers/{id}/restore
​
id
string
required
The cipher ID

​
Bulk Restore Ciphers

Restore multiple ciphers from trash. 
PUT /ciphers/restore
​
ids
array
required
Array of cipher IDs (max 500)

​
Delete Cipher Permanently

Permanently delete a cipher (cannot be undone). 
DELETE /ciphers/{id}
​
id
string
required
The cipher ID
This permanently deletes the cipher. This action cannot be undone.

​
Bulk Delete Permanently

Permanently delete multiple ciphers. 
DELETE /ciphers
​
ids
array
required
Array of cipher IDs (max 500)

​
Move Ciphers to Folder

Move multiple ciphers to a folder. 
PUT /ciphers/move
​
ids
array
required
Array of cipher IDs (max 500)
​
folderId
string
Destination folder ID (null for no folder)

​
Encryption

All sensitive cipher data must be encrypted client-side before sending to the API. The API stores encrypted data only.

​
Encrypted Fields

The following fields are encrypted:
  • name
  • notes
  • Login: username, password, uris, totp
  • Card: cardholderName, number, code
  • Identity: All fields
  • SSH Key: All fields

​
Encryption Format

Encrypted strings follow the format: {encType}.{encryptedData}|{iv}|{mac} Example: 2.abc123|def456|ghi789

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get started for freeTalk to us