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Open Net Worth Docs

I lost my password

There’s no “forgot password” email — your book isn’t tied to an email address or an online account. Instead there are exactly two ways to set a new password without knowing the old one, and both work only from the machine that holds your book:

You use…Do this
The desktop app, with your book on this computerReset it in Settings
A server (onw start, make start, Docker, a home server)Run onw reset-password on that machine

Both sign every other browser and device out. Your data is untouched.

In the desktop app

  1. Open Settings → Security.
  2. Under Password, type a new password in New password and again in Confirm password (at least 8 characters). The desktop app doesn’t ask for the current one.
  3. Click Reset password.

This works only for a book stored on this computer. If the desktop app is connected to a server instead, use onw reset-password on that server.

On a server: onw reset-password

  1. Open a terminal on the machine that runs Open Net Worth, signed in as the user that runs the app (the one whose home folder holds .open-net-worth).

  2. Run the command for how you installed it:

    InstallCommand
    uv tool installonw reset-password
    From a source checkout.venv/bin/onw reset-password (from the repository folder)
    Dockerdocker compose exec app python3 -m backend.cli reset-password (from the folder with docker-compose.yml)

  3. Type the new password at New password:, then again at Confirm new password:. Nothing appears as you type.

  4. You should see Password updated for the book in …. Every signed-in session was signed out. The next line reminds you that your API token was not changed — rotate it from Settings → Security if you think it was exposed.

The server doesn’t need restarting — sign in with the new password straight away. It doesn’t matter whether the server is running while you do this.

Notes

  • If you keep your book somewhere other than the default, set the same ONW_ROOT you start the server with: ONW_ROOT=/path/to/folder onw reset-password.
  • For a script, --password-stdin reads the password from one line of input instead of prompting.
  • AUTH_PASSWORD is not a reset. It only sets a password when none is stored yet, and is ignored after that.

If the command fails

MessageFix
No Open Net Worth book found in …. Start the app once to create it, or point this at the right folder with ONW_ROOT.You’re pointing at the wrong folder. Run it as the right user, or set ONW_ROOT to the folder the server uses.
The two passwords do not match.Run it again and type the same password twice.
The password must be at least 8 characters.Choose a longer password.
No terminal to prompt on. Run this in a terminal, or pass --password-stdin.Run it in an interactive terminal, or pipe the password in with --password-stdin.

Why opening the app on the server isn’t enough

A browser on the server machine skips the login screen by default, but changing the password there still asks for the current one. That’s deliberate: otherwise any program on the machine could take over your password. Use onw reset-password instead. Turning the login off with AUTH_DISABLED=true doesn’t help either, for the same reason.

There is no remote way back in. If you can’t get a terminal on the machine, you can’t reset the password — that’s what makes it mean something.

Other sign-in messages

“Incorrect password” — check Caps Lock and your keyboard layout. Spaces count: the password is exactly what you typed when you set it.

“Too many attempts. Try again in N minutes.” — after 5 wrong passwords within 15 minutes from the same place, sign-in is paused for the rest of that window, even for the right password. Wait it out, then try again.

Don’t want a password at all?

In Settings → Security, Remove password (it asks for the current one, except in the desktop app on its own book) lets this computer open the book without one, and signs out every other device. Outside the desktop app, turn on Don’t ask for the password on this computer first. See Security and privacy.