Download Bitwarden for Mac

Universal .dmg works on Apple Silicon (M1, M2, M3, M4) and older Intel Macs. Same code, signed by 8bit Solutions LLC (Bitwarden's legal entity), notarised by Apple.

Installation steps

1. Click Download .dmg above. Safari saves to ~/Downloads/.
2. Double-click the .dmg to mount it. Finder shows the Bitwarden disk image.
3. Drag the Bitwarden icon onto the Applications folder (the .dmg shows both side-by-side).
4. Eject the disk image (drag to Trash or right-click → Eject).
5. Open Applications → Bitwarden. macOS prompts: "Bitwarden was downloaded from the internet. Are you sure?" — click Open.
6. Sign in or create an account.

Mac App Store version

Bitwarden also ships through the Mac App Store. Same code, but distributed via Apple's channel:

App Store advantages: auto-updates through System Settings → App Store; sandboxed by default; Family Sharing eligible.

App Store caveats: sandbox restrictions affect the Safari extension setup flow on first launch (one extra permission grant required); slower to ship than the .dmg release (App Store review queue adds ~1 week).

Apple Silicon vs Intel

The .dmg is a Universal binary — one file, both architectures. On launch, macOS picks the correct slice automatically. Activity Monitor → Kind column shows whether the running process is Apple Silicon or Intel.

If you specifically want the Intel build (e.g., debugging a compatibility issue on a 2019 MacBook Pro), use the arch command:

arch -x86_64 /Applications/Bitwarden.app/Contents/MacOS/Bitwarden

This runs the Intel slice through Rosetta 2 even on M-series Macs. There's basically no reason to do this in normal use; native is always faster.

Safari extension

Safari extensions are bundled inside the macOS app — installing the Bitwarden app gives you both the desktop vault viewer and the Safari extension. Enable it after install:

1. Open Safari → Settings → Extensions.
2. Find Bitwarden in the left sidebar, tick the checkbox.
3. First time you click the Bitwarden toolbar icon, it asks for site permissions. Grant "Always Allow on Every Website" for autofill to work.

Safari Web Extensions are sandboxed differently from Chrome/Firefox extensions. Some power-user features (autofill into iframe-isolated forms) work better on Chrome. If you live on Safari, Bitwarden works fine; if you frequently switch between Safari and Chrome, install both extensions.

Verify the download

Confirm the .dmg you downloaded is signed by Bitwarden:

codesign -dv --verbose=4 /Applications/Bitwarden.app 2>&1 | grep -E "Authority|TeamIdentifier"

Expected output:

Authority=Developer ID Application: 8bit Solutions LLC (LTZ2PFU5D6)
TeamIdentifier=LTZ2PFU5D6

Anything else — different team identifier, missing Developer ID — means the file came from somewhere other than Bitwarden's signing authority.

System requirements

• macOS: 11 (Big Sur) or later. Older macOS needs the web vault.
• Architecture: Universal — Apple Silicon and Intel.
• Disk: ~250 MB after install.
• RAM: ~180 MB resident at idle.

Mac install — frequently asked questions