Getting password-store ("pass") to work on Asustor NAS ADM

I have an Asustor NAS, and I love it. But it comes with a catch: It runs ADM, Asustor's own Linux distribution that marches to the beat of its own drum. Instead of the familiar apt, yum, or dnf, you get opkg and its companion repository, Entware.

The Entware Dilemma

Entware is impressive — it offers thousands of packages. But "thousands" isn't "everything," and that's where the fun begins. Browse any NAS forum and you'll find posts from users pulling their hair out trying to install their favorite tools. Some packages hide under different names (want Emacs? Try "mg" instead). Others? Some simply don't exist.

This reality makes the prospect of building from source feel like staring down a mountain with no climbing gear. But here's the thing: sometimes that mountain is actually just a small hill with good stairs.

Wanted: password-store

Today's mission: getting pass (the standard Unix password manager) running on ADM. For the uninitiated, pass is the grumpy old grandfather of password managers — no cloud sync, no fancy UI, just GPG-encrypted files in a local directory. It does one thing and does it well:

• pass insert — add a password
• pass show — display a password
• pass -c — copy to clipboard
• pass generate — create a new password

Naturally, it's not in Entware. When I asked AI for help, it basically shrugged and said, "You could try building from source, but don't get your hopes up."

Challenge accepted.

Surprise: It's Easy

Here's the most straightforward attempt you can image, and it actually worked:

# Install dependencies
opkg install bash git gnupg tree getopt qrencode

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/zx2c4/password-store.git

# Install (yes, that's it)
cd password-store
sudo /opt/bin/make install

And just like that:

$ pass --help
============================================
= pass: the standard unix password manager =
=                                          =
=                  v1.7.4                  =
============================================

Why It Worked

What clearly helps here is that pass is just a collection of shell scripts. No compilation needed, no complex dependencies, no wrestling with incompatible libraries. The make install simply copies files to the right places. Sometimes the simplest tools are the easiest to port.

The Takeaway

If you're struggling to get something working on ADM, don't immediately give up when it's not in Entware. Check if it's a simple script-based tool first — you might be surprised how often "building from source" is just "copying some files around."

I'm leaving this here for the next person frantically searching the web for "pass password-store Asustor ADM" at 2 AM. Yes, it works. Yes, it's this easy. You're welcome. sportpesa live betting