---
title: Placeholders
description: "Tokens that expand into an item's data: fields, URL parts, text
  transformations, dates and times."
url: https://keyguard.dev/docs/placeholders/
platforms:
  - android
  - linux
  - macos
  - windows
premium: false
---

# Placeholders

Placeholders are tokens that Keyguard replaces with an item’s data when you open the item. Copying or opening a URI uses the result. The syntax follows the [KeePass placeholder specification](https://keepass.info/help/base/placeholders.html).

Placeholders work in:

- each URI of an item, except one whose **Match detection** is **Regular expression**;
- commands in [URL overrides](https://keyguard.dev/docs/url-overrides/).

Other fields, autofill and Quick search use the text as written.

## Resolution rules

- Placeholder names and their basic parameters are case-insensitive. The comment prefix `{c:...}` must be lowercase, and environment variable names follow the system’s rules.
- All placeholders in an item resolve at the same instant, so time-based placeholders match each other.
- Placeholders can be nested. The innermost resolves first.
- A known placeholder with no value resolves to an empty string. `{otp}` becomes nothing if the item has no one-time password.
- An unknown placeholder stays as it is. `{keyguard}` stays `{keyguard}`.

## Item fields

| Placeholder | Description |
| :- | :- |
| `{uuid}` | UUID |
| `{title}` | Title or name |
| `{username}` | Username |
| `{password}` | Password |
| `{otp}` | One-time password |
| `{notes}` | Notes |
| `{favorite}` | `true` or `false` |

If the username is `joe`:

```text
> https://example.com?user={username}
https://example.com?user=joe
```

## Custom fields

Reference a custom field by name with `{s:name}`. For example, if an item has a custom field named “Email”, `{s:email}` resolves to its value. If several fields share the name, the first one wins.

If the item’s `license` field holds `12345678ABCD`:

```text
> https://example.com?license={s:license}
https://example.com?license=12345678ABCD
```

## URL parts

These work in URL override commands. They extract parts of the URL being overridden, so your command can reassemble them. `{base}` is identical to `{url}` and supports the same parts.

For the URL `https://user:pw@keepass.info:80/path/example.php?q=e&s=t`:

| Placeholder | Description | Value |
| :- | :- | :- |
| `{url}` | Full URL | `https://user:pw@keepass.info:80/path/example.php?q=e&s=t` |
| `{url:rmvscm}` | Without scheme | `user:pw@keepass.info:80/path/example.php?q=e&s=t` |
| `{url:scm}` | Scheme | `https` |
| `{url:host}` | Host | `keepass.info` |
| `{url:port}` | Port, or the scheme’s default port | `80` |
| `{url:path}` | Path | `/path/example.php` |
| `{url:query}` | Query | `q=e&s=t` |
| `{url:userinfo}` | User information | `user:pw` |
| `{url:username}` | Username | `user` |
| `{url:password}` | Password | `pw` |
| `{url:parameter:q}` | Query parameter named `q` | `e` |

## Text transformations

### Replace with a regular expression

```text
{t-replace-rx:/text/search/replace/}
```

The first symbol after `:` sets the separator. It can be any symbol except `{` and `}`, and the trailing separator is required.

If the username field contains `username@example.com`:

```text
> {t-replace-rx:/{username}/.*@(.*)/$1/}
example.com
```

For the exact regex semantics, see Kotlin’s [Regex.replace](https://kotlinlang.org/api/latest/jvm/stdlib/kotlin.text/-regex/replace.html) documentation.

### Convert to another representation

```text
{t-conv:/value/type/}
```

The separator works the same way as above.

| Type | Conversion |
| :- | :- |
| `u` or `upper` | Uppercase |
| `l` or `lower` | Lowercase |
| `base64` | Base64: no padding, no wrap, URL safe |
| `hex` | Hex, lowercase |
| `uri` | URI-encode, with a space as `+` |
| `uri-dec` | URI-decode, with `+` as a space |

If the username is `joe` and the password is `Password1!`:

```text
> https://example.com?user={username}&password={t-conv:/{password}/uri/}
https://example.com?user=joe&password=Password1%21
```

## Environment variables

System environment variables are supported. Enclose the variable name in `%` characters. For example, if `HOME` is `/home/username`:

```text
> {%HOME%}
/home/username
```

## Date and time

These resolve to the current date and time, in local time or in UTC. Components have no leading zero: January is `1`.

### Local

| Placeholder | Description |
| :- | :- |
| `{dt_simple}` | Current local date and time as a sortable string. For `2024-01-01 17:05:34` the value is `20240101170534` |
| `{dt_year}` | Year component |
| `{dt_month}` | Month component |
| `{dt_day}` | Day component |
| `{dt_hour}` | Hour component |
| `{dt_minute}` | Minute component |
| `{dt_second}` | Second component |

### UTC

| Placeholder | Description |
| :- | :- |
| `{dt_utc_simple}` | Current UTC date and time as a sortable string. For `2024-01-01 17:05:34` the value is `20240101170534` |
| `{dt_utc_year}` | Year component |
| `{dt_utc_month}` | Month component |
| `{dt_utc_day}` | Day component |
| `{dt_utc_hour}` | Hour component |
| `{dt_utc_minute}` | Minute component |
| `{dt_utc_second}` | Second component |

## Comments

| Placeholder | Description |
| :- | :- |
| `{c:value}` | Comment, removed when the value resolves |

## Related

- [URL overrides](https://keyguard.dev/docs/url-overrides/)