Crash at start after upgrading AppImage

[TobiGr]

Steps To Reproduce

1. Install and use Bitwarden prior to 2025.8.2 AppImage, I might have had version 2025.8.1 before
2. Use built-in updater to 2025.8.2 and click restart

Expected Result

App starts as usual

Actual Result

App does not restart / start at all. Even manual launches do not work and result in the following stackstrace:

A JavaScript error occurred in the main process
Uncaught Exception:
SyntaxError: Unexpected end of JSON input
    at JSON.parse (<anonymous>)
    at Conf._deserialize (/tmp/.mount_BitwardAv587/resources/app.asar/main.js:45459:43)
    at get store (/tmp/.mount_BitwardAv587/resources/app.asar/main.js:45670:43)
    at new Conf (/tmp/.mount_BitwardAv587/resources/app.asar/main.js:45523:32)
    at new ElectronStore (/tmp/.mount_BitwardAv587/resources/app.asar/main.js:30234:3)
    at new ElectronStorageService (/tmp/.mount_BitwardAv587/resources/app.asar/main.js:18370:22)
    at new Main (/tmp/.mount_BitwardAv587/resources/app.asar/main.js:19139:31)
    at 83243 (/tmp/.mount_BitwardAv587/resources/app.asar/main.js:91250:18)
    at __webpack_require__ (/tmp/.mount_BitwardAv587/resources/app.asar/main.js:102726:42)
    at /tmp/.mount_BitwardAv587/resources/app.asar/main.js:102889:37

Screenshots or Videos

No response

Additional Context

I've been using Bitwarden for quite some time, many app updates worked smoothly. Just this one has gone wrong.

Operating System

Linux

Operating System Version

Linux Mint 22.1

Installation method

Other

Build Version

2025.8.2

Issue Tracking Info

• [x] I understand that work is tracked outside of GitHub. A PR will be linked to this issue should one be opened to address it, but Bitwarden doesn't use fields like "assigned", "milestone", or "project" to track progress.

[bitwarden-bot]

Thank you for reporting this issue! We've added this to our internal tracking system. ID: PM-25335

[vegerot]

+1:

$ bitwarden
A JavaScript error occurred in the main process
Uncaught Exception:
SyntaxError: Unterminated string in JSON at position 2191360 (line 60272 column 15)
    at JSON.parse (<anonymous>)
    at Conf._deserialize (/snap/bitwarden/146/resources/app.asar/main.js:45459:43)
    at get store (/snap/bitwarden/146/resources/app.asar/main.js:45670:43)
    at new Conf (/snap/bitwarden/146/resources/app.asar/main.js:45523:32)
    at new ElectronStore (/snap/bitwarden/146/resources/app.asar/main.js:30234:3)
    at new ElectronStorageService (/snap/bitwarden/146/resources/app.asar/main.js:18370:22)
    at new Main (/snap/bitwarden/146/resources/app.asar/main.js:19139:31)
    at 83243 (/snap/bitwarden/146/resources/app.asar/main.js:91250:18)
    at __webpack_require__ (/snap/bitwarden/146/resources/app.asar/main.js:102726:42)
    at /snap/bitwarden/146/resources/app.asar/main.js:102889:37
MESA-LOADER: failed to open nouveau (search paths /snap/bitwarden/146/gnome-platform/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/dri)
failed to load driver: nouveau
MESA-LOADER: failed to open kms_swrast (search paths /snap/bitwarden/146/gnome-platform/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/dri)
failed to load driver: kms_swrast
MESA-LOADER: failed to open swrast (search paths /snap/bitwarden/146/gnome-platform/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/dri)
failed to load swrast driver

[serranomorante]

Wow, same issue here :(

Sep 20 14:01:59 arch (udev-worker)[000000]: 0:61: Device processed (SEQNUM=0000, ACTION=add)
Sep 20 14:01:59 arch (udev-worker)[000000]: 0:61: sd-device-monitor(worker): Passed 000 byte to netlink monitor.
Sep 20 14:01:59 arch systemd-udevd[489]: No events are queued, removed /run/udev/queue.
Sep 20 14:02:00 arch dwm[000000]: A JavaScript error occurred in the main process
Sep 20 14:02:00 arch dwm[000000]: Uncaught Exception:
Sep 20 14:02:00 arch dwm[000000]: SyntaxError: Unterminated string in JSON at position 1028096 (line 26569 column 77)
Sep 20 14:02:00 arch dwm[000000]:     at JSON.parse (<anonymous>)
Sep 20 14:02:00 arch dwm[000000]:     at Conf._deserialize (/tmp/.mount_000000/resources/app.asar/main.js:35499:43)
Sep 20 14:02:00 arch dwm[000000]:     at get store (/tmp/.mount_000000/resources/app.asar/main.js:35710:43)
Sep 20 14:02:00 arch dwm[000000]:     at new Conf (/tmp/.mount_000000/resources/app.asar/main.js:35563:32)
Sep 20 14:02:00 arch dwm[000000]:     at new ElectronStore (/tmp/.mount_000000/resources/app.asar/main.js:20257:3)
Sep 20 14:02:00 arch dwm[000000]:     at new ElectronStorageService (/tmp/.mount_000000/resources/app.asar/main.js:83212:22)
Sep 20 14:02:00 arch dwm[000000]:     at new Main (/tmp/.mount_000000/resources/app.asar/main.js:83976:31)
Sep 20 14:02:00 arch dwm[000000]:     at 83243 (/tmp/.mount_000000/resources/app.asar/main.js:91228:18)
Sep 20 14:02:00 arch dwm[000000]:     at __webpack_require__ (/tmp/.mount_000000/resources/app.asar/main.js:102700:42)
Sep 20 14:02:00 arch dwm[000000]:     at /tmp/.mount_000000/resources/app.asar/main.js:102863:37
Sep 20 14:02:03 arch systemd-udevd[489]: Cleaning up idle workers.
Sep 20 14:02:03 arch systemd-udevd[489]: Worker [000000] exited.

[TobiGr]

I tried to install the .deb version of the package and get the same crash. Is the local JSON file containing the vault info corrupted? If yes, which files in which directories do I need to delete to get a fresh setup?

[Achllle]

I have the same issue after installation from snap package. Dug into this a bit and found that the json file it's failing on isn't stored within the ~/.config/Bitwarden folder but instead within the snap installation folder. Turns out ~/snap/bitwarden/151/appdata/data.json was empty. Simply adding {} to that file made the error disappear. I noticed that an update was installed 8 days ago, with now 2025.11.2 (151) being installed. My guess is that the update process itself corrupts the config. I'm assuming this may apply to AppImage and/or debian package installations as well

[serranomorante]

I ended up using the flatpak version. I had to override the default .desktop file to authenticate successfully.

commit to my config files where I did the changes

[TobiGr]

I deleted my local config to fix this problem

[Achllle]

That's a resolution, not a fix for the root cause.

[TobiGr]

I closed it due to the lack of respone by the bitwarden team. But I can reopen it, if you want.