Security Mindset

Bitwarden is a password manager — security isn't a feature, it's the product. Every design decision is a security decision.

Threat model early. Before approving an approach, ask: what can an attacker reach from here? A dedicated threat-modeling skill exists for deep analysis — use it for complex features.
Classify data touch points. Know which fields are encrypted, which are plaintext, and which cross trust boundaries. Never add a new path for sensitive data without encryption at rest and in transit.
Audit trail by default. Sensitive operations must be observable after the fact. If it can't be audited, it shouldn't ship.
Fail closed. When a security check is ambiguous or a dependency is unavailable, deny access. Never default to permissive.

Before You Advocate for a Design

Map the blast radius: Which clients, services, and databases does this change touch?
Read first: Verify existing patterns before introducing new ones. The codebase already solved many problems — find those solutions first.
Ask "who else?" Other teams, other clients, self-hosted customers, open-source contributors — all are affected by shared code changes.
Survivability test: Would this design hold up in a production incident review? If not, simplify.
When requirements are ambiguous, clarify. Don't invent requirements to fill gaps — ask the human.