Is there something I'm missing? I just copied my username/library/keychains folder from my mac pro a put it in the same place in my macbook air and it didn't seem to work.
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moving keychain to a new computer.....
- Thread starter itsjustmeee
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Open Keychain Access on your MacPro, you can then select items to export (File-> Export) and then Import them on your MacBook Pro.
If you copied over the existing keychain with the files from that folder it should work. You do need to logout then log back in tough for it to recognize the keychain. Also, make sure you login password is the same as before so it can unlock the keychain.
I have a different, but related problem. I want to copy the keychain of my personal Mac to my work Mac. The thing is, there is no guarantee that I will be the only guy using the work computer or even the user account. So I need to transfer the keychain items, but keep them password protected. In the sense, Keychain Access should ask for the keychain password every time the keychain is tried to access. I don't want it to reveal anything (not even the item names) to anyone without the password.
And BTW, is it safe to copy my keychain to a different computer?
Sure, you can copy to a different computer using the same process we discussed in this thread. Then in the Keychain app preferences tell it NOT to sync the keychain password with the login keychain. Next change the keychain password to something other than the login password.
Now you will have a keychain that can only be opened by you with your password even while others can access the machine with their login.
The downside here is others will not be able to save any passwords or anything to the keychain.
One other thing I thought of. Don't forget to lock the keychain before you leave the machine for others to use. In Keychain prefs there is a checkbox to show the keychain in the menu bar. You can just use that to lock the keychain.
That shouldn't be a problem, as I turn off the computer before leaving my workplace, and I have set it up to not unlock the keychain (sync) at login.
And instead of copying the entire keychain of my personal Mac to my work Mac, I just created a new one on the work Mac and added the stuff I needed.
Thanks again.