Does the keychain access app still exist in macOS Sequoia?

Question

Created 1w

Replies 4

Boosts 1

Participants 3

I have a bunch of certificate related things, along with a bunch of secure notes stored in the keychain. These, like previously in System Preferences, don’t show up in the new Passwords app (as tested in iOS).

So before I risk losing all that information by installing Sequoia, I wonder if the KeychainAccess.app is still around, allowing me to access these items.

In case Apple is listening: do NOT remove that app, until all the critical functionality is also in Passwords, or some other app….

Answered by DTS Engineer in 790283022

The old app is still available as /System/Library/CoreServices/Applications.

In case Apple is listening

Apple is always listening! *mwaa haa haa*

Seriously though, I see two parts to this:

The potential for data loss
The long-term future of Keychain Access and the file-based keychain which it’s centred around

My answer to the first one is clear: If you have to run the legacy app to get at critical data, you should file a bug about that. Even if your bug gets marked as a dup, it’ll allow you to track the status of the original.

Please post your bug number, just for the record.

As to what’s going on at the API level, TN3137 On Mac keychain APIs and implementations talks about this. If you’re using keychain APIs, it’s an important read.

Share and Enjoy
—
Quinn “The Eskimo!” @ Developer Technical Support @ Apple
let myEmail = "eskimo" + "1" + "@" + "apple.com"

Boost

Answer 1

bens OP

1w

Yes, it's still there.

0

Answer 2

DTS Engineer OP

Apple

1w

Accepted Answer

Recommended

The old app is still available as /System/Library/CoreServices/Applications.

In case Apple is listening

Apple is always listening! *mwaa haa haa*

Seriously though, I see two parts to this:

The potential for data loss
The long-term future of Keychain Access and the file-based keychain which it’s centred around

My answer to the first one is clear: If you have to run the legacy app to get at critical data, you should file a bug about that. Even if your bug gets marked as a dup, it’ll allow you to track the status of the original.

Please post your bug number, just for the record.

As to what’s going on at the API level, TN3137 On Mac keychain APIs and implementations talks about this. If you’re using keychain APIs, it’s an important read.

Share and Enjoy
—
Quinn “The Eskimo!” @ Developer Technical Support @ Apple
let myEmail = "eskimo" + "1" + "@" + "apple.com"

1

Answer 3

rcfa OP

6d

It’s also about a third thing: capability!

KeychainAccess.app can do things Password.app can’t:

Certificate management with Certificate Assistant Storing, exporting, managing certificates secure notes for bank accounts, credit cards, software licenses, etc. (which I guess theoretically one could painstakingly move one-by-one to Notes.app as locked notes)

And then there’s the issue of cloud based things being convenient, but I still believe in the resilience of the master data being stored locally, and being available deep in the African bush, even without Starlink internet…

0

Answer 4

DTS Engineer OP

Apple

5d

[Keychain Access] can do things [Passwords] can’t:

Yep. If Passwords is missing functionality that’s critical to you, I encourage you to file an enhancement request for each missing feature, making sure to explain why that feature is important to you work.

Share and Enjoy
—
Quinn “The Eskimo!” @ Developer Technical Support @ Apple
let myEmail = "eskimo" + "1" + "@" + "apple.com"

0