MacOS – Extract passwords from local items keychain files

keychainmacos

I know that one can easily migrate any *.keychain from one Mac to another, however, the "local items" keychain introduced in Mavericks is not stored as a *.keychain file but as a list of *.kb and *.db files.

I don't use iCloud Keychain and don't plan on using it. I also don't have access to the same device that was used to create the local items in the first place. The logic board has been changed.

As using a backup from time machine only partially restored the local items keychain (a number of entries are definitely missing) I am wondering whether I can in any way or shape extract the previously created items in the local items list and/or import them into a new "real" keychain.

Best Answer

Backup of Local Items keychain

  1. Create a new keychain in Keychain Access via File > New Keychain...
  2. Copy all the entries from Local Items over to this newly created keychain
  3. Backup the keychain by navigating to ~/Library/Keychains/ and copying the newly created keychain to a safe place
  4. You can now delete the newly created keychain in Keychain Access via right-click Delete Keychain (Delete References & Files)

Restore of Local Items keychain

  1. Add the backed up keychain in Keychain Access via File > Add Keychain... and navigating to its location
  2. Copy all the entries from this keychain over to Local Items
  3. You can delete the previously added keychain since all of the entries now reside in Local Items
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