Keychain Access: Copy keychains to another Mac

Copy keychains to another Mac

If you migrate your data to a different Mac using Setup Assistant, your keychains are automatically transferred to the new computer. To manually move your keychains to another Mac, you can copy your keychain file to the other computer and import it with Keychain Access. To copy only some keychains and not all, see Import and export keychain items.

Important:   Be sure not to leave your keychain on a computer that is not secure. Doing so may allow other users to access items with your keychain.

  1. In the Finder, locate the keychain files you want to transfer. Keychains are usually located in the Keychains folder in the Library folder in your home folder.

  2. Hold down the Option key and choose Go > Library, then open the Keychains folder.

  3. Transfer your keychains to the other Mac by copying the keychain files.

    Important:  

  4. Change the name of the keychain file on your new computer so it doesn’t become confused with any of the existing keychains.

    This is especially important if you are copying a standard keychain, such as the login keychain.

  5. Open Keychain Access, located in the Utilities folder in the Applications folder.

  6. Choose File > Add Keychain.

  7. Select your keychain, then click OK.

To access the items in the keychain on the new computer, you must use the same password you used for the keychain on the previous computer.

Note:   Passwords stored in the iCloud keychain are encrypted and stored on your computer and can’t be copied. To transfer these keychain items to another computer, set up iCloud keychain on the other computer using your iCloud user name and password. The other computer will sync with the iCloud keychain items on your Mac.
Import and export keychain items
Last Modified: May 4, 2016
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