How to use Folder Sync - need better instructions
The instructions on the web site are adequate for setting up a sync folder on one computer (A) but are not clear on how to sync/copy the data in that folder with another computer (B). Is syncing bi-directional or just for copying in one direction? Is it possible to manually force syncing between computers to occur?
I managed to create a sync folder for 1Password in A (desktop), on the LAN mounted that folder in B (laptop) and used the preferences in B to select the sync folder from iPassword A, successfully updating the data in B. Then I made changes to the data in A and iPassword updated the file in the sync folder. However, I could not figure out a way to get 1Password in B to update the changes. Finally, in B's preferences I deselected A's sync folder and then reseleced it. That forced the update to B, but there must be a better way.
Also, If I make changes in iPassword in B how do I sync those changes with A?
Instead of syncing could one simply copy the 1Password.agilekeychain file from one computer to the other via the LAN?
The current instructions on the web site are unclear and incomplete.
Comments
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Folder sync is not really a synchronisation method (unlike, say, Dropbox, iCloud or wifi sync). What happens, as you've discovered, is that a keychain file is saved in the specified location and can then be loaded on to the second machine (or, indeed, via iTunes, on to an iPad or iPhone). However, you have to repeat the loading process when the keychain is updated on the first machine. You'd effectively have to reverse the process to get updated information from machine B to machine A. No doubt the procedure can be automated to some extent by using a third party sync client to overwrite/move the keychain file as appropriate.
Stephen
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I used the 1Password 4 sync guide to create a sync Folder on my mini (Mac 10.8.5, 1Password 4.4). The guide is incomplete because it does not include steps on how to use this folder to sync with another computer. In any case I went to my second computer on my LAN (MacBookPro 10.8.5, 1Password 4.4), went to Preferences and selected the sync folder on the mini. Trouble is, after synchronising, the MBP's 1Password was still different than that on the mini's sync folder. There are 113 items in the source sync folder but 123 items in the MBP's 1Password. Questions;
Did I do the sync procedure correctly?
Is synchronisation supposed to produce a carbon copy of the source vault in the second computer being synchronised?0 -
Hi @phyljohn,
I'm sorry you're having trouble getting 1Password data syncing correctly between your Mac mini and MacBook Pro using folder sync.
The recommended 1Password configuration for folder sync is with a local folder on each Mac, then using a separate application or service to keep those folders synchronized. An overview of this setup for you would look something like this:
1P4 on mini <-folder sync-> folderX on mini <-syncing app/service-> folderY on MBP <-folder sync-> 1P4 on MBP
The sync with local folder guide mentions ChronoSync, which is one possible application for keeping *folderX on mini** and folderY on MBP synchronized within your local network. We'll see about putting more emphasis on the local part of that guide and expanding other details, plus including specific examples.
Please let us know if you'd still prefer to configure folder sync with data stored in a single folder on your Mac mini, accessed locally there and over the network on your MacBook Pro, and we'll help you more with troubleshooting that. It can be a bit tricky, with possible permission and network connectivity issues.
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I would like to avoid relying on a separate application to synchonise iPassword on my two Macs. Since I want an exact copy on each Mac I thought I could just copy the User/Library/Application Support/1Password 4/1Password.agilekeychain file from one Mac to replace the one on the other. When I did this from the mini to the MBP I was surprised to find that the latter was still not identical to the former. Why didn't that approach work?
I don't mind creating a sync folder on each computer and have done so. Should the sync folder for the mini be on the MBP and vice versa? It's not clear to me what steps are involved to get the receiving computer to trigger a synchronisation with the supplying computer. Do the two sync folders sync with each other? How do I control the direction of the synchonisation? Grateful for any light you can shed.
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Hi @phyljohn,
Thanks for the additional information.
I would like to avoid relying on a separate application to synchonise iPassword on my two Macs.
Does that exclude any possibility of you using Dropbox or iCloud sync? Either could be more a more convenient option. :)
Since I want an exact copy on each Mac I thought I could just copy the User/Library/Application Support/1Password 4/1Password.agilekeychain file from one Mac to replace the one on the other.
How was User/Library/Application Support/1Password 4/1Password.agilekeychain created?
When I did this from the mini to the MBP I was surprised to find that the latter was still not identical to the former. Why didn't that approach work?
Here's basic background about 1Password data storage/syncing to help explain why that didn't work as intended:
In 1Password 4, your data is stored locally in a SQLite database. The location of this will depend on whether you purchased 1Password directly from our website (~/Library/Application Support/1Password\ 4/Data/OnePassword.sqlite) or from the Mac App Store (~/Library/Containers/2BUA8C4S2C.com.agilebits.onepassword-osx-helper/Data/Library/Data/OnePassword.sqlite). This location is set by default and cannot be changed.
When a sync source is configured, a copy of the vault's database is made and stored in the appropriate location. The data in the sync store (Dropbox, iCloud or a chosen folder) will be kept in sync with the local SQLite database.
So, when you've copied the 1Password.agilekeychain from one Mac to another it wasn't being synced with the local 1Password database.
I don't mind creating a sync folder on each computer and have done so.
Have you configured folder sync in 1Password on both Macs, and which folders are used? It sounds like your local 1Password database on each Mac is syncing with a data keychain stored in a local folder, like with the diagram showing "folderX on mini" and "folderY on MBP" in my last reply. But to complete this recommended configuration you'd need some type of "<-syncing app/service->" between those folders to the data synchronized.
Should the sync folder for the mini be on the MBP and vice versa?
Sort of, but not exactly. :)
If you want your 1Password data on each Mac synchronized through a single folder/keychain, that folder/keychain would only be stored on one of those Macs, accessed locally there and remotely on your other Mac. Something like this:
1P4 (mini) <-Folder sync config (mini)-> data/keychain folder (on mini or MBP) <-Folder sync config (MBP)-> 1P4 (MBP)
To work correctly, 1Password on both Macs needs full read-write permission to that keychain and all data it contains. You need to avoid cases where the creator of keychain data can read/write it, but the other can only read it. And this works best when 1Password has uninterrupted access to the keychain on both Macs.
Conditions like those are why this isn't a recommended folder sync configuration. If you do want to give that a try, please send me a private message first and I can help you check a few more specific things.
It's not clear to me what steps are involved to get the receiving computer to trigger a synchronisation with the supplying computer. Do the two sync folders sync with each other? How do I control the direction of the synchonisation?
Properly configured syncing should be automatically triggered (except Wi-Fi) and bi-directional.
I hope that's been helpful for getting you closer to a solution for syncing your 1Password data. :)
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Thank you for your reply. I am adverse to storing sensitive information in a cloud service. After years of being informed how good the security is on Dropbox a vulnerability was recently discovered which could allow a third party access to links in documents stored in Dropbox. It has been fixed and I doubt the vulnerability would have affected storing a iPassword sync file on Dropbox but this example and others makes me sceptical about the security of online storage. It seems the best approach for me, to avoid the cloud and a complex approach involving keychains and permissions, would be to use ChronoSync. Accordingly, I created a MBP synch folder on MBP, with a synch folder already on the mini, and created a new Synchonizer in ChronoSync. I used the Backup Left(mini)-to-right(MBP) operation. No synchronisation occurred presumably because the synch file in MBP is more recent than in the mini. I deleted the synch file in MBP and tried again, this time successfully and launched 1Password in the MBP. It has not changed. Is there some method for getting 1Password on the MBP to update its data from the synch file? I don't understand how 1Password knows when to copy its data to the synch file and when to copy data from the synch file.
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Hi @phyljohn,
I apologize for not getting back with you here sooner. Preferring not to use cloud services for storing and synchronizing your 1Password data is understandable. So I can work with you directly through email to iron out a few details with doing it locally, please send a Diagnostics Report from each Mac, along with a link to this topic and your forum username, to support+forum@agilebits.com. If would be helpful if you can also include a screenshot of the ChronoSync Synchronizer you've tested with. And a quick comment here after you've sent all that will help me keep an extra eye open for its arrival. :)
Thanks in advance!
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