Where is .opvault file for restoring passwords to MacBook?

rlf
rlf
Community Member
edited July 2019 in Mac

I'm a registered user of 1Password version 7 for macOS. I just had to erase my drive and install Mojave and I'm trying to get all my passwords reinstalled in the 1Password application which I just downloaded from your site. I've been keeping my 1P database on Dropbox. Your popup window is telling me to locate a ".opvault" file on Dropbox but I don't have one (and don't recall ever having a file with that extension). The only thing I've ever been aware of having is a "1Password.agilekeychain" directory. Where is this opvault file I'm being asked for? I have 1P installed on my iPhone and iPad so luckily I can look up passwords there. But I'd like to get my password data back on my MacBook too.

One other question, how do I move my 1P database from Dropbox to iCloud? After this experience, it appears to me that it would be easier to reinstall my 1P data if I stored it on iCloud. I didn't see an article in your support area on this particular topic.

Thanks for your help.


1Password Version: 7.3.1
Extension Version: Not Provided
OS Version: macOS 10.14.5
Sync Type: Dropbox

Comments

  • ag_ana
    ag_ana
    1Password Alumni

    Hi @rlf!

    .agilekeychain is a very old format that 1Password 7 does not support anymore. In order to make 1Password 7 see it, you will have to convert it. When you launch 1Password 7, please try clicking on the File menu in the menu bar > Import... and select the 1Password Keychain option from the list. That option will also take care of converting your data to .opvault format.

    Please let me know if that worked so we can look at how to sync your data to iCloud moving forward :)

  • rlf
    rlf
    Community Member

    These were very, very, very bad directions!!! When I followed them, they basically created duplicates of my existing 1Password database and now I have two of everything!!! I now have 1,198 items. This has totally screwed up my 1Password file!!! Is there some way I can restore 1Password back to yesterday's database? OMG, I can't believe this. Can I restore my 1Password database from my Time Machine backups?? All I wanted to be able to do is ensure that if I get a new Mac I can install the 1Password application and then install my 1Password database into that new application. And if 1P needs any external file, I wanted to keep it on iCloud instead of Dropbox. That's what I was asking. I wasn't trying to reinstall all my data. OMG, I can't believe this!

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni

    @rlf: I'm sorry for the trouble, but we can only go off of what you've told us. If you've copied your data from one vault to the other and still have both, you'd have "duplicates" when viewing All Vaults. Or, if you copied the same data into the same vault a second time, you'd have two of everything in a single vault. Which is your situation?

  • rlf
    rlf
    Community Member

    As I don't understand how 1Password works internally, I was under the apparently mistaken impression that this .agilekeychain file I was storing on Dropbox was needed to somehow "unlock" my data when I installed a fresh copy of 1Password on my new laptop and then tried to restore theat data. However, it appears that this .agilekeychain file wasn't required at all because after installing 1P v. 7 on my new laptop and signing into my 1Password.com account, all of my data was restored to 1Password. At this point everything was fine.

    However, I still wasn't sure whether or not this .agilekeychain file is required and if it is, or if it's been replaced by a new .opvault file, I wanted to copy the required file to iCloud to make future data restores easier to do (since a new Mac can see iCloud as soon as I sign in with my Apple ID whereas to sign into Dropbox, I'd need my Dropbox password).

    From the looks of it, I now have separate versions of my passwords in 1Password. One set looks to be some older passwords, probably from that .agilekeychain file, and a new, updated set of passwords from my current 1Password database that sits in 1Password's "cloud." For example, I now have two passwords for Papa Johns, the pizza place. I can tell they're different since the website URLs in each record are different. But now I don't know which one is the most recent one. I guess I can check the "last modified" field but I'd have to have to do this for over 1,000 records.

    I guess the bottom line is this. Can I somehow "clear out" all the records in my 1Password database and just restore it from my Time Machine backups or perhaps do a clean restore from 1Password.com's servers in order to get rid of all the duplicate and near-duplicate records?

    Second question. If I have a 1Password.com account, do I even need to create a .opvault file on iCloud? Or in the future, if I get a new computer, do I just install 1P on my new laptop, sign into my account, and voila, all my passwords are there?

    Sorry that I freaked out yesterday but as you can imagine, 1Password is one of my most important applications as it holds all my password information. To see my database corrupted yesterday was very frightening. Thanks for your help.

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni

    @rlf: No worries. I understand completely. Thanks for getting back to me! I'm sure we can get this sorted. :) I can definitely shed some light on AgileKeychain and OPVault, Dropbox and iCloud; and I think that's actually a good starting point.

    AgileKeychain and OPVault are both local vault data formats of 1Password. AgileKeychain is old, and no longer used. OPVault is less old, and supported in current versions of the 1Password apps. If you sync'd using Dropbox or just to another local folder, you'd have one of these. Dropbox takes those and other files in its folder and syncs them to its server and your other devices. So, in 2019, someone using 1Password as a standalone app (i.e. without a 1Password membership account) would be using OPVault for their local data, and potentially syncing it elsewhere using Dropbox. The iCloud situation is similar in that it can be used to sync "standalone" data, but with this there is no OPVault (or AgileKeychain), as Apple's CloudKit just uses its own database to store and sync data. So your Apple ID would be used for that (though not Dropbox). In either case, whichever vault you're using, you'd need to enter the Master Password you'd setup for that. So, if you selected the "iCloud" option when setting up 1Password, you'd need to have iCloud setup on your Mac and be signed into it, and enter the Master Password for the data you sync'd with iCloud previously. Similarly, if you selected the "Dropbox" option, you'd need to have Dropbox setup and be signed into your account there, and enter the Master Password for the sync'd vault you select.

    None of that is involved with a 1Password membership though, as you instead sign into your account for that in the app, including the Master Password you chose for it. Dropbox, iCloud, and the local vault formats are not used at all.

    That probably answers your questions for the most part, but for clarity:

    If I have a 1Password.com account, do I even need to create a .opvault file on iCloud?

    Nope!

    Or in the future, if I get a new computer, do I just install 1P on my new laptop, sign into my account, and voila, all my passwords are there?

    Exactly!

    Can I somehow "clear out" all the records in my 1Password database and just restore it from my Time Machine backups or perhaps do a clean restore from 1Password.com's servers in order to get rid of all the duplicate and near-duplicate records?

    That's the trick: we first need to establish where you have a complete copy of your data, make sure that's transferred into your account, and then you'll be able to access it on any device just by signing into your account.

    First, please sign into the 1Password website in your browser:

    https://start.1password.com

    If you have everything you need there already, the rest will be very simple. Let me know.

    But I am guessing it may not be quite that simple. It sounds like you may just have multiple vaults setup in the 1Password app currently. Is that correct? If there is one that has everything you need in it already, let me know what you've got and I can give you instructions on how to proceed. The key is that we know where you have your data (a judgement call on your part), and where you want it to end up (it sounds like that will be your 1Password account).

    Time machine is an option, but also a potentially messy one. 1Password saves backup archives in its support folder periodically, so if you know the date and version you were using at the time when you had all your data it may be easier to restore from one of those. But I think it's best that you hold off on that until we're on the same page and have a clear plan of action in place to avoid any unnecessary complications. :)

  • rlf
    rlf
    Community Member

    @brenty Thanks for your patience and for understanding why I was so upset. I was glad to see you respond to my "cry for help" because you've helped me with previous problems and you've always provided helpful solutions.

    I've never really understood this concept of "vaults" in 1Password so I never think about them. I've just used 1Password's default configuration. But I can still answer your question. When I open the 1Password application on my Mac and go to Preferences > Vaults, I see the following:

    Always open to [ Personal ]
    Show in All Vaults  [x] Robert <my last name>
                                       [x] Personal
    Vault for Saving [ Personal ]
    

    Now when I log into https://start.1password.com, at the top of the page it says "Personal" so I assume that means I'm seeing my Personal vault. When I click the pulldown ("v") icon, I just see "Personal" with a green checkmark next to it. There's nothing else there. Now as I scan all my password records in the middle pane, I can instantly see that my database on your server now contains duplicate records for all my records in all of the Categories (Logins, Secure Notes, ... Software Licenses). My database also now contains some older passwords that I know I've deleted recently. It's very easy to confirm all of what I'm describing because each duplicate record contains a tag labelled "1Password Keychain Import 8-12-19" which is the day when I followed ag_anna's instructions and inadvertently imported that old AgileKeychain database into my existing 1Password cloud-based database.

    So that's were things stand right now. What is the best plan of action for cleaning up this situation? One thing that comes to mind is to run a search on that tag and delete all the records the search returns. But you may know of a better, more reliable way to go about this.

    Thanks for your help. And also, thanks for explaining the difference between using OPVault versus the 1Password cloud.

  • Lars
    Lars
    1Password Alumni
    edited August 2019

    @rlf - if you see the same items in both 1Password 7 for Mac and in your browser at my.1password.com then let's do this in 1Password for Mac because it's much easier.

    One thing that comes to mind is to run a search on that tag and delete all the records the search returns. But you may know of a better, more reliable way to go about this.

    Mmmm, nope, that's about what I'd recommend as well. I'd ask you: are the items truly duplicates (as in: exact copies, redundant and not needed)? Or are some of them for the same Login items (etc), but different because they came from different keychains and may have been edited? If they're straight-up duplicates and you just need to get rid of them, then clicking the 1Password Keychain Import 8-12-19 tag in 1Password for Mac's sidebar, selecting all items in the list with that tag, and trashing them -- then emptying the trash -- should work well.

    If you've got some data that's been edited/changed/updated, then you'll need to do a much more exhaustive manual comparison of each item to determine which is "correct" (in your opinion), and which can be throw out.

  • To add to what Lars said: If you do end up having to go the manual route one tip that may help is that you can click on the small down arrow below the 1Password for Mac search bar and choose to sort your view by Date Modified instead of Title. That may help provide some clue as to which item is the better (more recently updated) one.

    Ben

  • rlf
    rlf
    Community Member

    Just to close this issue out, I followed @Lars advice to select the tag and then delete all of those tagged items. It looks like I'm back to normal. Thanks guys.

  • Awesome. Thanks @rlf. I'm glad to hear that helped. :) If there is anything else we can do, please don't hesitate to contact us.

    Ben

This discussion has been closed.