Copy secret reference (using ID values)

jsejcksn · October 27

This applies to all platforms (not just Mac), but I didn't see a community category for "all platforms", so I'm choosing Mac because it seems to have the highest user activity

Perhaps I've missed some documentation, but I don't find a way to copy a secret reference using the desktop app. This seems like a basic and essential task during development.

What I want is this format:

op://vault_id/item_id/section_id/field_id

or if the value isn't in a section:

op://vault_id/item_id/field_id

How can I do that easily — and get a secret reference defined by ID values (which should be immutable — vs. name values which can be modified)?

More context:

I find some ways to construct the URL manually (but this is not ideal):

A URL can be copied which includes the vault and item ID among other query parameters:

I get one in a format like this:

https://start.1password.com/open/i?v={VAULT_ID}&i={ITEM_ID}

However, that's not enough as it doesn't include the section/field, and would need to be manually edited or processed by other tooling as an additional step to get the required output.

I can also use "Copy item UUID" and then paste that as an argument to a manually-typed CLI command to get much more than what's needed:

% op --format=json item get x5k2wndiih6cmw2rugl7ol442i
{
  "id": "x5k2wndiih6cmw2rugl7ol442i",
  // --- snip ---
  "vault": {
    "id": "{REDACTED_VAULT_ID}",
    // --- snip ---
  },
  // --- snip ---
  "fields": [
    // --- snip ---
    {
      "id": "credential",
      "type": "CONCEALED",
      "label": "credential",
      "value": "abc123",
      "reference": "op://{REDACTED_VAULT_NAME}/API Credential/credential"
    },
    // --- snip ---
  ]
}

However, this still involves either manually copying+pasting IDs or using other tooling to parse and create the required output.

The JSON does include a reference value for the target field, but the reference is built using names, which isn't satisfactory for the reasons described previously.

For the example above, what I want to copy to the clipboard is the following (where {VAULT_ID} is replaced by the actual vault ID):

op://{VAULT_ID}/x5k2wndiih6cmw2rugl7ol442i/credential

I think that if the boolean option is enabled at Settings > Advanced > Show debugging tools:

then there should be an option to copy a complete ID-based secret reference for every field in its contextual menu:

This is a re-posting of previous issue — the 1Password team stopped responding and it was closed without comment:

https://1password.community/discussion/139642/copy-secret-reference-using-id-values

1Password Version: 8.10.48
Extension Version: Not Provided
OS Version: macOS 15.0.1
Browser: Not Provided

Dave_1P · November 12

Hello @jsejcksn! 👋

I'm sorry that your post was missed. You can enable the ability to copy a field's Secret Reference from the desktop app by first turning on the integration with 1Password CLI: Get started with 1Password CLI Developer

Once this is done, you'll see an option to Copy Secret Reference when you hover over a field in the desktop app and click on the down arrow:

Let me know if I misunderstood. 🙂

-Dave

jsejcksn · November 13

@Dave_1P Please review the previous post (including the comments by users marked with "1Password" next to their name), then review the all of the details in this post. It explains how the existing functionality doesn't offer an immutable, ID-based reference. If you still need clarity after reviewing, let me know!

Dave_1P · November 13

@jsejcksn

I'm sorry for the misunderstanding. I understand that you're looking for the 1Password app to provide a more stable version of the secret reference that is based on field IDs rather than field names since field names can be changed by a user who can edit a particular item and break the secret reference.

I don't have any updates to share on the feature request that my colleague filed on your behalf however I've let the team know that you'd still like to see this functionality be added to 1Password in the future. 🙂

-Dave

ref: PB-44364766

jsejcksn · November 13

@Dave_1P Yes, that's right — thanks. Can I expect any updates about this topic to be reported here?

Dave_1P · November 14

@jsejcksn

Thanks for the reply. If the change is implemented you'll see it noted in our release notes: 1Password Releases

If our product team requests any other information from your end then I'll definitely reach out in this thread.

-Dave

Copy secret reference (using ID values)

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