Dropbox .agilekeychain file not updating

ohtotoro

I am trying to use Dropbox to sync. I had been entering passwords and log ins for a couple of days on my home Mac before trying to sync to a Mac at work. Dropbox is installed on both. When I did my install (1P v3, because I am on an older OS at work), the Dropbox sync seemed to work, but my most recent passwords were not there. When I got home and looked in the Finder at the 1Password.agilekeychain file in the Dropbox|1Password folder, I saw that it had not been updated since the evening I installed. The Preference, Sync window in 1P shows that it is updating with each change I make, but the Date Modified on the .agilekeychain file does not change. What should I do?

ohtotoro

OK, I looked a little deeper and I see that even though the Date Modified on the .agilekeychain file does not change when I create a new log in, the data within 1Password.agilekeychain|data|default DOES update, so I am probably at fault. Just to be clear: does Dropbox need to be running on all Macs at all times if I hope to sync?

sjk

Hi @ohtotoro,

As you've discovered, the modification time of an Agile Keychain folder bundle (*.agilekeychain) isn't a reliable indicator of possible syncing issues. Even modification times of files/folders inside one don't necessarily indicate there's a problem.

If you make changes in 1Password 4 with Dropbox syncing enabled, the local copy of the keychain will still be updated when the Dropbox app isn't running. But no changes can be synced between Macs unless the Dropbox app is running (and not paused).

Here's the data flow between 1Password 4 vaults on your Home and Work Macs:

Home Mac 1P4 vault <---1P4 Dropbox sync---> Home Dropbox keychain <---Home Dropbox app sync---> Dropbox keychain (on dropbox.com) <---Work Dropbox App sync ---> Work Dropbox keychain <---1P4 Dropbox sync---> Work Mac 1P4 vault

The bold is where data is stored. The italics is where syncing connections are.

If syncing is disabled in one place it can still be happening in other places. For example, if you stop Home Dropbox app sync then data will still be synced as far as it can get from each Mac, to Home Dropbox keychain from the Home end and Dropbox keychain (on dropbox.com) from the Work end. If you resume Home Dropbox app sync then it restores the connect between those keychains on each side of it.

I hope that answers your question more than complicating it. :)

ohtotoro

Thanks, that is very helpful. So as a new user of 1P and Dropbox, I think I now see I have to keep Dropbox app running at all times is I want synching to happen.

sjk

Glad I could help, @ohtotoro. Welcome to 1Password and Dropbox. :)

It's generally best to leave the Dropbox app running unless there's a specific reason not to. It could be syncing other data besides 1Password's.

If you have other questions please don't hesitate to ask. Have a great day!