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1PasswordAnywhere in 1Password 5 without Dropbox

JoaoPinheiro
JoaoPinheiro
Community Member

I'm currently syncing 1Password 5 via iCloud and I'd like to keep a 1PasswordAnywhere backup that I can put in a USB pen drive in case I lose access to all my devices, but I can't find a way to export a 1PasswordAnywhere file.

Does it require the use of Dropbox sync? If so, would it be possible to request a way to export a 1PasswordAnywhere file without requiring the use of Dropbox?

Thanks!

Comments

  • Megan
    Megan
    1Password Alumni

    Hi @JoaoPinheiro‌

    1PasswordAnywhere was designed to work within Dropbox's unique system, so it will not work with iCloud sync. We've heard from many users who would like to see a more versatile version of this tool, so I'll mention to our developers that you're interested in this as well.

    In the meantime, you can still store a copy of your 1Password data on your USB pen drive by temporarily switching from iCloud to Folder Sync. This will create a 1Password.agilekeychain file in the location of your choice. The 1Password.agilekeychain file contains your 1Password database, as well as a 1Password.html file, which is 1PasswordAnywhere.

    If you were to lose all of your devices, you could access this file via Safari and have a read-only copy of your database. To access this file via Safari, you will have to enable Safari's 'Develop' menu and select the option to Disable Local File Restrictions.

    I hope this helps, but we're here for you if you have any further questions. :)

  • JoaoPinheiro
    JoaoPinheiro
    Community Member

    Hi @Megan‌

    Yes, please add my vote for this feature. All I really need is a way to export a 1Password.agilekeychain file so that I can store it in a USB pen drive.

    Manually switching from iCloud to Folder Sync in order to do this is a convoluted solution to a simple problem, but it seems to be the best way to do it at the moment. Thank you! :)

  • Megan
    Megan
    1Password Alumni

    Hi @JoaoPinheiro‌

    Unfortunately, it's really not a simple problem. Dropbox and iCloud are vastly different sync services, and when 1PasswordAnywhere was designed, iCloud sync did not even exist. Since then, browsers have been updating their security precautions, making it more complicated to access 1PasswordAnywhere via a USB drive (which is why we have to suggest disabling local file restrictions in Safari in order to make 1PasswordAnywhere work.)

    I'm sorry that I don't have a better answer for you here. Thanks for the feedback!

  • thinklad
    thinklad
    Community Member

    I'd love to see that feature back with iCloud sync, too. Perhaps through an 'export' option, rather than copying from the file system as this seems to be the issue?

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni

    @thinklad: Strictly speaking, 1PasswordAnywhere does not require Dropbox; rather, the web browsers themselves restrict local filesystem access, so in order for the browser to load 1PasswordAnywhere and the data in your 1Password vault, you need to open 1Password.html from a website.

    To that end, you can always run your own local webserver, but Dropbox is the simplest way to work around these browser restrictions. I hope this helps! :)

  • thinklad
    thinklad
    Community Member

    @brenty: Sorry I wasn't completely clear - what I meant to say was the ability to copy the vault on a thumbdrive in order to be able to access it through a browser in case of issues with iCloud or my devices - as I was able to do before when I was using Dropbox sync. (I'll be honest, I would have stayed on Dropbox sync, were it not blocked by the GFW.)

  • Drew_AG
    Drew_AG
    1Password Alumni

    Hi @thinklad,

    Thanks for clarifying what you meant! iCloud sync works a bit differently than Dropbox sync, and the result is that it's not possible to retrieve a copy of your vault from iCloud and use it with 1PasswordAnywhere like you can with the .agilekeychain in Dropbox.

    However, as a workaround, you can go to the sync settings in 1Password and change it from iCloud to Folder sync. You'll be able to choose a location on your Mac where you create the .agilekeychain file. Once you've done that, you can switch back to iCloud sync.

    The .agilekeychain you create via Folder sync works the same way as the one created via Dropbox sync, so you can copy it to a thumb drive if you want. Just remember that if you switch back to iCloud sync in 1Password, the .agilekeychain from Folder sync won't be updated automatically with changes you make in the 1Password app. Also, you may run into problems trying to use 1PasswordAnywhere from a thumb drive or other location on your computer due to local file restrictions.

    I hope that helps, but we're here for you if you have more questions about that! :)

  • thinklad
    thinklad
    Community Member

    @Drew_AG: thanks for the clarifications.
    One last thing I was wondering - will there be a significant performance/reliability hit if I chose 'Folder sync' on a folder that is located in my iCloud Drive, as opposed to the 'native' sync you support with iCloud? (in advance, sorry for butchering all the correct terminology ;-))

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni

    @thinklad: Not at all! As far as 'getting' your data to its destination, Folder Sync will be nearly instantaneous, since it's just writing to the local filesystem; whereas iCloud is governed by some voodoo that none of us has access to, so it just sort of syncs in the background when it feels like it. In practice though for the most part iCloud can be nearly as quick too, depending on the network. I hope this helps! :)

This discussion has been closed.