Merging two keychain files
I just realized why my sync wasn't working.
My file 1Password.agilekeychain for the laptop is inside of the 1Password folder in DropBox. It's 2.6 MB, but the # of items in the ALL Items is 825 versus the 1Password on my desktop Mac, which has the keychain file outside the 1Password Folder in DropBox. That file, on my desktop Mac is 11.3 MB and the 1Password Item Count is less at 807.
Is there a way to merge the two files so I don't lose things? Can I back-up first in case I need to retrieve something? Will I have duplicates afterwards and is there an easy way to find and deal with that situation?
1Password Version: 5.3.2
Extension Version: Not Provided
OS Version: 10.11
Sync Type: DropBox
Referrer: kb:diagnostics, kb:dropbox-ready
Comments
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Hi @StevieDan,
You'll be happy to hear that merging the two won't be too hard but I can't say what the duplicate situation may be. We'll cover duplicates after we've got everything merged.
- On both Macs use the menu option File > Backup. That creates a safety net. You shouldn't need it but always better safe than sorry.
- On your desktop Mac enter 1Password's preferences and switch to the Sync tab.
- Set the sync menu option from Dropbox to None.
- In the confirmation window that pops up tick the checkbox titled Delete data from Dropbox. Don't worry, this will only delete this one Agile Keychain and will leave the the one your MacBook is syncing to (the one in the 1Password folder in Dropbox). Click the Disable Sync button to confirm.
- Pause for a moment to let the deletion sync to Dropbox.
- Change the sync menu option from None back to Dropbox but this time select the Agile Keychain that your MacBook is syncing to. 1Password will ask if you want to merge. This is what you want to do but even if anything goes wrong you have the two backups from step 1.
So this will cause the two locally stored vaults to merge and stay in sync now. So what about duplicates?
We adopt a conservative approach. We will only merge items from two vaults if they have the same Universally Unique ID (UUID). If they don't we treat the as individual items. They can share the same title, username and password but unless the UUIDs match they're treated as separate items. In these instances you will see duplicates requiring you to manually remove one. When you do this I would recommend ensuring you don't have any unique information held only in one copy. If an item in each vault has the same UUID we will merge the two. Where the data is the same in both it's easy, there is nothing to do. When there is different data in each we will keep one set of the data where it normally resides and place the other set in a custom section titled Conflicts. This way we don't risk throwing anything important away and instead leave it to the user to ensure the good data is kept and the now obsolete data is removed.
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Before I read this I tried a different approach, which I think worked. I did an export from one, then imported to the other. Then I did an export from that one and imported back to the 1st. They now seem identical. I still have to deal with the sync, so I will follow the step two and delete on of the DropBox Agile Keychains (the one that's NOT in the 1Password Folder).
I think for now, until I notice duplications, I will not worry about it. Thanks
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For others reading this thread, while what StevieDan can work, there are potential scenarios where merging using the instructions I posted are safer and won't risk data loss. Given you will need to eventually follow these steps to have the two instances of 1Password stay in sync it also means less steps in the long run.
Hopefully everything is running smoothly for you now though StevieDan but if you're having any issues please do let us know :smile:
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