1Password always locking itself when 1Password mini disabled
Dear Support,
There is a strange and very annoying bug I have just discovered. On one of my home Macs, 1Password is purely for storing secure login details in a vault. I do not need to use browser extension therefore I did not install one. And also I decided to turn off 1Password mini. However, without 1Password mini the main 1Password app keeps locking itself every time I close its window, despite having "Lock when main window is closed" option un-ticked. I tried disabling all options, re-enabling some options and eventually I even completely un-installed 1Password, installed it again and not enabled 1Password mini when I was setting it up. But nothing helped. Every time I close the main 1Password window and want to open it again, I am being asked for password.
I am using MAS version 6.5.1, macOS 10.12.1
Regards,
1Password Version: 6.5.1
Extension Version: Not Provided
OS Version: 10.12.1
Sync Type: Not Provided
Comments
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Since you have turned off 1Password mini it is only launched on demand when you run the main 1Password application. The result of this is most definitely going to be that you have to unlock every time you launch 1Password as that unlock is only valid for any given run of 1Password mini. The security setting entirely assumes that mini remains running.
Rudy
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Rudy,
Thank you for your response but it doesn't make sense at all! I DO NOT have 1Password mini running at all. I set up 1Password app NOT to lock when I close main window. But it DOES lock when I close main window. How is that possible?
Regards,
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It does make sense, and this is why:
whether your have 1Password mini set to run or not, it always is running when the main 1Password application is running. The setting you chose to not run simply controls whether the menu item is in the menubar. It is absolutely running when the main 1Password application is running though.
when you close the 1Password window, it was the last open window in the application. Closing that window causes 1Password itself to quit and when in the "don't keep mini running" mode, mini also quits when 1Password quits. Mini is the process responsible for your data and when it quits your unlock state goes with it.
Thus the next time you launch 1Password you're starting from a locked state again, which necessitates unlocking 1Password again.
Rudy
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Rudy,
But I have "Lock when main window is closed" option UN-TICKED (!)
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I do understand that, unfortunately it just doesn't work that way. If mini were set to remain running then you would be able to make use of that option.
I have filed a ticket to remove that option from view when mini is set to not remain running, since the option really isn't available in that scenario.
I do apologize for the confusion.
Rudy
ref: OPM-4603
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Rudy,
Are you saying that all Auto-lock options in Security tab apply only if 1Password mini is running? If that is the case then it is the biggest disappointment since I started using 1Password.
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Apologies for this being as complicated as it is...
if mini is set to not always run and the main application is running then all the other settings should function fine. it is only the "lock when main window is closed" that doesn't. When "always running" is disabled, mini quits when the main app quits, and the main app quits when you close its last open window.
Rudy
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Rudy,
Sorry, but you are just saying: "mini quits when the main app quits, and the main app quits when you close its last open window"
So why the "Lock when main window is closed" option does not work???If I do not have mini running then closing 1Password window I am closing its last open window, right? Right. So I do not want to lock it, you are giving me option and this option does not work so I am reporting a bug, right? Right. And you are saying now that it is not how you guys think this should work...
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From my understanding, when 1Password mini is installed (which effectively is part of the 1Password app), if you have 1Password mini running and you close the main app window, 1Password is effectively still running in the background (through 1Password mini). So there is still an 'instance' of 1Password running.
When the 'lock when main window is closed' is checked, it's just telling 1Password to lock itself when you close the main app. 1Password is still running though (through 1Password mini), it's just now locked. If you untick the 'lock when main window is closed' option, then 1Password no longer tells itself to lock when you close the main app (and it is still running through 1Password mini).
If you untick the 'always keep 1Password mini running' option, when you close the main app window, 1Password mini also closes. All instances of 1Password are now closed, it is no longer running on your computer. Therefore when you start it up again, it is back to its locked state as that is how the program is when you start it with no instances of it running (it couldn't be any other way as that would be a security risk - you wouldn't want someone switching on your computer or rebooting it and having access to 1Password without inputting the master password).
So in a nutshell, to not have 1Password lock immediately on closing the main window, you have to have 1Password mini running.
The only other option I can see (though I've not tested) is for you to minimise 1Password rather than closing it.
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@Martok, @stalar: I think a useful way to think of it is that without 1Password running at all, it's impossible for it to lock/unlock. At that point your data is just an encrypted blob on disk, inert.
In most cases, 1Password mini handles this by running in the background. It's always there to lock your vault based on your preferences. The main 1Password "app" is really just a window that provides a viewport to your vault. 1Password mini is what's really running the show, as it also handles browser integration. The "app" and the extensions simply provide a way to interact with your data.
But when 1Password mini is not running in the background, closing the 1Password window must lock everything since there's nothing else available to hold your vault open for you, so to speak. If 1Password could somehow "accidentally" stay unlocked — your data decrypted — after you've closed it completely, that wouldn't be very secure at all, and, worse yet, you'd be completely unaware of any risk.
I hope this helps. Be sure to let me know if you have any other questions! :)
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Under Preferences you can choose to have Password Mini run or not; but it seems to make no difference as it is running in the background anyhow. How to you permanently turn off Password mini?
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@stormyghost if you untick "Always keep 1Password mini running" it does stop it running, as explained in the post above yours (and why if you don't have it running and you close the main app, it always locks no matter lock settings).
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I think part of the confusion may simply be the name "mini" which doesn't suggest that it does very much. If I understand it correctly, 1Password Mini is in fact what does the most. It handles encryption/decryption, locking/unlocking, and it handles synchronization. The main app and the browser extensions communicate with 1Password Mini but don't handle any of those other tasks themselves. Is that a fair description?
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I think part of the confusion may simply be the name "mini" which doesn't suggest that it does very much.
@pervel: A fair criticism! :lol:
If I understand it correctly, 1Password Mini is in fact what does the most. It handles encryption/decryption, locking/unlocking, and it handles synchronization. The main app and the browser extensions communicate with 1Password Mini but don't handle any of those other tasks themselves. Is that a fair description?
Right on! Both the main 1Password window and extensions are really just different interfaces to your data, which is managed by 1Password mini. Clear as mud, no? :blush:
if you untick "Always keep 1Password mini running" it does stop it running, as explained in the post above yours (and why if you don't have it running and you close the main app, it always locks no matter lock settings).
@Martok: Correct! I'll admit that this isn't obvious, as pointed out. Perhaps in the future we'll have it work differently. But it doesn't come up too often. ;)
Under Preferences you can choose to have Password Mini run or not; but it seems to make no difference as it is running in the background anyhow. How to you permanently turn off Password mini?
@stormyghost: 1Password mini is 1Password, so the only way to ensure that it never runs is to never use 1Password. It will need to run when you open the app. But you can change the preferences to not have mini run without the main window, and also to hide the icon even if it is running. I hope this helps! :)
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