Retrieve 1Password 6 vault from Time Machine backup

gerrymiller

My computer died a few months ago and I replaced it with a new one. I did not do a full restore, because it had accumulated a lot of cruft over the years. At the time, I was using 1Password 6, but have since upgrade to v7. I was able to restore my primary vault, but had a secondary one that I cannot find.

What file should I restore from my Time Machine backup to import that secondary vault into 1Password 7?

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1Password Version: 7.0.7
Extension Version: 4.7.3.90
OS Version: OS X 10.13.6
Sync Type: 1Password account

Lars

@gerrymiller - If you got a new Mac and therefore it didn't have any history of 1Password data/usage on it, then you'd have had only whatever you chose to bring with you over to the new one.

The slight wrinkle to this is whether you've been making changes/additions/deletions to your data SINCE switching to the new Mac and 1Password 7 for Mac. Have you? If not, then we can do this pretty easily. If you have, it'll be a little trickier.

gerrymiller

Hi @Lars I have Time Machine backups from my old Mac, I just can't figure out which file houses the vault.

Lars

@gerrymiller - that's good! The problem, again, is that your vaults are not stored separately, unless you happened to be syncing them via Dropbox, in which case they would each have their own Agile Keychain or OPVault sync keychain, which could be used to import a single vault. Absent that, what we'd be looking at is copying the entire .sqlite file from your Time Machine backups, or perhaps the most-recent .1pf_zip file from your Backups folder, both of which would restore your entire previous database. This would mean it would overwrite any changes you'd made since installing 1Password 7 for Mac and importing your Primary vault. So: have you made changes? Or is this brand-new?

gerrymiller

Ah, got it @Lars, thank you. I have made lots of changes since this switch. What are my alternate methods of retrieving the lost vault?

Lars

@gerrymiller - well, if you were previously syncing your vaults via Dropbox, there should be keychains for the individual vaults available in your Dropbox folder. If that's not the case, however, then there really aren't any alternate methods of retrieving this lost vault, since you no longer have access to the original Mac.

The easiest way forward (other than a previously-existing Dropbox setup, let me know if you had that previously) will be:

1. In 1Password, click Preferences > Sync
2. Set the sync selector for your current Primary vault to Folder. Choose any folder, even your Mac's Desktop, it doesn't really matter since we're just using this temporarily. Let 1Password for Mac write out a sync keychain (OPVault) to that location.
3. Switch the sync back to "None" (disable sync).
4. From your Mac's menubar, click Help > Troubleshooting > Reset all 1Password Data. This will erase the current data within 1Password, but don't worry -- you still have the sync keychain you just wrote out to your desktop.
5. From your Time Machine backups of your previous Mac's hard drive, locate the most recent backup file you can find in this location: ~/Library/Application Support/1Password 4/Backups/ -- unless your previous copy of 1Password for Mac was from the Mac App Store, in which case the file you want is at ~/Library/Containers/2BUA8C4S2C.com.agilebits.onepassword-osx-helper/Data/Library/Backups/. Drag this file (it will end in a .1p4_zip file type) to your new Mac's desktop.
6. Restart 1Password on your new Mac, and it will be as if you are a new user. Choose to restore from a backup, then navigate to the backup file you grabbed in the last step and use it to restore to your previous state (from your old Mac). Verify that your setup now includes ALL your previous vaults, not just the Primary vault.
7. Click Preferences > Sync and for the Primary vault only, set the drop-down to Folder...and navigate to the OPVault you created in earlier steps. You will be asked to merge the data, click to authorize this.

Let's stop there for now; let me know how that goes for you.

gerrymiller

Thank you, @Lars. I was able to find a good backup file, but cannot find a Preferences > Sync menu item. Please note I'm using a 1Password subscription for sync.

Lars

@gerrymiller - Ah, OK -- sorry for the misunderstanding. If you're using a 1password.com account, this will be considerably easier. Here's what to do:

1. Make CERTAIN you have your Secret Key and know your Master Password for your 1password.com account; you'll need them to sign in again in a moment.
2. From your Mac's menubar, click Help > Troubleshooting > Reset all 1Password Data. This will erase the current data within 1Password.
3. Re-open 1Password, and it will be as if you are a new user.
4. Click "More Options" at the initial screen, then choose to restore from a backup. Navigate to the backup file you extracted from Time Machine, and use it to restore to your previous state (from your old Mac). Verify that your setup now includes ALL your previous vaults, not just the Primary vault.
5. Click Preferences > Accounts, followed by the plus button at the bottom of the window to add your existing 1password.com account.
6. Scan your setup code or manually enter your 1password.com account credentials.
7. You will now have all of your former vaults as standalone vaults and your 1password.com vaults. Take your time to compare and transfer any data from the older, standalone vaults into the 1password.com vaults. If you want to create a completely new vault for your older secondary vault(s), you can do that by clicking File > New Vault followed by your account. Transfer over/merge/copy all of your data until you're certain that your 1password.com account contains a complete and up-to-date copy of all your data.
8. Remove each of your standalone vaults by selecting them in the vault menu (not All Vaults), then clicking Vault > Delete (name) Vault in your Mac's menubar. You must do this for secondary vaults first, and finally the Primary vault. When you do it with the Primary vault, you'll be asked to provide your Master Password, after which you'll be running only your 1password.com account.

Let me know how that goes for you. :)

gerrymiller

Woo hoo, that worked, thank you!

Lars

@gerrymiller - excellent! I'm glad I was able to help. :)