How do I learn the password for my login keychain

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How do I learn the password for my login keychain

I'm using the newest version of macOS Ventura, 13.5.2. I need to know the password for my login keychain so I can deploy a dev build of an app out of my local copy of Xcode and onto the App Store Connect for distribution to a handful of developers for testing.. I've tried the password that I use to log to the OS, but it doesn't work. There's no way that I've been able to find to recover the password, and the only way I can see to reset the password is to wipe the entire keychain and start again.

Any help?

Mac mini, macOS 13.5

Posted on Sep 18, 2023 7:51 AM

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Answer 1

Barney-15E

Level 10

122,828 points

Sep 19, 2023 7:47 AM in response to pcrowley203

It should not affect the OS except it will have to regenerate those entries, probably with some form of authentication.

You were able to view the contents? Does it show it as unlocked (unlocked padlock icon). If so, the login password still works to unlock it. I'm thinking you may want to investigate your problem further as it may not be that the password is wrong, but what you are trying to do is wrong. I.e., you may wipe out all of your passwords for no reason as the new one won't work, either.

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Answer 2

Barney-15E

Level 10

122,828 points

Sep 19, 2023 9:32 AM in response to pcrowley203

I don’t know if it means anything. If the keychain is being unlocked, then your login password should work to unlock it. If it was not being unlocked, you’d be constantly requested for the password to unlock other things.

perhaps try asking on the developer forums. I’ve heard they’re not much use, but maybe in this case somebody will have an answer.

resetting the keychain may solve the problem, but I don’t know. Resetting it will mean re-entering a lot of passwords.

in the past, you could reset the password on the login keychain by first, creating a new keychain, setting it as the default, and then changing the password on the login keychain. That functionality has been removed.

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Answer 3

Barney-15E

Level 10

122,828 points

Sep 18, 2023 8:02 AM in response to pcrowley203

By default, the login password is used for the login keychain. If it doesn’t work, you will have to reset the keychain as you noted.

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Answer 4

pcrowley203 Author

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Sep 18, 2023 7:54 AM in response to pcrowley203

I should add that I have no memory of having explicitly set the password for my login keychain. Is there some rule that gets used by the system to set it that I might be able to use to back into the password? Is it the result of some algorithm applied to my OS password?

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Answer 5

pcrowley203 Author

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Sep 19, 2023 7:18 AM in response to Barney-15E

OK. I just looked at the contents of the log-in keychain. There are a lot of entries with names including the substring "apple" that seem to have to do with the OS of my local machine. I'm concerned that if I wipe this keychain and try to start clean, I may find that my entire OS doesn't work. Is that a risk here? I'm guessing not, else you wouldn't suggest doing it, but the downside if something goes wrong is great.

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Answer 6

pcrowley203 Author

Level 1

10 points

Sep 19, 2023 9:24 AM in response to Barney-15E

Interesting.

Yes, if I open the app Keychain Access, I see an unlocked icon next to the login keychain, and I can see the contents.

I'm developing an app in Xcode. It builds successfully. I'm trying to copy the build off my local Xcode installation and onto App Store Connect so I can distribute it to a small team of testers using TestFlight. To do this, in Xcode I go to Product > Archive. Xcode says it archiving and, once that's done, I get a pop-up saying "codesign [sic] want to sign using key "Virtual Totem 2" in your keychain. To allow this, enter the 'login' keychain password." ("Virtual Totem" is the name of the app I'm developing.) Xcode then provides an input box into which I enter the password. I enter the password for the OS, and I just get the same message box back. I can do this many times sequentially, with the same result.

Does this suggest anything?

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How do I learn the password for my login keychain

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