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I use Secure Notes in Keychain quite a bit and have amassed a collection over the years. Under Sequoia, I no longer seem to be able to create a new secure note. Choosing the "Create a new keychain item" icon brings up the "New Password" dialogue regardless of whether passwords or notes are being displayed.
Is this a bug?
Mac mini, macOS 15.0
> I've got about 50 items in the Keychain Secure Notes. Where did they go after in installed Sequoia?
The Keychain Access app has been moved and it's no longer visible in Launchpad. Instead you need to Spotlight search (⌘+space) for "Keychain" and you can run it from there.
> I've got about 50 items in the Keychain Secure Notes. Where did they go after in installed Sequoia?
The Keychain Access app has been moved and it's no longer visible in Launchpad. Instead you need to Spotlight search (⌘+space) for "Keychain" and you can run it from there.
etresoft wrote:
I should clarify. If you have any existing data in Keychain Access, I recommend moving it.
Moving where? Where do you move developer certificates?
Thank-you for the reply. I appreciate that Apple are entitled to deprecate Keychain but (a) it would be nice if they provided a migration path to secure Notes and (b) it seems odd that the only "create" functionality remaining is the ability to create a new password which is the very thing that I would have expected to be removed and transferred to the new Passwords app. Perhaps the developer mis-read the instructions and disabled all except create a new password instead of disabling just the create a new password. :-)
Anyway, the long migration effort is now underway. Thanks again.
Where on that dialog does it say that Keychain Access is being deprecated? Where on that dialog does it say that TLS certificate management is going to be affected? Keychain Access is used to manage more than just passwords and passkeys. For example, systemwide credentials for things like encrypted volumes are managed in Keychain Access. Even third-party apps use Keychain to store secrets such as API keys and their own private keys and certificates. Unless Apple is planning a new app for all the other things that Keychain Access does, where else would we manage these other, often systemwide, credentials and secrets?
bradpd wrote:
Where on that dialog does it say that Keychain Access is being deprecated?
Seriously?
Where on that dialog does it say that TLS certificate management is going to be affected? Keychain Access is used to manage more than just passwords and passkeys. For example, systemwide credentials for things like encrypted volumes are managed in Keychain Access.
I recommend some research into how Apple performs these kinds of tasks on other platforms. This documentation is a good start. If you want to know how macOS is going to work next year, the best place to start is looking at how iOS works this year.
Even third-party apps use Keychain to store secrets such as API keys and their own private keys and certificates.
The Keychain API is distinct from the Keychain Access front end. The API isn't going away, except for all the older parts that were designed along with Keychain Access. Those APIs are definitely deprecated.
Unless Apple is planning a new app for all the other things that Keychain Access does, where else would we manage these other, often systemwide, credentials and secrets?
How do you manage those on iOS today? No Keychain Access on iOS. There may be some changes in this area for developer support. Or Apple might actually be changing certain aspects of the developer experience that may have dependencies on Keychain Access.
When Apple puts up a user-facing dialog telling you that a tool has been replaced, they aren't kidding about that. If you depend on the tool that's going away, you need to figure out how you are going to live without it. You shouldn't just sit back and assume it's always going to be there. This is Apple telling you it's going away. If you don't like that, you're totally wasting your time arguing with me. You need to tell Apple you need this tool, and you better do it soon.
No. Keychain Access is deprecated.
Really? And where developer certificates will now be stored? And how code-signing scripts will find them?
So, I just responded but that post appears to have been lost. I had a bright idea and changed my locale - they haven't updated that page for en-gb!
So, they deprecated a feature, didn't provide a migration path for critical data, and didn't even localise the help for every locale. Oh well.
bradpd wrote:
If Keychain Access is deprecated, how do we manage TLS keys and certificate settings on macOS?
The vast majority of users have no need to ever do anything with TLS keys or certificates. That's why Apple made the Passwords app. Enterprise users have their own systems to manage this data.
Please do some research and cite your references before posting things.
When Apple deploys a user-facing dialog like this one:
That's a pretty big hint that change is afoot. You can either plan for change and be ready for it, or wait until it happens and your data is gone. Then you can come on the Apple Support Community and plead your case with other users like yourself who can do absolutely nothing to help you.
It's safe to assume that once everyone has seen the above dialog in Sequoia, Apple will see fit to port the rest of the key and certificate management interfaces from iOS over to the Mac. If you still need access to anything from Keychain Access, follow the direction given here and file a bug report.
No. Keychain Access is deprecated. You can store secure notes in using the Notes app, as described here: Store confidential information securely using Notes on Mac - Apple Support
If you have any existing secure notes in Keychain Access, I recommend moving them.
You didn't even read that link. It describes how to store secure notes on Mac using Keychain Access! The very thing you are saying is deprecated and everyone else here is complaining about!
Hi Bruce,
same on my MacBookAir, M3, 2024 with macOS Sequoia 15.0.1 (24A348):
Keychain Access- File- ? (in previous macOS here was "New Secure Note").
Now we can edit our notes, but not to create new one (see screenshots).
How to say Apple about this bug?
Hi Brad. There is still the `security` command that can be used from the command line in Terminal. (Type `man security` for a summary of what it can do and how to use it.)
It allows certificate management but I'm not sure how things like creds for encrypted volumes are managed. And I can only assume that Apple expect 3rd parties to provide their own interface for managing their secrets even though they use KeyChain behind the scenes.
It's a bit of an odd situation for Apple to have gotten themselves into: clearly the security functionality underpinning Keychain is not going away but the Passwords app is in no way a complete replacement for KeyChain Access.
This is and will be a very troublesome situation for me!!!!
hundreds and hundreds of secure notes and passwords on multiple mac since introduction of the keychain access on mac os x!!! with oldest mac now with high sierra and newest just upgraded to sequoia and realizing this hectic issue to come soon!!!
why why why!!!??? Apple…
BruceH2013 wrote:
Is this a bug?
No. Keychain Access is deprecated. You can store secure notes in using the Notes app, as described here: Store confidential information securely using Notes on Mac - Apple Support
If you have any existing secure notes in Keychain Access, I recommend moving them.
Owot wrote:
No. Keychain Access is deprecated. You can store secure notes in using the Notes app, as described here:
Store confidential information securely using Notes on Mac - Apple Support
If you have any existing secure notes in Keychain Access, I recommend moving them.
You didn't even read that link. It describes how to store secure notes on Mac using Keychain Access! The very thing you are saying is deprecated and everyone else here is complaining about!
There is a link in there that goes to using Keychain Access, but the main article is how to created a locked note in Notes. Nothing to do with Secure Notes in Keychain Access.
I guess if you clicked the main link, then happened to accidentally click on the Keychain Access link, you might have somehow thought it had to do with Keychain Access.
Owot wrote:
You didn't even read that link. It describes how to store secure notes on Mac using Keychain Access! The very thing you are saying is deprecated and everyone else here is complaining about!
Apple likes to change these documents. And Apple also has a complicated, global content delivery system. You could be seeing an older, cached copy. And you might be reading in a non-English language that might not have been updated.
This is what that link says in Canadian English:
Store confidential information securely using Notes on Mac
You can lock notes you want to keep private in the Notes appon your Mac. This information can be completely unrelated to your computer, such as combinations to locks, personal identification numbers (PINs) for bank accounts, credit card numbers, confidential notes, cryptographic keys, and any other information that you want to keep private. See Lock your notes.
Sequoia: Keychain Access cannot create a new secure note
