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I have a mac pro with up to date Sierra OS. I am trying to understand keychain access and why I cannot lock local items key (I can lock and unlock login.) What exactly is the local items key? What does it do and why do I have no control over locking/unlocking function? (I have changed Master Password.)
MacBook Pro with Retina display, iOS 10.2.1
The system maintains two keychains for a local user account. A legacy login keychain and a Local Items/iCloud keychain (Since Mavericks if I'm right). Your Local Items keychain is part of the iCloud keychain sync function. If you don't enable iCloud Keychain, it will be named Local Items, if you do enable iCloud Keychain, it will be renamed to iCloud.
The Local Items/iCloud keychain contains saved Safari passwords for websites, WiFi credentials, app specific credentials to be able to synchrone between Mac devices if iCloud Keychain is enabled.
The settings for Local Items/iCloud Keychain are synced with the login keychain. I don't know why you can't lock the Local Items. I've iCloud keychain enabled and able to lock it. Maybe it has to do with changing your master password.
macOS Sierra: Manage passwords using keychains
macOS Sierra: Set up iCloud Keychain
The system maintains two keychains for a local user account. A legacy login keychain and a Local Items/iCloud keychain (Since Mavericks if I'm right). Your Local Items keychain is part of the iCloud keychain sync function. If you don't enable iCloud Keychain, it will be named Local Items, if you do enable iCloud Keychain, it will be renamed to iCloud.
The Local Items/iCloud keychain contains saved Safari passwords for websites, WiFi credentials, app specific credentials to be able to synchrone between Mac devices if iCloud Keychain is enabled.
The settings for Local Items/iCloud Keychain are synced with the login keychain. I don't know why you can't lock the Local Items. I've iCloud keychain enabled and able to lock it. Maybe it has to do with changing your master password.
macOS Sierra: Manage passwords using keychains
macOS Sierra: Set up iCloud Keychain
Local items stores things like account/passwords locally on your Mac, for web sites that you have accounts on or your local router web page or things like that. This is a local copy so that the system does not need to make inquiry over internet to things like iCloud that can also store account/password info. Have you setup iCloud and also have it store Keychains there as well (look in iCloud System Preferences and see if the Keychain item has a checkmark)?
Visit a site that either you already have an account on or create an account on a site you want one, and then Safari will ask you if you wish to save the account and password in your keychain. If you answer yes, it saves in the "Local items" section. If you don't say yes you will have to enter that information again when you visit the site again. There is also sometimes a "Remember me" checkbox on a website that might also cause these account/password items to be saved.
As far as locking the "Local items" keychain, it is in the same "lock state" as the "Login" keychain - if you lock the "Login" keychain then the "Local items" is locked, if "Login" is unlocked then "Local items" is unlocked. I looked at an older version of OS X (Yosemite) and it also uses the same "Login" locks and unlocks "Local items" in the same way, so this behavior has been in OS X or macOS for a while.
You can Google "keychain" and get lots of articles explaining different aspects and problems.
Good luck...
local items key in keychain access - what is it and why do I have no control over it
