Synchronizing 1Password data between two local accounts (howto)

I am a big fan of the incredibly useful 1Password. The latest beta release (2.8.3.BETA-11) introduces a new keychain format that, among other things, allows 1Password to detect changes made to the file by other programs and reload the changes on the fly. I am using this now to keep my 1P data synchronized between my work and personal accounts on my machine. Here's what I did:

In my work account (dza), switch to the AgileKeyChain format by following the instructions.
Modify the ACL for my ~/Library/Application Support/1Password/ folder to allow my personal account (zamboni) read/write access. I did this using the "Sharing & Permissions" section of the Info dialog for the folder, and then choosing "Apply to enclosed items" from the cogwheel menu in that same section.
Switch to my personal account.
Quit 1Password, run the defaults command from the instructions, restart 1Password.
Export my existing 1Password data in the "1Password Interchange file" format. To do this, choose File -> Export all -> 1Password Interchange File, and save it to a file in my desktop.
Double click /Users/dza/Library/Application Support/1Password/1Password.agilekeychain and click "yes" to start using that file.
Import the data from step 5: File -> Import, and follow the prompts. Wait for the data to import.
Switch back to my work account and verify that the imported items are seen there as well.

This is incredibly useful. I had been trying to use the my1Password service to achieve this, but the service is still not very mature and I had been unsuccessful. With this, I can access my data from both accounts without having to send the data through the network or use any third-party services, which is great.

Sep 29, 2008

daveteare said...

Great! I'm glad you're digging the new Agile Keychain! We've been hard at work for this on-and-off for over a year now and it feels great to finally release it, even if it is still in Beta.

Re: my1Password, I'm sorry for the troubles you had. We know of several issues and they're taking a while to resolve; it is why we keep calling my1Password an Alpha :)

With the new Agile Keychain able to sync so easily over shared (local) folders and (remote) drives, the need for my1Password has diminished greatly and we are considering closing it down. What do you think?

Cheers!

--Dave Teare
Co-author of 1Password

Diego Zamboni said...

Hi Dave,

Thanks for the comment! Indeed, with the nice synchronization features of the new keychain, I think the need for my1p is greatly diminished - the only benefit being that you can access your data from any computer.

Given this, the main issue with my1p is trust: how can I be sure encryption/decryption is taking place locally, and that my data is not available somewhere else? how can I trust the web browser not to leak my unencrypted data somewhere else? how can I trust your servers, your algorithms or your implementation not to be compromised? I honestly find it hard to put as much trust in these elements as I put in a local app running on my machine.

Additionally, most people have some sort of portable device these days. With 1P being able to synchronize with both Palm (in fact, just today I was able to get 1P working on my old Sony Clie, even though it's only PalmOS 3.5.2 and not the minimum 4.0 recommended in the documentation) and iPhone devices, it's quite easy to have your data wherever you go.

I guess my point is that I don't see myself using my1p in the near future. Of course, I don't know how many people actually use it...

Indeed. I have found it very hard to convince people that the my1Password web service is secure. It is one of the main reasons I am thinking about pulling the plug on it.

It still exists today because it fills two huge needs: syncing and cross-platform access. As mentioned the new Agile Keychain nails syncing, but it also enables cross-platform compatibility as well.

I'm not sure if you saw it yet, but the Agile Keychain contains a local copy of the my1Password web application code, allowing you to view all your data in a web browser, without ever contacting any web sites.

It's pretty slick :)

Oh wow - that is very very cool. I saw the screenshot in the announcement, but I didn't really understand how it worked. Honestly, I think this solves your cross-platform (and much of the trust) issues.

Having said that, it still doesn't seem to work completely, does it? I see the list of accounts, but when I click on one, no data is actually shown on the bottom panel (I tried on both Safari and Firefox). But you did say it was still a work in progress...

Sorry - the webapp definitely is not ready for prime time yet. I was just showing you where we're headed :)

And I appreciate you doing so - it's really a very neat idea. I couldn't stop myself from tweeting about it: http://twitter.com/zzamboni/statuses/939832419and http://twitter.com/zzamboni/statuses/939835552
:-)

The one thing I want to try tomorrow is load the files into my mobile and see if I can view it with Opera Mobile - that would be incredibly cool. It's time for bed now.

zzamboni’s posterous

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Synchronizing 1Password data between two local accounts (howto)

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