Accessing iCloud Keychain Passwords from the Terminal on macOS

For users seeking a command-line solution to manage their iCloud Keychain passwords on macOS, the security command offers a powerful and flexible approach. This guide will walk you through the process of accessing, listing, and automating the retrieval of iCloud Keychain passwords directly from the terminal.

Accessing iCloud Keychain Passwords via Terminal

Step 1: Open Terminal

To start, locate and open the Terminal application. You can find it in:

Applications Utilities Terminal

Step 2: Use the security Command to Retrieve Passwords

To retrieve a password stored in your Keychain, use the following command format:

security find-generic-password -a username -sv service_name -w

Replace username with the account name associated with the password, and service_name with the name of the service, like a website for which you need the password.

Example

security find-generic-password -a  -sv mywebsite -w

Additional Options

List All Keychain Items

If you want to see all the items stored in your Keychain, you can use:

security dump-keychain

Accessing Passwords for Script Automation

For scripting purposes, you can redirect the output of the security command or use it directly within your script. Here’s an example:

security find-generic-password -a  -sv mywebsite -w  mypassword.txt

Working with Keyring in Python

For those who prefer to use Python, the keyring module can be a handy tool to manage Keychain passwords. However, it requires some initial setup.

Installing Keyring

To install the keyring module, you’ll first need to install pip, which is not part of the standard library. Use the following commands to install pip and keyring:

Install pip

sudo easy_install pip

Install keyring

sudo pip install keyring

Note: If you prefer to avoid using sudo, there are alternative methods to install keyring.

Once keyring is installed, accessing and setting Keychain passwords becomes straightforward, even from a bash terminal. Here’s an example:

python -c 'from keyring import get_password; print get_password("", "")'

Note that keyring is cross-platform, so it can work with different password managers, in addition to Keychain.

By leveraging the security command and the keyring module, you can efficiently manage your iCloud Keychain passwords from the command line or within Python scripts. This method is particularly useful for automation and scripting tasks.

Notes and Security Considerations

It’s crucial to ensure that your terminal session has the necessary permissions to access the Keychain. You might be prompted to enter your macOS password.

The security command is incredibly versatile and can perform many other operations related to Keychains, certificates, and keys. Familiarize yourself with its capabilities to maximize your usability and security.

These tools provide a secure and efficient method to handle your password management directly from the command line, enhancing both productivity and security.