I made a passwords "stand alone app" hope you can find use for it!

[Dorfdad]

IS there a way to make a shortcut or make the apple iCloud password program in apple-settings-passwords behave like an app I can open from the dock? I know that it is built into safari and website will open it easily but I also have web apps / applications which it will not interact with which requires me to open the settings and login and copy / paste the info.

Im looking for a way to have it at the ready basically where I click an Icon and it opens and I just atenticate it to get access and I can pin to dock!

Is this possible and if so how?

 

[Dorfdad]

Well I couldn't wait, lol so I did it myself. Wanted to share with others that might have a need for this or with other similar applications. Might not be the perfect solution but it works! Feel free to help modify it

So it's actually quite easy to do this with Automator.

I have attached a zip file with the basic automator script to open passwords.

there is no sensitive or user data it just is a script to open folder / launch applications so its 100% safe but you can judge for yourself.

Open automator and create a new application / or open this one and convert it to an application so it can be a stand alone app. Otherwise it will only run with automator open and manually run.

Ive included the Icon I use as well.

Save this Program to your applications folder and change the default Icon to the Password Icon and you can drag this to your dock and use it like a real stand alone program.

Very helpful if you rely on passwords for all your applications. This also requires you to login each time so it's secure.

Once you save it when you launch it you will probably get an error and that's ok. You need to open apple-settings-privacy and security and enable the Automator application to control your computer or run it automatically.

Once done it will work perfectly and you will now have a fast way to use the passwords app in all your applications.

Hope it helps someone out there!

 

[iStorm]

Another way to get to Passwords quickly is to use Spotlight. I've always done it this way since my hands are already on the keyboard.

Command-Space -> type Passwords (or Pass) -> Enter/return

Same thing works on iOS/iPadOS. Swipe down on the Home Screen and search for it. Or use the same keyboard shortcut if using an external keyboard.

Or if you would prefer using Shortcuts rather than Automator, there is this Shortcut created and maintained by an Apple employee.

Ricky Mondello » Shortcut for Adding Settings > Passwords to Home Screen or Dock

rmondello.com

 

[bogdanw]

I have attached a zip file with the basic automator script to open passwords.

Your solution is too complicated, you only need one line.
Open Script Editor(/Applications/Utilities/Script Editor), copy-paste the code

do shell script "open x-apple.systempreferences:com.apple.Passwords-Settings.extension"

save as an app.

Save a script as an app in Script Editor on Mac
https://support.apple.com/guide/script-editor/scpedt1072/mac

 

[Dorfdad]

Another way to get to Passwords quickly is to use Spotlight. I've always done it this way since my hands are already on the keyboard.

Command-Space -> type Passwords (or Pass) -> Enter/return

Same thing works on iOS/iPadOS. Swipe down on the Home Screen and search for it. Or use the same keyboard shortcut if using an external keyboard.

Or if you would prefer using Shortcuts rather than Automator, there is this Shortcut created and maintained by an Apple employee.

Ricky Mondello » Shortcut for Adding Settings > Passwords to Home Screen or Dock

rmondello.com

Yeah I know that's one way but it sometime is a PITA for me whenim in some some apps. Appreciate you posting this for others however.

 

[Dorfdad]

Your solution is too complicated, you only need one line.
Open Script Editor(/Applications/Utilities/Script Editor), copy-paste the code

do shell script "open x-apple.systempreferences:com.apple.Passwords-Settings.extension"

save as an app.

Save a script as an app in Script Editor on Mac
https://support.apple.com/guide/script-editor/scpedt1072/mac

Where were you hours ago

Thanks for your script appreciate it!!!

 

[KALLT]

Or if you would prefer using Shortcuts rather than Automator, there is this Shortcut created and maintained by an Apple employee.

Ricky Mondello » Shortcut for Adding Settings > Passwords to Home Screen or Dock

rmondello.com

This is the most convenient way to do it. Once you add this shortcut to your Shortcuts app, you can create a Dock icon by right-clicking on the shortcut and choosing "Add to Dock". It will even have an app icon that resembles the shortcut icon (which you can also modify, e.g. changing the symbol or the colour). Plus, this shortcut also works on iOS/iPadOS.

 

[klspahr]

I’m sure that like me you all have a ton of passwords, log-ins, or other data you need to keep secure. Not all of mine are accessible or are even in the built in password app, so I keep an encrypted Pages document on iCloud so I can access them from anywhere. (I think this is mostly secure, but I’m still a bit uneasy about this method. Of course I don’t call the file Passwords!)

Since this thread has made it easy to access the built in password data on the iPhone, I’m thinking of storing all my secure data in this password file and ditching my encrypted Pages document.

Any thought on this approach?

Is there any method of backing up this password data to say, an offline device?

 

[Apple_Robert]

I’m sure that like me you all have a ton of passwords, log-ins, or other data you need to keep secure. Not all of mine are accessible or are even in the built in password app, so I keep an encrypted Pages document on iCloud so I can access them from anywhere. (I think this is mostly secure, but I’m still a bit uneasy about this method. Of course I don’t call the file Passwords!)

Since this thread has made it easy to access the built in password data on the iPhone, I’m thinking of storing all my secure data in this password file and ditching my encrypted Pages document.

Any thought on this approach?

Is there any method of backing up this password data to say, an offline device?

For backup....

On Mac, open passwords > tap on the three dots in upper right corner > export all passwords.

If something happens to your Keychain and you either can't access it or it is corrupt and you need to reset your Keychain, it would not be a good idea not to have a backup elsewhere like Pages or a saved copy of the latest Keychain file. I suggest you use a password manager as a backup option for KeyChain.

 

[bogdanw]

@iStorm & @KALLT Why does that shortcut receive so many inputs, including Contacts, e-mail addresses and phone numbers?


For what is asked in this thread, no input is necessary. Simply open x-apple.systempreferences:com.apple.Passwords-Settings.extension

 

[Apple_Robert]

I think it is bad form of Apple to not provide a way to backup iCloud Keychain using your iPhone. It would be nice create a Shortcut for that purpose.

 

[iStorm]

@iStorm & @KALLT Why does that shortcut receive so many inputs, including Contacts, e-mail addresses and phone numbers?
View attachment 2336011

For what is asked in this thread, no input is necessary. Simply open x-apple.systempreferences:com.apple.Passwords-Settings.extension
View attachment 2336013

Yeah, that part is confusing. I haven't been able to figure out why one would want to run this shortcut from a Quick Action or from the Services Menu. Perhaps their intent was to just give us another way to access the shortcut by default. Enabling that option automatically selects all the inputs and maybe they just didn't bother unchecking them. Regardless, we can see that the shortcut isn't doing anything with the input if it were to receive one.

I went into the shortcut and unchecked "Use as Quick Action" since I don't need that option.

 

[klspahr]

If I were to save a backup of my keychain I can guarantee it would be encrypted and stored offline.

I trust Apple to secure my passwords more than I would trust a third party password manager. “LastPass” need I say more? Oh yes, maybe I should say it twice!

 

[Apple_Robert]

If I were to save a backup of my keychain I can guarantee it would be encrypted and stored offline.

I trust Apple to secure my passwords more than I would trust a third party password manager. “LastPass” need I say more? Oh yes, maybe I should say it twice!

There are password managers available that store locally. Nobody said anything about LastPass here. You should do some research before making a blind statement. It is also possible to store a backup in the cloud encrypted were no one can open it, which I do.

 

[KALLT]

@iStorm & @KALLT Why does that shortcut receive so many inputs, including Contacts, e-mail addresses and phone numbers?
View attachment 2336011

For what is asked in this thread, no input is necessary. Simply open x-apple.systempreferences:com.apple.Passwords-Settings.extension
View attachment 2336013

Just disable/remove what you don't need. Quick Actions are disabled by default anyway, they must be enabled in System Settings.

 

[Dorfdad]

I’m sure that like me you all have a ton of passwords, log-ins, or other data you need to keep secure. Not all of mine are accessible or are even in the built in password app, so I keep an encrypted Pages document on iCloud so I can access them from anywhere. (I think this is mostly secure, but I’m still a bit uneasy about this method. Of course I don’t call the file Passwords!)

Since this thread has made it easy to access the built in password data on the iPhone, I’m thinking of storing all my secure data in this password file and ditching my encrypted Pages document.

Any thought on this approach?

Is there any method of backing up this password data to say, an offline device?

I cloud should back this up for you. As for an offline backup I'm not sure. It seems there is a few ways to do passwords, I have used a lot of different apps for things over the years, Lastpass, 1paassword, etc they all have some negatives and issues, but iCloud passwords with a secondary encryption besides your iCloud password works best and the newest versions allow family control / sharing.

 

[Dorfdad]

If you want to use the shortcut route it's one line!

Super stupid easy. I just prefer it as an app and not a shortcut!

 

[KALLT]

If you want to use the shortcut route it's one line!

Super stupid easy. I just prefer it as an app and not a shortcut!

Oh that's even better. I didn't know that Apple added a dedicated shortcut action for this at some point. You can even add a search term so that the passwords section is opened with a filtered list.

I am not sure what you mean with "prefer it as app and not a shortcut". You can turn any shortcut into an app as explained above.

 

[bogdanw]

I am not sure what you mean with "prefer it as app and not a shortcut". You can turn any shortcut into an app as explained above.

What you have described is not a standalone app. It’s a shortcut to a Shortcut
If the Shortcuts database (~/Library/Shortcuts/Shortcuts.sqlite) is removed or gets corrupted, the “app” stops working: “The operation couldn’t be completed (WFBackgroundShortcutRunnerErrorDomain error 1.)”

 

[Cunir]

…i have attached a zip file to open your passwords
…when you launch it you will probably get an error and that's ok. You need to open apple-settings-privacy and security and enable the Automator application to control your computer

i’m just curious how many people actually opened the zip file. i thought there wouldn't be a single person who’d do that these days

 

[bogdanw]

i’m just curious how many people actually opened the zip file. i thought there wouldn't be a single person who’d do that these days

I did. I unzipped Automator Passwords.zip, opened Automator Passwords.app in Automator (/Applications/Automator.app) and checked the included AppleScript.