Import your passwords from the Password App into Codebook

You can import your Password app passwords into Codebook for macOS.

This feature is only supported on macOS. Use the Sync feature to access your imported data on Android, iOS, and Windows.

How it works:

  • Your saved passwords in Passwords App become Entry records in Codebook, and we put them in a new Category named "Imported Passwords"

Step 1: Export passwords from the Password App

Before You Begin

Caution: You are about to export your passwords into an unencrypted file! We recommend you temporarily disable any backup software you use to avoid creating a backup of the unencrypted file. Anybody with access to this file will be able to see your passwords and other secrets.

  1. Launch the Passwords app
  2. Click on File > Export all Passwords to File ... > Passwords
  3. In the dialog that appears prompting you to confirm that you'd like to export your passwords, choose Export Passwords... to proceed
  4. Save the CSV file to your computer

Step 2: Edit the CSV to match Codebook's expected import format

  1. Open the CSV you exported in step 1 using your favorite spreadsheet editing software (Numbers, Excel, etc.)
  2. Add a column before the first column and name the header Category. Enter Imported Passwords for the value of each row of that column (you should be able to type it for one row value then drag down on the cell to have it copied to every other row).
  3. Change the Title column header to Entry
  4. Change the URL column header to Website
  5. Change the Notes column header to Note
  6. Export the edited spreadsheet as a CSV (i.e. File Export To > CSV... in Numbers)

Step 3: Import the edited CSV into Codebook

  1. Open and unlock Codebook
  2. Go to File > Import > Import CSV... and select the CSV you modified in Step 2

At this time, Codebook for macOS doesn't convert the OTPAuth fields exported from the Passwords App into Codebook's 2-Step Code fields automatically -- although this is something that we'd like to add support for. For 2-Step Codes which Codebook supports, you can extract the secret from the OTPAuth URL and enter it into a 2-Step Code field as mentioned in the 2 Step Code documentation.

Step 3: Clean Up

  1. Delete the unencrypted CSV export file
  2. If you had disabled your backup software, resume it now

Next Steps

Now you're ready to get started using Codebook!

Need Help?

If you are having trouble importing your data or have other questions, please contact Codebook Support.