How to Use Keychain Access on Your Mac

macOS includes a built-in tool called Keychain Access for viewing and managing the secrets your Mac stores. Recent macOS versions also added a friendlier Passwords app for everyday logins, but Keychain Access remains the power-user window into everything — website passwords, Wi-Fi keys, certificates, and secure notes. Here is how to use it safely.

Opening Keychain Access

You can open it a couple of ways:

1. Press Command-Space to open Spotlight, type "Keychain Access," and press Return.
2. Or open Finder, go to Applications, then Utilities, and double-click Keychain Access.

When it opens, you will see a list of keychains on the left (such as "login" and "System") and a list of items in the main panel.

Finding a specific password

1. Use the search box in the top-right corner and type the name of the site or service.
2. Double-click the matching item to open its details.
3. To reveal the password, check the "Show password" box. Your Mac will ask you to authenticate with your login password or Touch ID first — that authentication step is the security protecting these secrets.

This is handy when an app has a saved password you need to retype somewhere the autofill does not reach.

Viewing everyday logins in the Passwords app

For website and app logins specifically, newer macOS versions offer a dedicated Passwords app that is simpler than Keychain Access. Open it from Applications or System Settings, authenticate, and you will find your logins, security recommendations, and passkeys in a cleaner layout. We cover day-to-day management in how to manage passwords on Mac.

Things you can do safely

• Inspect what is stored. Browsing items is harmless and educational.
• Delete obsolete entries. Removing a password for a service you no longer use is fine; you can always save it again later.
• Check for duplicates that accumulated over time.

Things to be careful with

• Do not delete system certificates or keys unless you know exactly what they are. Some items are required for macOS, mail, or apps to function.
• Avoid "Reset My Default Keychains" unless you are troubleshooting deliberately, as it can detach you from stored passwords.
• Be cautious revealing passwords on a shared screen, since Keychain Access shows them in plain text once you authenticate.

Where a dedicated manager helps

Keychain Access is powerful but utilitarian — it is a system tool, not a polished daily driver. If you want a cleaner experience for managing, organizing, and generating passwords while still keeping them in the Mac's Keychain and fully offline, that is what Passlock provides. It reads and stores in the native Keychain, so you keep Apple's encryption, with a focused interface on top — plus the option to lock specific passwords behind time delays or challenges when you want to curb a habit.

Knowing your way around Keychain Access is worthwhile regardless of which manager you use: it is the ground truth of what your Mac has stored, and it is always just a Spotlight search away.