How to Fix keychain errors

macOS wants to…

If you see ‘macOS wants to use the “login” keychain’ when logging in to your account, try clicking on Update Keychain Password, then entering your login password.

Create new keychain

If updating your keychain password doesn’t work, then click Create New Keychain. This will create a completely empty keychain containing none of your old passwords.

Reset default keychain

If you still see login keychain errors, open Keychain Access, go to Keychain Access > Preferences, and then click Reset My Default Keychain to create a new login keychain.

Retrieve old passwords

Your Local Items keychain is used for app passwords. Click on an entry, then on the “Show password” checkbox. Enter your login password and the entry’s password will appear.

Fix broken entries

If macOS tells you an app needs to access the Local Items keychain, close the app, then open Keychain Access. Ctrl-click any relevant Local Items entries and delete them.

Reset local items

If you still get keychain errors, go to Finder and click the Go menu. Hold Opt and Library appears in the menu; choose it. Trash the Keychains folder, then restart your Mac.