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How to remove the keychain on macOS

Here's how to remove your keychain when problems arise.

Reset / delete keychains on macOS

macOS uses "keychains" to save passwords to different resources. Sometimes problems arise, where the most common is forgetting the password of the keychain. This password query usually comes up with system updates, where the system requests permission to use the keychain.

If you have the question for the password to the keychain in front of you and can not remember your password, the last resort may be to discard or put aside your keychain. However, this means that the passwords you have saved (maybe unknowingly) are lost.

To discard or put aside the keychain, you need to use the Keychain Access tool found in / Applications / Utilities.

With this tool you can see which keychains you have and what they contain.

Start the application to get a list of keychains and their status (locked or unlocked). If you do not see any keychains, you can click "Show Keychains". Then a list of one or more key rings will appear.

To remove a keychain, do the following:

  1. Select the keychain that either has your username or "login" as a name.
  2. Go to the "File" menu and click "Delete Keychain"
  3. Choose between just deleting references to the keychain file or both references and file. Try just deleting the references first.
  4. Close the application and log back in and out again. This creates a new empty keychain. The password for it is the login password you currently have.