Google Chrome and 1Password
Update: An early Alpha version of a 1Password Chrome extension is available in the Chrome support forum. This is a very early version, is not feature complete, and requires a developer version of Chrome/Chromium; it is therefore only recommended for those who enjoy testing and participating in forums to report issues. For everyone else, we recommend the 1Password Logins bookmarklet described below.
We’re working on supporting Google Chrome. It is currently in a very early, evolving beta status, which makes it difficult to develop extensions for. In fact, as of this writing, extensions have been disabled in the the Mac version’s public beta.
However, there is a way to get a little 1Password 3 in Chrome now using our Logins Bookmarklet feature. This allows you to use a custom bookmark containing just the Logins you want in Chrome, though it does not add many of 1Password’s other great features in our official browser extensions like Go & Fill, Identities, or filling credit cards into shopping carts. Those are on their way, as we are keeping an eye on Chrome’s development and extension support.
How to add a 1Password Logins Bookmarklet to Chrome
These steps will walk you through creating a Logins Bookmarklet with 1Password 3 or above, adding it to Safari, then importing it into Chrome.
1. Create a Logins Bookmarklet in 1Password 3 from the gear menu in the lower left.
Pick which logins and folders you want this bookmarklet to contain, set an Access Code at the top (make it a good one!), and click “Update Now” in the lower right to add the bookmarklet to Safari.
2. Drag your Logins Bookmarklet from Safari to Chrome
- Open both Safari and Chrome, then resize or move them so you can see both on screen at once.
- In Chrome, choose View > Always Show Bookmarks Bar
- In Safari, choose Bookmarks > Show All Bookmarks, then drag the Logins Bookmarklet from Safari’s bookmarks sidebar to Chrome’s Bookmarks Bar
Alternate Version: If you want to import all Safari Bookmarks
Chrome allows you to import all your bookmarks from Safari (and Firefox for that matter). If you go this route instead, you’ll have to move your Logins Bookmarklet to Safari’s Bookmarks Menu or Bookmarks Bar before importing into Chrome, as Chrome cannot see bookmarks in Safari’s “Collections” sidebar.
After performing Step 1 from above, continue here:
2. Organize your Logins Bookmarklet
Because the Chrome For Mac beta does not yet offer bookmark organization features, you’ll need to organize your Logins Bookmarklet in Safari before importing to Chrome.
By default, 1Password will add your Logins Bookmarklet to Safari’s Collections area, so you’ll need to move it to a more Chrome-friendly location. Open Safari, go to Bookmarks > Show All Bookmarks, then click either the Bookmarks Bar or Bookmarks Menu sections. Drag the Logins Bookmarklet into the section or folder you prefer.
3. Import into Chrome
The first time you start Chrome, it will offer to import your information from another browser. If this is your first time running Chrome, Make sure Safari is selected, then click “Start Google Chrome” to perform the import and get to Chroming.
If you have already been running Chrome and need to import your Safari bookmarks, go to Chrome > Import Bookmarks and Settings option to start the import tool manually.
How to use the Logins Bookmarklet
When you need to log into a site in Chrome, just click your Logins Bookmarklet to open a nifty 1Password overlay window. Type in the Access Code you set in step 1, click the proper Login, and watch the magic happen.
Tips and things to know
- Our Logins Bookmarklet feature is one-way, so you can’t add new Logins to it from Chrome. It was originally designed as a tool to make it easier to use your Logins in Mobile Safari on iPhone and iPod touch, but it just so happens to work fine with desktop, standards-based browsers like Chrome, too
- Just like its name states, the Logins Bookmarklet only does 1Password Logins; it does not bring your 1Password Identities or Credit Cards to Chrome
- Be sure to use a complex password for your Logins Bookmarklet Access Code. You can make it the same as your 1Password Master Password if that’s already pretty strong, but for the ultimate in security, you should probably make it something different. All the usual rules still apply: use a special character or two, use capital and lower-case letters, no plain language words, etc. Just like 1Password, and any password management system for that matter, the security of the information in your Logins Bookmarklet relies on the strength of your Access Code.
- Opera users: After brief testing, Logins Bookmarklets appear to work in Opera 10, too. While our official policy on Opera support is still that we can’t do it because Opera does not (and does not plan to) offer the proper extension support that third parties like us need, a Logins Bookmarklet is at least an option for you.