AppleScript in a Nutshell

Name

Keychain Scripting

Synopsis

As I mentioned before, a keychain is a password file or database that is stored in encrypted form in startup disk:System Folder:Preferences:Keychains. The scripting of keychains, which store important passwords for entry to systems such as local networks, is accomplished through the Keychain Scripting software that is included with the scripting additions in the startup disk:System Folder:Scripting Additions folder. Figure 12-1 shows the checkbox that allows you to add a passphrase for an encrypted file to a keychain. You script the Keychain Scripting application just as you would target any other program, such as by enclosing Keychain Scripting commands in tell statements.

Syntax

tell app "Keychain Scripting"
   get current keychain -- get default keychain
end tell

Dictionary commands

count keychains or keys

This command counts the number of keychains the computer system has or the number of keys in a keychain. You can have more than one keychain; for example, I have a separate keychain just for linking with other Macs on my Ethernet. One keychain is always the default or active one and receives any new keys you create (see the current keychain property of the keychain application class). If you want to count just the number of keychains, use this code:

tell app "Keychain Scripting" to count keychains

This code gets a count of keys within a keychain and returns an integer:

tell application "Keychain Scripting" tell keychain "MyPasses" to count keys ...