iCloud Passwords extension fails to connect to native keychain in ChatGPT Atlas (nativeMessaging unsupported)

ChatGPT
,
1

Hello team,

I’ve encountered consistent errors when using the iCloud Passwords extension (v3.1.27, ID: pejdijmoenmkgeppbflobdenhhabjlaj) inside ChatGPT Atlas (Chromium 141). The extension installs correctly, but immediately throws runtime errors in background.js such as:

Uncaught (in promise) SecretSessionError: Called encrypt() without a session key
Uncaught (in promise) Error: Could not establish connection. Receiving end does not exist.
FrameIsBrowserFrameError: Frame X in tab XXXXX is a browser frame.

Technical Context:

From chrome://extensions-internals:

"permissions": {
  "active": {
    "api": ["nativeMessaging", "privacy", "storage", "webNavigation", "scripting"]
  }
}

It appears the nativeMessaging API required by iCloud Passwords (to communicate with the Apple Keychain bridge) is currently not supported or sandboxed in Atlas. Because of this, the extension cannot create a session key or talk to the local iCloud Passwords daemon.

Reproduction Steps:

  1. Install iCloud Passwords from the Atlas Web Store.

  2. Enable it from atlas://extensions/.

  3. Observe console logs via Service Worker → Errors show up immediately.

  4. Attempt to autofill a login → nothing happens.

Expected Behavior:

Extension should be able to connect to the local iCloud Passwords daemon via nativeMessaging, as it does in Chrome or Edge.

Actual Behavior:

Extension loads but cannot establish a native bridge. Background scripts fail to encrypt or sync credentials.

Suggested Fix:

Please consider enabling chrome.nativeMessaging or a compatible secure bridge to support system-level extensions like iCloud Passwords, 1Password, or Dashlane. This would improve compatibility for users relying on OS-integrated password managers.

Environment:

  • ChatGPT Atlas: v141.0.7390.108

  • macOS: Sonoma 15.x

  • Extension: iCloud Passwords 3.1.27

  • Manifest v3

  • Reproducible every launch

3 Likes
4

Welcome to the dev community, @Riv_Wang!

Atlas is new, but I’ve passed this along. Thanks for sharing with a lot of details.

Hope you stick around!

3 Likes
5

Hi! Thanks for flagging this. The iCloud Passwords extension relies on system-level support that isn’t currently available in Atlas. We’re in touch with Apple to help make this possible. In the meantime, Atlas already supports macOS’s built-in autofill, so you can still fill passwords saved in iCloud directly from the system prompt.

4 Likes
6

This doesn’t make sense. How does autofill help? Passwords saved in iCloud is part of keychain which we all can verify does not work. We have to manually copy and paste passwords and security keys back and forth. Almost all other Chromium browsers support the Apple Keychain extension.

image
image1126×676 53.1 KB

1 Like
7

I do see this when I click on password fields. If I click “iCloud Passwords”, it will open a dialog that lets me search for the password. It’s not perfect, but it’s a temporary workaround.

image
image1298×1542 139 KB

1 Like
8

Yes, I noticed that started appearing too. They have pushed 3-4 updates since release. One of them must have enabled partial support.

9

The autofill is a terrible experience. Glad to hear you continue working with apple to fix it.

10

The auto-fill password function works now. However, the passkey still displays a QR code rather than requiring Touch ID authentication.

1 Like