Problem importing Day One classic entries to Day One Mac OS 27.0

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  clearlyae87ce7e01 · Member · September 20, 2026 at 7:26 pm

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  Trying to import Day One Classic entries to Day one. When I go to File> Import> Classic Files, I get a pop up box that asks if I want to import Day One Classic files to Day One and prompts me to enter Journal password. No matter if I enter the old day One Classic password or the new Day One password, it tells me the password is not recognized. I can’t get past this glitch. I have searched the Systems folder and find hundreds of entries like, ” 0B4EC4861CED43E….doentry” so I know my files are there. I just can’t get to them. Please HELP.

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  ctdalba · Staff · September 23, 2026 at 7:37 pm

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  Hi @clearlyae87ce7e01

  Thanks for the details, the .doentry files you found confirm your Classic entries are still on disk.

  That password prompt is normal when the Day One Classic journal had its own password set inside Classic. It is a separate password from your current Day One account password, so neither one will work here. Do you recall that other password?

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  clearlyae87ce7e01 · Member · October 8, 2026 at 2:24 pm

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  Just got back into town and saw your reply. Thank you very much for getting back to me. No. I do not have that other password. Is there anything I can do go access those .doentry files?

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  helper-james · Member · October 26, 2026 at 1:53 am

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  @clearlyae87ce7e01 if you can find the “journal.dayone” file, right click it and choose show contents. Somewhere in there should be a password file. I tried finding what it was called in the help guides but I think it’s removed. Classic was retired 10 years ago. Anyway, if you delete that password .txt file, then try reimporting it should work.

  These are all the options as they were when I was still working there a few years ago

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  ctdalba · Staff · October 28, 2026 at 5:47 pm

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  Hi @clearlyae87ce7e01

  Thanks for confirming you don’t have the Classic password. You can still get to those entries without it. Classic kept its password lock in a small file inside the journal, and taking that file out lets the import read your entries.

  1. Quit Day One.
  2. In Finder, go back to the folder where you found the .doentry files. That folder is called entries, and it sits inside your Classic journal.
  3. Go up one level from entries. You should now be inside Journal.dayone (it may also appear as a folder named Journal_dayone). If Finder skips past it and shows Journal.dayone as a single item, right-click it and choose Show Package Contents.
  4. Before changing anything, make a backup: right-click Journal.dayone (or Journal_dayone) and choose Duplicate.
  5. Inside the original journal, find the file named security.plist and drag it to your Desktop. Keeping it on the Desktop rather than in the Trash means you can put it back if you need to.
  6. Open Day One and try File > Import > Classic Files again.

  Your entries are still there; this only removes the lock that was stopping the import from opening them. If the password prompt still appears, or you can’t find security.plist, let us know what you see inside the journal and we’ll take it from there.