Posted on May 24, 2026 | by Rajesh Kumar

The correct thing is to migrate the Tabby config folder, and separately consider macOS Keychain.

Tabby’s official config location on macOS is:

~/Library/Application Support/tabby

Inside that, config.yaml contains your Tabby profiles/sessions. Tabby’s Vault is also stored inside the YAML config under the vault attribute, and the Vault is encrypted with your passphrase. So copying this file/folder does not expose the password in plain text, but you must know the same Vault password to unlock it on the new Mac. (GitHub)

Important: Tabby passwords can be in 2 places

Case 1: Passwords saved in Tabby Vault

Then copying this folder should migrate sessions + encrypted vault:

~/Library/Application Support/tabby

On the new laptop, Tabby may ask for the same Vault password.

Case 2: SSH passwords saved in macOS Keychain

Tabby’s maintainer has said SSH passwords may be saved to the OS keychain when connecting the first time. (GitHub)

In that case, copying Tabby config alone may bring sessions but not the saved SSH passwords. For Keychain items, Apple says Setup Assistant/Migration Assistant transfers keychains automatically; otherwise, use Keychain Access export/import where possible. (Apple Support)

So the safest answer is:

Copy Tabby config folder + migrate Keychain if passwords were stored in macOS Keychain.

Best Safe Method: Manual encrypted backup

On old Mac

First completely quit Tabby.

Then run:

cd "$HOME/Library/Application Support"

tar -czf "$HOME/Desktop/tabby-config.tgz" tabby

hdiutil create \
  -encryption AES-256 \
  -volname TabbyBackup \
  -srcfolder "$HOME/Desktop/tabby-config.tgz" \
  "$HOME/Desktop/TabbyBackup.dmg"

rm "$HOME/Desktop/tabby-config.tgz"

This creates an encrypted file here:

~/Desktop/TabbyBackup.dmg

Transfer this DMG using AirDrop, USB, external drive, etc.

On new Mac

Install Tabby first, then quit Tabby completely.

Mount the DMG by double-clicking it, or:

hdiutil attach "$HOME/Downloads/TabbyBackup.dmg"

Backup existing Tabby folder if it exists:

mv "$HOME/Library/Application Support/tabby" \
   "$HOME/Library/Application Support/tabby.backup.$(date +%F-%H%M%S)" 2>/dev/null

Restore:

tar -xzf "/Volumes/TabbyBackup/tabby-config.tgz" \
  -C "$HOME/Library/Application Support"

Detach:

hdiutil detach "/Volumes/TabbyBackup"

Now open Tabby.

It should ask for the same Tabby Vault/master password. Enter the same password you used on the old laptop.

Also copy SSH keys if your sessions use key-based login

Tabby sessions are one thing. SSH private keys are separate.

On old Mac:

tar -czf "$HOME/Desktop/ssh-backup.tgz" -C "$HOME" .ssh

Move it to the new Mac.

On new Mac:

tar -xzf "$HOME/Downloads/ssh-backup.tgz" -C "$HOME"

chmod 700 "$HOME/.ssh"
find "$HOME/.ssh" -type f -name "*.pub" -exec chmod 644 {} \;
find "$HOME/.ssh" -type f ! -name "*.pub" -exec chmod 600 {} \;

Then test:

ssh-add -l

For macOS Keychain-backed SSH keys:

ssh-add --apple-use-keychain ~/.ssh/id_ed25519

Adjust key name if different.

My recommended migration order

Quit Tabby on both laptops.
Copy encrypted backup of:

~/Library/Application Support/tabby

Copy ~/.ssh only if you use SSH keys.
Use Apple Migration Assistant or Keychain Access if Tabby passwords were saved in macOS Keychain.
Open Tabby on new Mac and unlock with the same Vault password.
Test 2–3 SSH sessions before deleting anything from old laptop.

Small but important: do not paste or upload config.yaml, TabbyBackup.dmg, or .ssh files anywhere public. They may contain encrypted secrets and server inventory.

How to Safely Transfer Tabby SSH Sessions, Saved Passwords, and Settings from One Mac to Another

Other good options:

Tabby SSH Migration Guide: Move Saved Sessions and Password-Protected Vault to a New Mac
How to Backup and Restore Tabby Terminal SSH Sessions on macOS
Safe Way to Move Tabby Terminal Profiles, SSH Keys, and Vault Passwords to Another Mac
Complete Guide to Migrating Tabby Terminal from Old Mac to New Mac
How to Transfer Tabby Terminal Configuration and SSH Sessions Between Mac Laptops

My recommended SEO-friendly blog title:

How to Safely Migrate Tabby Terminal SSH Sessions and Saved Passwords to a New Mac

Tabby SSH Migration Guide: Move Saved Sessions and Password-Protected Vault to a New Mac