keytool error: java.io.IOException: keystore password was incorrect

The "keystore password was incorrect" error in keytool indicates that the password you provided when trying to access or modify a keystore is incorrect. To resolve this issue, you can follow these steps:

Verify the Correct Password

Double-check that you are entering the correct password for the keystore. Passwords are case-sensitive, so make sure that the case of the characters in the password matches the one you used when creating or modifying the keystore.

Try the Default Password

If you're not sure about the password, or if you suspect that it might have been set to a default password, you can try using the default password, which is "changeit" for Java keystores.

keytool -storepasswd -new changeit -keystore your-keystore-file.keystore

Replace your-keystore-file.keystore with the actual name of your keystore file.

Reset the keystore password

If you are unable to recall or retrieve the correct password, and you have the keystore file backed up or can recreate it, you might consider creating a new keystore with a new password. Keep in mind that this will generate a new keystore, and you'll need to reconfigure any application or service that uses the keystore.

To create a new keystore with a password

keytool -genkeypair -keystore new-keystore-file.keystore -storepass new-password

Replace new-keystore-file.keystore with the new keystore file name and new-password with the new password.

Recover or Reset the Password

If you have forgotten the keystore password and it's critical to recover it, you might need to use specialized tools or services that can help you recover or reset passwords for keystore files. However, this process can be complex and may have legal implications depending on your specific situation.

Please note that if you forget the keystore password and it contains important keys or certificates, you might lose access to those cryptographic assets. It's crucial to keep keystore passwords secure and well-documented to avoid such issues.

Solution in my situation

For me I needed to generate a new keystore.  The name of the keystore I first tried had been used by the previous developers.