diff --git a/internal/secret/keychainunlocker.go b/internal/secret/keychainunlocker.go
index 8de30de..c19705a 100644
--- a/internal/secret/keychainunlocker.go
+++ b/internal/secret/keychainunlocker.go
@@ -530,6 +530,8 @@ func retrieveFromKeychain(itemName string) ([]byte, error) {
 }
 
 // deleteFromKeychain removes an item from the macOS keychain using keybase/go-keychain
+// If the item doesn't exist, this function returns nil (not an error) since the goal
+// is to ensure the item is gone, and it already being gone satisfies that goal.
 func deleteFromKeychain(itemName string) error {
 	if err := validateKeychainItemName(itemName); err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("invalid keychain item name: %w", err)
@@ -541,6 +543,17 @@ func deleteFromKeychain(itemName string) error {
 	item.SetAccount(itemName)
 
 	if err := keychain.DeleteItem(item); err != nil {
+		// If the item doesn't exist, that's not an error - the goal is to ensure
+		// the item is gone, and it already being gone satisfies that goal.
+		// This is important for cleaning up unlocker directories when the keychain
+		// item has already been removed (e.g., manually by user, or synced vault
+		// from a different machine).
+		if err == keychain.ErrorItemNotFound {
+			Debug("Keychain item not found during deletion, ignoring", "item_name", itemName)
+
+			return nil
+		}
+
 		return fmt.Errorf("failed to delete item from keychain: %w", err)
 	}
 
diff --git a/internal/secret/keychainunlocker_test.go b/internal/secret/keychainunlocker_test.go
index 698de11..981ee6e 100644
--- a/internal/secret/keychainunlocker_test.go
+++ b/internal/secret/keychainunlocker_test.go
@@ -165,3 +165,20 @@ func TestKeychainLargeData(t *testing.T) {
 	// Clean up
 	_ = deleteFromKeychain(testItemName)
 }
+
+func TestDeleteNonExistentKeychainItem(t *testing.T) {
+	// Skip test if not on macOS
+	if runtime.GOOS != "darwin" {
+		t.Skip("Keychain tests only run on macOS")
+	}
+
+	// Ensure item doesn't exist
+	testItemName := "test-nonexistent-keychain-item-12345"
+	_ = deleteFromKeychain(testItemName)
+
+	// Deleting a non-existent item should NOT return an error
+	// This is important for cleaning up unlocker directories when the keychain item
+	// has already been removed (e.g., manually by user, or on a different machine)
+	err := deleteFromKeychain(testItemName)
+	assert.NoError(t, err, "Deleting non-existent keychain item should not return an error")
+}