App doesn't open after installing it and opening it (Mac OS Big Sur)

[glassnor]

• I am on the latest ActivityWatch version.
• I have searched the issues of this repo and believe that this is not a duplicate.

• OS name and version: Mac OS Big Sur 11.4 (20F71)
• ActivityWatch version: 0.11.0, downloaded from: https://activitywatch.net/

Describe the bug

I'm unable to open the app

To Reproduce

1. I installed the app from the DMG
2. copied app to apps folder
3. Clicked to allow it to open from security preferences
4. Clicked in security and privacy to give accessibility access to the app

5. And tried opening the app

Expected behavior

I expect the app to open

Unexpected result:
The app doesn't open, nothing happens at all... Very confused about why since its a clean install on a relatively new OS install without a lot of software installed... I'm happy to provide more info and a zoom to do a screenshare, If I end up using the software I'm also happy to donate $100+ to the project to thank you for the product and the help.... hell if you just help me get it set up and working I'll probably donating $100 to thank someone for the help.

Documentation

Additional context

[github-actions]

Hi there!
As you're new to this repo, please make sure you've used an appropriate issue template and searched for duplicates (it helps us focus on actual development!). We'd also like to suggest that you read our contribution guidelines and our code of conduct.
Thanks a bunch for opening your first issue! 🙏

[ofou]

Hey Glassnor, if you're looking for a workaround on a M1 Macbook Air (BigSur 11.4) or any M1, the older version it's still working. I'm using it myself, you just need to downgrade to v0.10.0.
There are two options, one it's installing the older .dmg directly from the previous link or if you installed it using brew, do the following:

Open a Terminal and edit the file using this command:

open -e /opt/homebrew/Library/Taps/homebrew/homebrew-cask/Casks/activitywatch.rb

then comment the sha256 line and change it to version "0.10.0":

cask "activitywatch" do
  version "0.10.0"
  # sha256 "91deabd5844968467b5b6b3423e12654d4e339ba309f333c25d991a2e689fd96"

  url "https://github.com/ActivityWatch/activitywatch/releases/download/v#{vers$
      verified: "github.com/ActivityWatch/activitywatch/"
  name "ActivityWatch"
  desc "Time tracker"
  homepage "https://activitywatch.net/"

  app "ActivityWatch.app"

  zap trash: "~/Library/Application Support/activitywatch"
end

Finally, reinstall the older version:

brew reinstall activitywatch

I'm still researching why it's not working, it appears to be the same problem on various M1 devices (#622).
I'm a user too, hope this helps you.

[glassnor]

I'm actually on a macbook pro with the old processors, not the M1... Apologies @ofou that I didn't say that, and thanks for your suggestion, I may still try it if I don't hear other suggestions

[ErikBjare]

Hey everyone, sorry for the macOS issues, it has been a recurring issue throughout the years.

I've made some attempts at making it work reliably, but it has proven difficult (esp as I have limited knowledge of macOS internals).

If anyone wants to help out with a fix for this, I'd be more than happy to offer a generous bounty (in addition to the $100 offered by @glassnor). (Edit: Total bounty is >$1,000)

Good starting points are #620 and #344, as well as generally searching through past issues mentioning similar problems.

---

I also want to caution everyone from running v0.10.0 on macOS as it has a severe security vulnerability and should not be used. I understand people might choose to run it anyway, but to do so safely you need to run aw-watcher-window from source (and disable autostarting it from aw-qt through config).

See GHSA-3x6w-q32m-jqf3 for more details.

[faisalmukhtarch]

Hey Glassnor, if you're looking for a workaround on a M1 Macbook Air (BigSur 11.4) or any M1, the older version it's still working. I'm using it myself, you just need to downgrade to v0.10.0.
There are two options, one it's installing the older .dmg directly from the previous link or if you installed it using brew, do the following:

Open a Terminal and edit the file using this command:

open -e /opt/homebrew/Library/Taps/homebrew/homebrew-cask/Casks/activitywatch.rb

then comment the sha256 line and change it to version "0.10.0":

cask "activitywatch" do
  version "0.10.0"
  # sha256 "91deabd5844968467b5b6b3423e12654d4e339ba309f333c25d991a2e689fd96"

  url "https://github.com/ActivityWatch/activitywatch/releases/download/v#{vers$
      verified: "github.com/ActivityWatch/activitywatch/"
  name "ActivityWatch"
  desc "Time tracker"
  homepage "https://activitywatch.net/"

  app "ActivityWatch.app"

  zap trash: "~/Library/Application Support/activitywatch"
end

Finally, reinstall the older version:

brew reinstall activitywatch

I'm still researching why it's not working, it appears to be the same problem on various M1 devices (#622).
I'm a user too, hope this helps you.

Thanks a lot. I was trying to install on my M1 Mac but it was failing. I can finally install it but the menu is very much blurred. Are you experiencing the same?

[ofou]

Yep @faisalmukhtarch, I'm experiencing the same, not a big deal at the moment to me tough. 🤥

But hey @ErikBjare thanks for pointing out the security vulnerability, that's kind of worrisome about running v0.10.0 on macOS. I'll get deeper into it, just getting on board setting up dev env is kind of difficult on M1, for some reason aw_webui build keep failing (Failed at the deasync@0.1.21 install script). I'll check the dependencies again from the docs, just in case.

By the way, thanks for doing this project. I'm migrating from Rescuetime and Wakatime. We're not yet there... but I'm loving ActivityWatch so far, plus it's open source! ♡

[arnaujc91]

Same here. Just installed the App via Homebrew and also simply running the .dmg file. Both ways the app is unable to start.

[spodlipnik]

Same problem here. Any updates on this issue?

[ErikBjare]

Sorry guys, but I don't have the bandwidth to deal with this right now. It has proven to be more difficult than I previously expected.

You can try some of the old workarounds as described in #323 to get it running from the .zip macOS release.

I should add that there's a sizeable bounty (>$1,000) for anyone who manages to fix the macOS releases. A good starting point is: #620

Related issues:

• macOS Catalina complains repeatedly about an unverified developer #334
• Unable to open app on v0.11.0 macOS Big Sur #622 (might be a duplicate)

[aaayushsingh]

Hey @ErikBjare,
Came here from the Upwork post. Is anyone working on this? Do I have to lock this or something before I get started or try to fix this?

Question:
Can this be reproduced if I follow the make build method from the documentation? if no, how do I package it as .dmg to test the process descried in the issue?

[ErikBjare]

Hey @aaayushsingh!

Thanks for the initiative, but please keep Upwork-related inquiries to the Upwork-platform until you've gotten the green light to get started. Thanks :)

In case you're eager, or just curious, there's documentation on how to build from source and package as a .dmg here: https://docs.activitywatch.net/en/latest/installing-from-source.html

[cyann]

FYI, I got it working by doing this:

• Right-click on ActivityWatch, select View Package Content (or something similar, I'm not running the English version)
• Open the Content folder
• Open info.plist in TextEdit
• Change the string <string>MacOS/aw-qt</string> to <string>aw-qt</string>
• Save and try

[meain]

@cyann Wow, that actually seems to work.

[cyann]

However it looks like it doesn't stay running...

[meain]

I do get this error in the UI, but at least it seems to be working so far. Let me see if it stays up.

[cyann]

Weird: opening it with double-click did not work, but it works with the terminal:

open /Applications/ActivityWatch.app

[meain]

Same for me actually. Had to open through shell. I just thought it was blocked due to some security thing, but least it been working fine for me for some time now.

[ghost]

It didnt work for me, not even using the terminal

[rakleed]

Weird: opening it with double-click did not work, but it works with the terminal:

open /Applications/ActivityWatch.app

@cyann But in this case, when you open the Dashboard, the “Query”, “Raw Data” and “Settings” tabs in the upper right corner do not open.

[cyann]

@rakleed Sorry, I've stopped using ActivityWatch.

[stale]

This issue has been automatically marked as stale because it has not had recent activity. It will be closed if no further activity occurs. Thank you for your contributions.