Describe the bug
Independent from fresh downloaded BTT or already updated BTT via internal update process, from time to time I get the following error
"BetterTochTool" is damaged and can't be opened. You should move it to the Bin.
This file was downloaded on an unknown date.
Affected input device (e.g. MacBook Trackpad, Magic Mouse/Trackpad, Touch Bar, etc.):
After the error BTT can not be used anymore
Screenshots
If applicable, add screenshots to help explain your problem. (You can just paste or drag them here)
Device information:
- Type of Mac: MacBook Pro 14-inch 2023 Apple M2 Max 32 GB
- macOS version: Sequoia 15.1
- BetterTouchTool version: 4.843 (2024103014)
Additional information (e.g. crash logs, related issues, etc.):
Sadly I could not find more information in the console.
I have this issue for a while now. Started with a late MacOS 14 but continued with MacOS 15 and 15.1.
What usually fixes it for a while is to download the new version from your website, then moving the old app into the bin and moving the downloaded one to application and start it.
Sometimes this fixes the issue for a week, sometime just for half a day.
As a developer myself I am happy to support any effort to narrow down the issue just need some guidance
This means something on your system is modifying the BetterTouchTool app bundle. However I haven't seen this in years - back in the day it could be caused by some broken anti virus software or by some "tweaking" tools that did a little too much.
In you case the error "this file was downloaded on an unknown date" could mean some app is clearing the meta data of BTT's app bundle. macOS doesn't allow apps without a valid download / copy date to launch by default.
Unfortunately this is an error outside of BTT's control, it is definitely caused by something external but I don't have many ideas on how to debug it. Maybe you can think of a problematic app that could influence this.
Thanks for the response.
Do you know a way to monitor / track file changes like that to help identify the culbrit?
Unfortunately not really, you can query the date attributes have been modified:
mdls -name kMDItemAttributeChangeDate /Applications/BetterTouchTool.app
Maybe that can hint into some direction
Thanks.
Had the issue this morning again.
Executed the suggested command and this fits the download time now.
Stored the response away so when I get the error again I can check when it was modified.
Also I found that I can lock a file via the "Get Info" dialog. I did this now for the BTT app. I guess I will have to remove the lock before an update but till then lets see if it helps blocking this meta data changes 
From my side you can mark this bug as resolved. I will continue posting here when I have new information. Maybe this thread can help others with the same issue
Yep please keep me updated as I have not encountered this in a long time! I wish I could be of more help, but I'm really out of ideas on how to find the culprit.
One idea, do you have apps in the "App Management" section in System Settings => Privacy & Security?
It seems like apps trying to modify other apps will show up there (at least if the app is in the Applications folder)
I have no Apps in "App Management"
The idea / workaround of locking the BetterTouchTool.app in applications works as a solution it seems.
I will leave the lock away now, just for checking if it still gets modified somehow.
Current version: 4.921
