URL interception stopped working and cannot be disabled

[pahund]

Until a few weeks ago, I was using BTT to intercept certain URLs, for example to Jira, so that when I click on a URL to a Jira ticket in Slack or some other app, the URL is not opened in the browser, but in a Sarari web app I had created for Jira (as explained here in the macOS support docs).

I implemented this by creating a global "Did Open URL" trigger. The trigger had a "Run Real JavaScript" action that would open up the Safari web app, passing the intercepted URL.

To make this work, I set my system's default browser to BetterTouchTool, using the button in the trigger configuration.

At some point, probably with some update to a more recent BTT version, this functionality stopped working.

When I click on a Jira URL in Slack now, I just get a system errror message "The program could not be opened. -10827".

All the URLs that I had configured URL interceptor actions now just give me this ominous -10827 error. Other URLs that have not interceptor action configured work fine, they open up in Google Chrome.

I tried setting the system default browser back to Google Chrome in the macOS system settings so that BTT doesn't intercept URLs anymore. I still get the -10827 error when clicking on Jira URLs.

Even when I quit BTT, I still get this error. I disabled the "load on startup" option of BTT and restarted my machine so that BTT is never run after booting, still I get the -10817 error when clicking on Jira URLs.

I also uninstalled the process priority helper tool, to no avail.

Please help me get my system back to working normally, so that it opens any URL in the default browser when I click it.

Screenshots

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Device information:

• Type of Mac / macOS version:

MacBook Pro 16", 2021
Apple M1 Pro
32 GB
macOS Sonoma 14.7.1

• BetterTouchTool version: 5.151

[Andreas_Hegenberg]

@pahund

10827

That error usually means the app is not available at the registered path anymore, did you maybe move BTT?

Have you tried clicking the "Set BetterTouchTool Default Browser" button again?

If that doesn't work you could also try running the "Change Default Browser / App For Scheme Or File Type" action:

[pahund]

Hi Andreas, thanks for the quick reply!

I've tried setting the default browser back to BTT, still I get the same error when I click on a Jira URL.

I've set up a trigger to set the default app for Jira URLs to the Jira app, like you suggested. I selected the Jira app with "select app from running apps".

(I put the notification there to make sure the trigger is actually triggered, it is)

This did not change anything, unfortunately.

[pahund]

For what it's worth, I've tried out both methods — "Did Open URL" trigger and "Change Default Browser / App For Scheme Or File Type" action — on my private Mac, where I'm also using BTT.

Both methods work just fine there. It is only on my work Mac that it is broken.

Is there some plist file or other local config that I can check where I might revert any URL interception logic so that at least the default way, opening up the URLs regularly in the browser, works again?

I can live with the BTT URL interception not working, but having to copy and paste a URL to open it in a browser every time instead of just clicking it is annoying.

[Andreas_Hegenberg]

does your work Mac maybe have some work profile with restrictions related to this? Maybe they were added recently so BTT can not change the settings anymore?

macOS stores the url handlers in this file:
~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.LaunchServices/com.apple.launchservices.secure.plist

[pahund]

I have a suspicion that our IT changed permissions on our laptops to prevent URL interception.

I've decided to throw the baby out with the bathwater and stop using Safari web apps on my work machine.

After deleting all the Safari web apps and some fiddling, I got the URLs to open in Chrome again.

Please close this ticket, I think there's nothing wrong with BTT, it's my fault

Thank you for your patience!