You can’t open the application “BetterTouchTool”

nic · November 13, 2024, 2:43am

Hi there,

New user here, the program was working for a while but now it won't open. When I try to open it two windows pop up with the following message:

" You can’t open the application “BetterTouchTool” because it may be damaged or incomplete."

I have, restarted my computer, uninstalled and reinstalled, neither of those worked. I also tried deleting this folder ~/Library/Application Support/BetterTouchTool which did work but then about 5 mins later the program stopped working and when I tried to reopen the two message windows came up again.

Device information:

Type of Mac: macbook air 15-inch, M2, 2023
macOS version: 15.0.1 (24A348)
BetterTouchTool version: 4.839 (October, 26, 2024)

Andreas_Hegenberg · November 13, 2024, 8:14am

I'd try downloading a fresh copy via folivora.ai - Great Tools for your Mac!
If that doesn't help I'd recommend to restart your Mac.

However this is usually not a good sign - it could be a hard drive starting to fail, or some other software that is modifying files on your Mac.

nic · November 13, 2024, 3:25pm

I did download a fresh copy and restarted my machine.

Is there any more support available? As a paying customer it's not great that's it's stopped working so soon after I purchased it

Andreas_Hegenberg · November 13, 2024, 3:28pm

unfortunately this is most likely an issue with your system, it is out of my control.

To debug you will need to figure out what is damaging the BTT app:

Did you recently encounter other issues that might hint to a hard drive problem?
Are you using any special tools for unzipping ?
Any special anti-virus or anti-malware tools that might interfere?
Possibly update to macOS 15.1 as it fixed many issues introduced with 15.0

nic · November 13, 2024, 3:41pm

That seems unlikely given this is a relatively new machine and nothing else is going wrong.

No other recent issues
Using the default unzipping
Using the default antivirus

Downloading the update to 15.1, will report back

Andreas_Hegenberg · November 13, 2024, 3:45pm

Also make sure BTT is in your Applications folder and not e.g. in your Downloads folder or some other folder. In some configurations that could lead to weird problems.

nic · November 18, 2024, 7:09pm

Hi there, yes I can confirm that the application has always been running from the applications folder. I downloaded the 15.1 update and it worked for a time but now the same errors are popping up. Are there any other troubleshooting steps we can take? I was really enjoying the product.

Thank you,

Nic

Andreas_Hegenberg · November 18, 2024, 8:10pm

Unfortunately I don't know. My guess would be that something is modifying files on your system (BTT can't modify itself) or your hard disk is starting to fail. But I don't know how to figure that out.

Maybe you can post the output of this terminal command?

codesign -vv /Applications/BetterTouchTool.app && codesign -dvvv  /Applications/BetterTouchTool.app

nic · November 18, 2024, 8:42pm

Here's what was output from running that command

/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app: valid on disk
/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app: satisfies its Designated Requirement
Executable=/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/MacOS/BetterTouchTool
Identifier=com.hegenberg.BetterTouchTool
Format=app bundle with Mach-O universal (x86_64 arm64)
CodeDirectory v=20500 size=182249 flags=0x10000(runtime) hashes=5684+7 location=embedded
Hash type=sha256 size=32
CandidateCDHash sha256=17f382eee6342973179812eb5ff082ca47cf66ad
CandidateCDHashFull sha256=17f382eee6342973179812eb5ff082ca47cf66ad7390517062787aed8aa1c36c
Hash choices=sha256
CMSDigest=17f382eee6342973179812eb5ff082ca47cf66ad7390517062787aed8aa1c36c
CMSDigestType=2
CDHash=17f382eee6342973179812eb5ff082ca47cf66ad
Signature size=8982
Authority=Developer ID Application: folivora.AI GmbH (DAFVSXZ82P)
Authority=Developer ID Certification Authority
Authority=Apple Root CA
Timestamp=Nov 13, 2024 at 4:18:06 AM
Notarization Ticket=stapled
Info.plist entries=104
TeamIdentifier=DAFVSXZ82P
Runtime Version=15.1.0
Sealed Resources version=2 rules=13 files=2938
Internal requirements count=1 size=224

nic · November 18, 2024, 8:43pm

What would be the steps to do a completely clean install? Other than deleting the application from the applications folder, what else could I remove?

Andreas_Hegenberg · November 18, 2024, 8:48pm

That output looks ok, could you also post the output of this?

spctl --assess --verbose /Applications/BetterTouchTool.app && xattr -l /Applications/BetterTouchTool.app

?

That error only refers to the app bundle from the applications folder, so removing anything else should not be necessary. If you still want to do a clean install you'd need to remove these:

~/Library/Application Support/BetterTouchTool
~/Library/Preferences/com.hegenberg.BetterTouchTool.plist

(go there via Finder => Go => go to folder, make sure to include the ~).

In case you have Xcode installed, this command might also give some details:

codesign --verify --deep --strict --verbose=4 /Applications/BetterTouchTool.app

nic · November 20, 2024, 12:18am

Hi Andreas, thanks for helping me with this.

Here's the first output:

@Mac ~ % spctl --assess --verbose /Applications/BetterTouchTool.app && xattr -l /Applications/BetterTouchTool.app
/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app: accepted
source=Notarized Developer ID
com.apple.macl: 
com.apple.provenance:

And here's the xcode output:

@Mac ~ % codesign --verify --deep --strict --verbose=4 /Applications/BetterTouchTool.app


--prepared:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/PlugIns/BetterTouchTool WidgetsExtension.appex
--validated:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/PlugIns/BetterTouchTool WidgetsExtension.appex
--prepared:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/PlugIns/BTTFinderContextMenu.appex
--validated:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/PlugIns/BTTFinderContextMenu.appex
--prepared:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/XPCServices/BetterTouchToolAppleScriptRunner4.xpc
--prepared:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/XPCServices/BetterTouchToolShellScriptRunner.xpc
--prepared:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/XPCServices/BetterTouchToolAppleScriptRunner.xpc
--prepared:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/XPCServices/BetterTouchToolAppleScriptRunner2.xpc
--validated:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/XPCServices/BetterTouchToolAppleScriptRunner4.xpc--prepared:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/XPCServices/BetterTouchToolAppleScriptRunner3.xpc

--validated:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/XPCServices/BetterTouchToolAppleScriptRunner.xpc
--validated:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/XPCServices/BetterTouchToolShellScriptRunner.xpc
--validated:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/XPCServices/BetterTouchToolAppleScriptRunner3.xpc
--validated:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/XPCServices/BetterTouchToolAppleScriptRunner2.xpc
--prepared:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/Frameworks/ShortcutRecorder.framework/Versions/Current/.
--validated:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/Frameworks/ShortcutRecorder.framework/Versions/Current/.
--prepared:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/Frameworks/libswift_Concurrency.dylib
--validated:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/Frameworks/libswift_Concurrency.dylib
--prepared:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/Frameworks/Sparkle.framework/Versions/Current/.
--prepared:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/Frameworks/Sparkle.framework/Versions/Current/XPCServices/Downloader.xpc
--prepared:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/Frameworks/Sparkle.framework/Versions/Current/Updater.app
--validated:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/Frameworks/Sparkle.framework/Versions/Current/XPCServices/Downloader.xpc
--prepared:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/Frameworks/Sparkle.framework/Versions/Current/XPCServices/Installer.xpc
--validated:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/Frameworks/Sparkle.framework/Versions/Current/XPCServices/Installer.xpc
--validated:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/Frameworks/Sparkle.framework/Versions/Current/Updater.app
--prepared:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/Frameworks/Sparkle.framework/Versions/Current/Autoupdate
--validated:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/Frameworks/Sparkle.framework/Versions/Current/Autoupdate
--validated:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/Frameworks/Sparkle.framework/Versions/Current/.
--prepared:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/Frameworks/BTTPluginSupport.framework/Versions/Current/.
--validated:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/Frameworks/BTTPluginSupport.framework/Versions/Current/.
--prepared:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/Frameworks/LetsMove.framework/Versions/Current/.
--validated:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/Frameworks/LetsMove.framework/Versions/Current/.
--prepared:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/Frameworks/MIKMIDI.framework/Versions/Current/.
--validated:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/Frameworks/MIKMIDI.framework/Versions/Current/.
--prepared:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/Frameworks/Ensembles.framework/Versions/Current/.
--validated:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/Frameworks/Ensembles.framework/Versions/Current/.
/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app: valid on disk
/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app: satisfies its Designated Requirement```

nic · November 25, 2024, 5:45pm

Hi Andreas,

We're you able to see anything from that output?

It appears the issue is intermittent, I decided to try the app one more time and it opened up fine and it's been working for a few hours now. I did no troubleshooting steps, no uninstall/reinstall etc it just started working all of a sudden, does that give you anymore insight into the issue?

Thanks,

Nic

Andreas_Hegenberg · November 25, 2024, 5:50pm

unfortunately not, the output looks all good and I haven’t had a single similar report ;-(

nic · November 27, 2024, 5:07pm

Hi Andreas, unfortunately it's happened again so I can't feasibly use the tool anymore. Can I please get a refund, I purchased on 1st Nov with the same email I'm using here on the forum.
Thanks for trying to troubleshoot with me.
Nic

Andreas_Hegenberg · November 27, 2024, 5:50pm

I‘ll trigger a refund but I would really recommend to check your system for malware or hardware failures, in 15 years if BTT i haven’t encountered this, it’s really very weird behavior:-/
This could be indicative of further failures to come

nic · November 29, 2024, 8:27pm

Hi Andreas,

Thanks for handling the refund. I have no doubt this is a unique issue, I really enjoyed the tool and am sad I can no longer use it. As and when I get a new machine I will repurchase a license and hopefully it works for me then.

Are there any tools or procedures you'd recommend that I can check for hardware issues/malware? This machine is only 1 year old so I'd be surprised if it was failing but who knows.

Thanks,

Nic

jackcarter · December 11, 2024, 6:27pm

I'm getting the same issue @Andreas_Hegenberg. Every time I logout/login or restart, I get two popups with the same message:

If I reinstall, it opens without any issue. I have to reinstall every time I log in.

Here are my results from running the three commands above:

/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app: valid on disk
/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app: satisfies its Designated Requirement
Executable=/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/MacOS/BetterTouchTool
Identifier=com.hegenberg.BetterTouchTool
Format=app bundle with Mach-O universal (x86_64 arm64)
CodeDirectory v=20500 size=183657 flags=0x10000(runtime) hashes=5728+7 location=embedded
Hash type=sha256 size=32
CandidateCDHash sha256=9106275344e4fce78405e1d2d49220d87d96f56f
CandidateCDHashFull sha256=9106275344e4fce78405e1d2d49220d87d96f56f24972cadcfb524e23b54d714
Hash choices=sha256
CMSDigest=9106275344e4fce78405e1d2d49220d87d96f56f24972cadcfb524e23b54d714
CMSDigestType=2
CDHash=9106275344e4fce78405e1d2d49220d87d96f56f
Signature size=8981
Authority=Developer ID Application: folivora.AI GmbH (DAFVSXZ82P)
Authority=Developer ID Certification Authority
Authority=Apple Root CA
Timestamp=Dec 1, 2024 at 8:10:51 AM
Notarization Ticket=stapled
Info.plist entries=104
TeamIdentifier=DAFVSXZ82P
Runtime Version=15.1.0
Sealed Resources version=2 rules=13 files=2938
Internal requirements count=1 size=224

/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app: accepted
source=Notarized Developer ID
com.apple.macl: 
com.apple.provenance:

--prepared:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/PlugIns/BetterTouchTool WidgetsExtension.appex
--prepared:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/PlugIns/BTTFinderContextMenu.appex
--validated:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/PlugIns/BetterTouchTool WidgetsExtension.appex
--validated:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/PlugIns/BTTFinderContextMenu.appex
--prepared:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/XPCServices/BetterTouchToolAppleScriptRunner2.xpc
--prepared:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/XPCServices/BetterTouchToolAppleScriptRunner3.xpc
--validated:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/XPCServices/BetterTouchToolAppleScriptRunner2.xpc
--validated:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/XPCServices/BetterTouchToolAppleScriptRunner3.xpc
--prepared:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/XPCServices/BetterTouchToolAppleScriptRunner.xpc
--prepared:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/XPCServices/BetterTouchToolShellScriptRunner.xpc
--validated:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/XPCServices/BetterTouchToolAppleScriptRunner.xpc
--prepared:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/XPCServices/BetterTouchToolAppleScriptRunner4.xpc
--validated:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/XPCServices/BetterTouchToolShellScriptRunner.xpc
--validated:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/XPCServices/BetterTouchToolAppleScriptRunner4.xpc
--prepared:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/Frameworks/ShortcutRecorder.framework/Versions/Current/.
--validated:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/Frameworks/ShortcutRecorder.framework/Versions/Current/.
--prepared:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/Frameworks/libswift_Concurrency.dylib
--prepared:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/Frameworks/MIKMIDI.framework/Versions/Current/.
--validated:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/Frameworks/libswift_Concurrency.dylib
--validated:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/Frameworks/MIKMIDI.framework/Versions/Current/.
--prepared:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/Frameworks/Sparkle.framework/Versions/Current/.
--prepared:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/Frameworks/Ensembles.framework/Versions/Current/.
--validated:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/Frameworks/Ensembles.framework/Versions/Current/.
--prepared:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/Frameworks/BTTPluginSupport.framework/Versions/Current/.
--validated:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/Frameworks/BTTPluginSupport.framework/Versions/Current/.
--prepared:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/Frameworks/LetsMove.framework/Versions/Current/.
--validated:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/Frameworks/LetsMove.framework/Versions/Current/.
--prepared:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/Frameworks/Sparkle.framework/Versions/Current/XPCServices/Downloader.xpc
--validated:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/Frameworks/Sparkle.framework/Versions/Current/XPCServices/Downloader.xpc
--prepared:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/Frameworks/Sparkle.framework/Versions/Current/XPCServices/Installer.xpc
--prepared:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/Frameworks/Sparkle.framework/Versions/Current/Updater.app
--validated:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/Frameworks/Sparkle.framework/Versions/Current/XPCServices/Installer.xpc
--prepared:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/Frameworks/Sparkle.framework/Versions/Current/Autoupdate
--validated:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/Frameworks/Sparkle.framework/Versions/Current/Autoupdate
--validated:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/Frameworks/Sparkle.framework/Versions/Current/Updater.app
--validated:/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app/Contents/Frameworks/Sparkle.framework/Versions/Current/.
/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app: valid on disk
/Applications/BetterTouchTool.app: satisfies its Designated Requirement

Andreas_Hegenberg · December 11, 2024, 6:32pm

apparently apple has fixed a few issues related to app validation with the just released macOS 15.2, maybe it helps. Unfortunately this is not a BTT issue but a macOS issue (although I understand that as a user this doesn't really make a difference)

Andreas_Hegenberg · December 11, 2024, 6:43pm

One thing I just thought about: If this happens again, please zip your BetterTouchTool.app and send it to me (andreas@folivora.ai), then I can check whether anything about it has been modified!