Positron macOS: ‘Unable to Find Helper App,’ Gatekeeper Rejection, and Missing ARM64 Server Artifact”

[mojafa]

• Environment:

  • OS: macOS (Apple Silicon? Intel?)
  • Positron Version: 2025.01.0-152 (installed via Homebrew cask and/or DMG)
  • Install Method: Homebrew cask (brew install --cask positron) or direct download from [positron.posit.co](https://positron.posit.co)
  • Shell: zsh / bash
  • Command(s) that fail: positron --disable-gpu, positron <any-command>, which positron

• Symptoms:

  1. Unable to find helper app errors in the console ([FATAL:electron_main_delegate_mac.mm(65)](https://github.com/posit-dev/positron/issues/xxx?context=electron_main_delegate_mac.mm)).

  2. GPU process repeatedly crashing with exit_code=5.

  3. Gatekeeper rejecting the .app with spctl -a -vv "/Applications/Positron.app" → “rejected.”

  4. Missing ARM64 server tarball for remote SSH workflow (404 Not Found when downloading positron-reh-linux-arm64-<version>.tar.gz).

  5. No CLI Command After DMG Installation. No symlink or CLI wrapper is placed in /usr/local/bin, /opt/homebrew/bin, or any other directory in PATH.To use positron directly from the terminal, you currently need to manually create a symlink or alias.
     which positron returns: positron not found
     Possible workaround: sudo ln -s "/Applications/Positron.app/Contents/MacOS/Electron" /usr/local/bin/positron.

  6. Even after: - Removing com.apple.quarantine recursively

     • Trying codesign --force --deep --sign -
     • Installing Rosetta (if on Apple Silicon)
       …the issue persists.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Install Positron:

   brew install --cask positron

   or download .dmg from the official link.
2. Run positron --disable-gpu (or any other command).
3. Observe repeated “Unable to find helper app” messages in the console, ending in a crash (trace trap or FATAL messages).
4. Attempt to remove quarantine:

   sudo xattr -r -d com.apple.quarantine "/Applications/Positron.app"

5. Attempt to self-sign:

   sudo codesign --force --deep --sign - "/Applications/Positron.app"

6. Verify with spctl -a -vv "/Applications/Positron.app" → returns “rejected.”

If doing remote development on an ARM64 Docker container, the script tries to install the remote server:

https://github.com/posit-dev/positron/releases/download/2025.01.0-152/positron-reh-linux-arm64-2025.01.0-152.tar.gz

…which 404s. This breaks remote SSH setup on ARM containers.

Expected Behavior

• Positron should launch (GPU or no-GPU) without crashing.
• macOS Gatekeeper shouldn’t reject the .app if it’s signed/notarized properly.
• For remote dev, there should be a valid linux-arm64 build or a documented workaround.

Actual Behavior

• The main Electron process and helper processes crash with “Unable to find helper app.”
• Gatekeeper rejects the .app as “ad-hoc” or “unnotarized,” even after manual attempts to fix code signing.
• The remote dev install script fails due to a missing ARM64 tarball (404).

Logs & Screenshots

FATAL:electron_main_delegate_mac.mm(65)] Unable to find helper app
[ERROR:gpu_process_host.cc(1007)] GPU process exited unexpectedly
spctl -a -vv "/Applications/Positron.app" => rejected
...

Potential Causes (Hypotheses)

1. Incomplete .app packaging — Missing or incorrectly named “Positron Helper” sub-bundles in Contents/Frameworks.
2. No official Apple Developer ID / Notarization — Gatekeeper doesn’t trust an ad-hoc signed app.
3. Missing Linux ARM64 artifact in the GitHub release.
4. Architecture mismatch — Possibly the .dmg is universal but has incomplete ARM64 helper resources.

Workarounds Tried

• Removing quarantine recursively
• Self-signing with codesign
• Right-click → Open in Finder
• Uninstall/reinstall with brew install --cask --no-quarantine positron
• Checking Contents/Frameworks for missing helper .apps
• Installing Rosetta for x86_64 emulation

None have resolved the error.

Conclusion / Request

1. Please confirm whether the latest Positron build for macOS includes properly notarized binaries and helper .app bundles for both x86_64 and Apple Silicon.
2. Provide or fix the missing linux-arm64 tarball for remote server installation.
3. Advise if there’s a known workaround or upcoming release that addresses these packaging/signing issues.

Thank you for your help!

[juliasilge]

Hello there, @mojafa! Can you try out this set of steps to see if it resolves your problem:

• Install Positron from https://positron.posit.co/download
• Add Positron to your path, as shown at https://positron.posit.co/add-to-path
• Then you should be able to launch Positron like positron --disable-gpu