Often times we run applications on our system that are not signed correctly or in some cases, just old. For Windows users, they often just get a warning along with an option to run the application anyway. However, that is not the case when it comes to Mac systems. When you try to run an application that is either not digitally signed correctly or other software that is developed by the community for different purposes, you might get the “Application.app is damaged and can’t be opened” error message.
Solution:
Run the App From a Terminal Window
As it turns out, if you run the same application from a terminal window using superuser permissions, it will run without any issues. Basically the superuser permissions will override the Gatekeeper feature and thus the application will be allowed to execute. You should do this only and only if you trust the application that you wish to run completely. Doing this for any random app you got off of the internet is not a good idea. With that said, follow the below instructions run the app:
- open a Terminal Window
-
sudo xattr -cr /path/to/application.app You will be asked for your admin password, provide that, and press Enter again. The app should run now.