aws / aws/amazon-q-developer-cli-autocomplete
bug: Amazon Q Desktop fails during first launch with "Failed to update" (macOS Tahoe 26.4.1)
- Dominant language
- Rust
- Stars
- 55
- Forks
- 49
- PR merge metrics
- No merged PRs in 30d
Description
### Checks
- [x] I have searched [github.com/aws/amazon-q-developer-cli/issues](https://github.com/aws/amazon-q-developer-cli/issues?q=) and there are no duplicates of my issue
- [x] I have run `q doctor` in the affected terminal session
- [x] I have run `q restart` and replicated the issue again
### Operating system
macOS Tahoe 26.4.1
### Expected behaviour
downloaded the official Amazon Q Desktop DMG from AWS and installed it on a clean macOS system.
On first launch, I expected Amazon Q Desktop to:
1. Start successfully.
2. Show the welcome/sign-in screen.
3. Complete the initial setup.
4. Allow shell integration installation.
5. Allow Accessibility permissions.
6. Start normally without attempting to update immediately.
The application should not fail during its first launch.
### Actual behaviour
Immediately after launching Amazon Q Desktop, the application displays:
Amazon Q is updating
followed by:
failed to update
The application then exits.
Launching the application directly from Terminal provides additional information:
```text
Failed to swap app bundle:
Directory not empty (os error 66)
failed to swap app bundle, trying to elevate permissions
Failed to update
The application never reaches the sign-in or onboarding screen.
## **Output of `q doctor`**
```markdown
Unable to run.
The desktop application exits during its first launch before the CLI is available.
Running:
q doctor
is not possible because the `q` command is never installed or exposed.
### Steps to reproduce
1. Download the latest Amazon Q Desktop installer from:
https://desktop-release.q.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/latest/Amazon%20Q.dmg
2. Mount the DMG.
3. Drag "Amazon Q.app" into the /Applications folder.
4. Launch Amazon Q from Applications (or using `open -a "Amazon Q"`).
5. Instead of displaying the sign-in/onboarding screen, the application immediately starts its self-update process.
6. The updater displays:
Amazon Q is updating
followed by:
failed to update
7. Launching the application directly from Terminal:
```bash
"/Applications/Amazon Q.app/Contents/MacOS/q_desktop"
```
produces:
```text
Failed to swap app bundle:
Directory not empty (os error 66)
failed to swap app bundle, trying to elevate permissions
Failed to update
```
8. The application exits before the onboarding or sign-in screen is displayed.
The issue is reproducible every time after a fresh installation.
### Environment
```yaml
Unable to run `q diagnostic` because the issue occurs before the Amazon Q CLI becomes available.
Environment:
- macOS Tahoe 26.4.1
- Apple Silicon (ARM64)
- GNU Bash 5.3.15
- iTerm2
- Fresh installation
- Official installer downloaded from AWS
- No previous Amazon Q installation
- No previous Fig installation
Additional observations:
- Amazon Q launches successfully.
- The application immediately starts its self-update process.
- The updater fails with:
Failed to swap app bundle:
Directory not empty (os error 66)
- The application exits immediately afterward.
- Because the application never completes its first launch, `q`, `q doctor`, `q restart`, and `q diagnostic` are unavailable.
```
Contributor guide
Research direction
Reproduce the failure from a clean DMG installation on macOS Tahoe, then start at /Applications/Amazon Q.app/Contents/MacOS/q_desktop and trace the self-update path that reports the bundle swap error. Done means a fresh first launch reaches the onboarding or sign-in screen without exiting after the update attempt.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- macos, rust
- Domain
- desktop, release
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Quiet
- Clarity
- Needs clarification
- Newbie friendliness
- 38/100