Nightly fails to launch on macOS 26.5.1 — RBSRequestErrorDomain Code=5 / POSIX 163 (Launchd job spawn failed)
Nobody has claimed this yet.
- Dominant language
- TypeScript
- Stars
- 23k
- Forks
- 5.9k
- Avg merge
- 11h 14m
- Merged PRs (30d)
- 357
Description
Environment
- T3 Code (Nightly)
0.0.29-nightly.20260721.864 - macOS 26.5.1 (build 25F80), Apple Silicon
Problem
After the nightly auto-updated this morning, the app no longer launches. No window, no crash report. Launching via open gives:
The application /Applications/T3 Code (Nightly).app cannot be opened for an unexpected reason,
error=Error Domain=RBSRequestErrorDomain Code=5 "Launch failed."
NSUnderlyingError: Domain=NSPOSIXErrorDomain Code=163 "Launchd job spawn failed"
The Squirrel relaunch after the update fails too (ShipIt_stderr.log):
Could not launch application at file:///Applications/T3%20Code%20(Nightly).app/:
NSCocoaErrorDomain Code=256 ... NSOSStatusErrorDomain Code=-10810 "kLSUnknownErr"
The bundle itself is fine: codesign --verify --deep --strict passes, spctl accepts it (Notarized Developer ID), and the staple validates.
Root cause
macOS 26.3+ validates restricted entitlements strictly at spawn time, and launchd rejects the app because of the com.apple.developer.associated-domains (webcredentials:clerk.t3.codes) entitlement + embedded.provisionprofile ("T3 Code Developer ID Passkeys") combination. Other apps are hitting the same error 163 on macOS 26.x, e.g. steipete/RepoBar#29 and manaflow-ai/cmux#1739 (there the com.apple.developer.web-browser restricted entitlement).
Verified locally: copying the bundle, deleting Contents/embedded.provisionprofile, and re-signing ad-hoc with only the com.apple.security.cs.* entitlements makes the app launch normally on the same machine.
Expected
Nightly launches on macOS 26.5, or ships without the passkeys profile until the macOS-side validation issue is resolved.
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start by inspecting the nightly app packaging and signing configuration, focusing on embedded.provisionprofile and the associated-domains entitlement. Reproduce the failure with open and review ShipIt_stderr.log; done means the nightly app launches on macOS 26.5 without removing its valid code signature.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- macos, typescript
- Domain
- desktop, release, security
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Quiet
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 48/100