Oh, you mean your whole computer is crashing — you're getting a kernel panic.
A kernel panic by definition isn't caused by a regular program — it's a problem with the OS itself or hardware (including potentially hardware you've plugged in, such as external disks, audio interfaces, etc.). If this continues after unplugging everything, you'll need to get help from Apple. You may need to reinstall the OS, wait for the next Ventura release to fix a bug, or get your computer hardware repaired.
I have the same issue. My MacBook Pro suddenly crashes and restarts when I launch Zotero. I've only had this issue for the past month or so but it's only when I start Zotero and it's happened at least 4 times so I think it's either the app itself or the Safari extension.
If it's a kernel panic — where the whole computer restarts — it's the same answer as above. An app literally cannot be responsible for a kernel panic. It's by definition an operating system or hardware problem.
Kernel panics happen on Macs and other Unix-based systems. Look up "kernel panic" on Wikipedia. An application cannot be responsible for the crash but the normal operation of any application can trigger the problem in a computer with faulty hardware or an OS problem. Zotero, in your case, is at worst the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. If you weren't using Zotero then some other program would trigger the same crash. Please contact Apple Care.
edit: Kernel panic is a sign of potential imminent failure of your system with serious likelihood of irretrievable data loss. Without a Time Machine backup you could face disaster. I hope that you have been regularly syncing your Zotero. If you do not have a Time Machine backup or haven't been syncing your documents and pictures folders to iCloud, buy an external harddrive and use Time Machine. Large external drives are not expensive. Don't procrastinate.
My macbook keeps crashing everytime I click onto Zotero
Make sure you're running macOS 10.11 or later, restart your computer, delete Zotero from Applications, and reinstall it from the download page.
If you're still having trouble, post the first 100 or so lines from the crash report.
Debugger message: panic
Memory ID: 0x6
OS release type: User
OS version: 22A400
Kernel version: Darwin Kernel Version 22.1.0: Sun Oct 9 20:15:52 PDT 2022; root:xnu-8792.41.9~2/RELEASE_ARM64_T8112
Fileset Kernelcache UUID: B72219192D344A18FAC307967BD33A43
Kernel UUID: 6CB8F03D-39B0-39CC-9D34-7664A8F5BCE3
Boot session UUID: B567538E-A6FC-4FBD-8760-0740BE5F6D6B
iBoot version: iBoot-8419.41.10
secure boot?: YES
roots installed: 0
Paniclog version: 14
KernelCache slide: 0x00000000140f0000
KernelCache base: 0xfffffe001b0f4000
Kernel slide: 0x000000001535c000
Kernel text base: 0xfffffe001c360000
Kernel text exec slide: 0x0000000015444000
Kernel text exec base: 0xfffffe001c448000
mach_absolute_time: 0x1dcc06407
Epoch Time: sec usec
Boot : 0x63929c6c 0x000349f9
Sleep : 0x00000000 0x00000000
Wake : 0x00000000 0x00000000
Calendar: 0x63929db3 0x000c915e
Zone info:
Zone map: 0xfffffe100c308000 - 0xfffffe300c308000
. VM : 0xfffffe100c308000 - 0xfffffe14d8fd4000
. RO : 0xfffffe14d8fd4000 - 0xfffffe167296c000
. GEN0 : 0xfffffe167296c000 - 0xfffffe1b3f638000
. GEN1 : 0xfffffe1b3f638000 - 0xfffffe200c304000
. GEN2 : 0xfffffe200c304000 - 0xfffffe24d8fd0000
. GEN3 : 0xfffffe24d8fd0000 - 0xfffffe29a5c9c000
. DATA : 0xfffffe29a5c9c000 - 0xfffffe300c308000
Metadata: 0xfffffe300d29c000 - 0xfffffe301529c000
Bitmaps : 0xfffffe301529c000 - 0xfffffe301ae90000
CORE 0 recently retired instr at 0xfffffe001c5f7530
CORE 1 recently retired instr at 0xfffffe001c5f7530
CORE 2 recently retired instr at 0xfffffe001c5f7530
CORE 3 recently retired instr at 0xfffffe001c5f7530
CORE 4 recently retired instr at 0xfffffe001c5f7530
CORE 5 recently retired instr at 0xfffffe001c5f5e80
CORE 6 recently retired instr at 0xfffffe001c5f7528
CORE 7 recently retired instr at 0xfffffe001c5f7530
TPIDRx_ELy = {1: 0xfffffe24d7cd0000 0: 0x0000000000000005 0ro: 0x00000002045653a0 }
CORE 0 PVH locks held: None
CORE 1 PVH locks held: None
CORE 2 PVH locks held: None
CORE 3 PVH locks held: None
CORE 4 PVH locks held: None
CORE 5 PVH locks held: None
CORE 6 PVH locks held: None
CORE 7 PVH locks held: None
CORE 0: PC=0xfffffe001c454a88, LR=0xfffffe001c454a88, FP=0x0000000000000000
CORE 1: PC=0xfffffe001c57c278, LR=0xfffffe001c56b254, FP=0xfffffe829e8bfad0
CORE 2: PC=0xfffffe001c565a60, LR=0xfffffe001c565d28, FP=0xfffffe3d84b0bcd0
CORE 3: PC=0xfffffe001c5f2aa8, LR=0xfffffe001c5f2aa4, FP=0xfffffe829ea87e90
CORE 4: PC=0xfffffe001c4db310, LR=0xfffffe001c4db310, FP=0xfffffe30238abf00
CORE 5 is the one that panicked. Check the full backtrace for details.
CORE 6: PC=0xfffffe001c4db314, LR=0xfffffe001c4db310, FP=0xfffffe829e9ebf00
CORE 7: PC=0xfffffe001c4db310, LR=0xfffffe001c4db310, FP=0xfffffe829eb53f00
Compressor Info: 0% of compressed pages limit (OK) and 0% of segments limit (OK) with 0 swapfiles and OK swap space
Panicked task 0xfffffe29a46679a8: 86911 pages, 67 threads: pid 940: zotero
Panicked thread: 0xfffffe24d7cd0000, backtrace: 0xfffffe829e30b6f0, tid: 10638
lr: 0xfffffe001c49fcd4 fp: 0xfffffe829e30b760
lr: 0xfffffe001c49fa7c fp: 0xfffffe829e30b7e0
lr: 0xfffffe001c5fdd6c fp: 0xfffffe829e30b800
lr: 0xfffffe001c5ef970 fp: 0xfffffe829e30b870
lr: 0xfffffe001c5ed290 fp: 0xfffffe829e30b930
lr: 0xfffffe001c44f784 fp: 0xfffffe829e30b940
lr: 0xfffffe001c49f41c fp: 0xfffffe829e30bcf0
lr: 0xfffffe001ccc6e1c fp: 0xfffffe829e30bd10
lr: 0xfffffe001d4e3cfc fp: 0xfffffe829e30bdc0
lr: 0xfffffe001d4e369c fp: 0xfffffe829e30bea0
lr: 0xfffffe001d4e35d0 fp: 0xfffffe829e30beb0
lr: 0xfffffe001ce610ec fp: 0xfffffe829e30bed0
lr: 0xfffffe001c5f0948 fp: 0xfffffe829e30bf10
lr: 0xfffffe001c44f8f4 fp: 0xfffffe829e30bf20
Kernel Extensions in backtrace:
com.apple.driver.AppleARMPlatform(1.0.2)[11A9713E-6739-3A4C-8571-2D8EAA062278]@0xfffffe001ce55430->0xfffffe001cea399f
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOReportFamily(47)[843B39D3-146E-3992-B7C7-960148685DC8]@0xfffffe001e838590->0xfffffe001e83b57b
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOSlowAdaptiveClockingFamily(1.0.0)[597250B0-568F-3FCE-A8DE-6E9161FF1551]@0xfffffe001e8dc020->0xfffffe001e8defc3
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOStorageFamily(2.1)[B8A71D32-9627-33F5-83B1-EAC5148E8E72]@0xfffffe001e8defd0->0xfffffe001e8ffa0f
com.apple.driver.AppleFireStormErrorHandler(1.0)[CEC96C62-64CB-3646-ADA4-6E1CC9CFAB74]@0xfffffe001d4e3330->0xfffffe001d4e41db
dependency: com.apple.driver.AppleARMPlatform(1.0.2)[11A9713E-6739-3A4C-8571-2D8EAA062278]@0xfffffe001ce55430->0xfffffe001cea399f
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOReportFamily(47)[843B39D3-146E-3992-B7C7-960148685DC8]@0xfffffe001e838590->0xfffffe001e83b57b
last started kext at 796611701: com.apple.filesystems.autofs 3.0 (addr 0xfffffe001b8d6e20, size 5904)
loaded kexts:
com.apple.filesystems.autofs 3.0
com.apple.driver.AppleTopCaseHIDEventDriver 6000.22
com.apple.driver.AppleBiometricServices 1
com.apple.driver.CoreKDL 1
com.apple.driver.BCMWLANFirmware4387.Hashstore 1
com.apple.driver.BCMWLANFirmware4378.Hashstore 1
com.apple.driver.SEPHibernation 1
com.apple.driver.DiskImages.ReadWriteDiskImage 493.0.0
com.apple.driver.DiskImages.UDIFDiskImage 493.0.0
com.apple.driver.DiskImages.RAMBackingStore 493.0.0
com.apple.driver.DiskImages.FileBackingStore 493.0.0
com.apple.driver.AppleALSColorSensor 1.0.0d1
com.apple.driver.AppleAOPVoiceTrigger 200.4
com.apple.driver.AppleThunderboltIP 4.0.3
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBDeviceNCM 5.0.0
com.apple.driver.AppleFileSystemDriver 3.0.1
com.apple.nke.l2tp 1.9
com.apple.filesystems.tmpfs 1
com.apple.driver.AppleSmartBatteryManager 161.0.0
com.apple.filesystems.nfs 1
com.apple.filesystems.lifs 1
com.apple.filesystems.apfs 2142.41.2
com.apple.IOTextEncryptionFamily 1.0.0
com.apple.filesystems.hfs.kext 627.40.1
com.apple.security.BootPolicy 1
com.apple.BootCache 40
com.apple.AppleFSCompression.AppleFSCompressionTypeZlib 1.0.0
com.apple.AppleFSCompression.AppleFSCompressionTypeDataless 1.0.0d1
com.apple.driver.AppleTypeCRetimer 1.0.0
com.apple.driver.ApplePMP 1
com.apple.driver.AppleCS42L84Audio 600.99
com.apple.driver.AudioDMAController-T8112 200.21
com.apple.AppleEmbeddedSimpleSPINORFlasher 1
com.apple.driver.usb.AppleSynopsysUSB40XHCI 1
com.apple.driver.AppleSmartIO2 1
com.apple.driver.AppleSN012776Amp 600.99
com.apple.driver.AppleT8020SOCTuner 1
com.apple.driver.AppleT8112CLPC 1
com.apple.driver.AppleSamsungSerial 1.0.0d1
com.apple.driver.AppleSerialShim 1
com.apple.driver.ApplePMPFirmware 1
com.apple.AGXG14G 227.2.40
com.apple.driver.AppleProResHW 225.8.0
com.apple.driver.AppleAVD 616
com.apple.driver.AppleAVE2 630.29.1
com.apple.driver.AppleJPEGDriver 5.2.6
com.apple.driver.AppleMobileDispH14G-DCP 140.0
com.apple.driver.AppleSPMIPMU 1.0.1
com.apple.driver.AppleDPDisplayTCON 1
com.apple.driver.AppleEventLogHandler 1
com.apple.driver.AppleS5L8960XNCO 1
com.apple.driver.AppleT8112PMGR 1
com.apple.driver.AppleS8000AES 1
com.apple.driver.AppleS8000DWI 1.0.0d1
com.apple.driver.AppleInterruptControllerV2 1.0.0d1
com.apple.driver.AppleT8110DART 1
com.apple.driver.AppleBluetoothModule 1
com.apple.driver.AppleBCMWLANBusInterfacePCIe 1
com.apple.driver.AppleS5L8920XPWM 1.0.0d1
com.apple.driver.AppleS5L8940XI2C 1.0.0d2
com.apple.driver.AppleSPIMC 1
com.apple.driver.AppleT8110 1
com.apple.driver.AppleM68Buttons 1.0.0d1
com.apple.iokit.IOUserEthernet 1.0.1
com.apple.driver.usb.AppleUSBUserHCI 1
com.apple.iokit.IOKitRegistryCompatibility 1
com.apple.iokit.EndpointSecurity 1
com.apple.driver.AppleDiskImages2 198.40.3
A kernel panic by definition isn't caused by a regular program — it's a problem with the OS itself or hardware (including potentially hardware you've plugged in, such as external disks, audio interfaces, etc.). If this continues after unplugging everything, you'll need to get help from Apple. You may need to reinstall the OS, wait for the next Ventura release to fix a bug, or get your computer hardware repaired.
Kernel panics happen on Macs and other Unix-based systems. Look up "kernel panic" on Wikipedia. An application cannot be responsible for the crash but the normal operation of any application can trigger the problem in a computer with faulty hardware or an OS problem. Zotero, in your case, is at worst the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. If you weren't using Zotero then some other program would trigger the same crash. Please contact Apple Care.
edit: Kernel panic is a sign of potential imminent failure of your system with serious likelihood of irretrievable data loss. Without a Time Machine backup you could face disaster. I hope that you have been regularly syncing your Zotero. If you do not have a Time Machine backup or haven't been syncing your documents and pictures folders to iCloud, buy an external harddrive and use Time Machine. Large external drives are not expensive. Don't procrastinate.