Help Needed: Zotero Won't Launch – "Profile Missing" Error on Mac

Akanita
Hello,
I've been trying to get Zotero running on my new Mac, but I keep encountering the same error every time I try to launch it:

"Profile Missing: Your Zotero profile cannot be loaded. It may be missing or inaccessible."

I've tried redownloading and reinstalling the app several times, but I still can't get past this error. Any suggestions on how to resolve this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
  • brandelune
    On macOS, you’ll find that there is a "Profiles" folder in the ~/Library/Application Support/Zotero folder.

    It may be that the folder contents is corrupted.

    What I would do is:
    - Close Zotero
    - Enter the ~/Library/Application Support/ folder
    - Rename the Zotero folder to something like "Zotero_old"
    - Restart Zotero

    That would reinitialize a number of things (plugins, dictionaries, etc.), but your library would still be there.

    The ~/Library folder is not visible in the Finder. You need to use the "Go" menu "Library" item to access it. Once you have accessed it, look for that "Application Support" folder, enter it and look for that Zotero folder.
  • dstillman
    edited 5 days ago
    @Akanita: Is this an institutional computer? Did you use Migration Assistant or some other method to transfer data from another computer where you were using Zotero previously? It would be very surprising if you were getting this on a new computer with no existing Zotero files, unless there's third-party security software that's interfering with Zotero.

    In any case, yes, if you have an existing Zotero profile folder, you should either fix its permissions (File → Get Info in Finder) or delete it and let Zotero recreate it. The profile folder stores settings and plugins.

    Note that you have to hold down Option when opening the Go menu to access the Library folder.
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