Error Opening the App on Mac

jadeoolongtea
I'm receiving this error while trying to open Zotero on my Mac. I downloaded the dmg into my downloads folder and placed it in my applications folder after clicking on it. I also already have the chrome extension installed.

"The Zotero database cannot be opened.

Make sure you have read and write permissions for all files in the Zotero data directory and that security software isn’t preventing Zotero from accessing that directory.

Data Directory: /Users/{username}/Zotero"

Any advice?
  • dstillman
    That really just means what it says — something, most likely file permissions, is preventing Zotero from reading or writing to its data directory. This could happen if you copied your Zotero files from another computer without using Migration Assistant. You'll need to fix the file permissions for that folder. We can't provide general OS guidance here, but you can do it from the bottom of the File → Get Info window for the folder in Finder.
  • jadeoolongtea
    I have deleted and redownloaded Zotero multiple times, changed all Zotero file permissions to read & white, and restarted my computer. I am still receiving the same error. Do you have any other suggestions?
  • dstillman
    edited December 7, 2023
    It has nothing to do with the app itself, so redownloading won't help. Zotero is just unable to read or write to the folder in the error message: /Users/{username}/Zotero. You'll need to fix the permissions on that folder.
    This could happen if you copied your Zotero files from another computer without using Migration Assistant.
    You didn't respond to this part of what I wrote. Did you copy your Zotero data from another computer?
  • jadeoolongtea
    Nevermind, I found a file that needed its permissions changed. Thank you for your help!
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