Error for Zotero 10 for mac

ctjoe
Hello! I recently downloaded zotero 10 onto my mac. After downloading it, I opened the application and it read me this error:

Zotero.DBConnection.prototype.queryAsync@chrome://zotero/content/xpcom/db.js:702:13

Then it prompted me to either "quit" or "check for update." Upon clicking "check for updates," no updates were found and the dialog box closes. My computer is also updated to the most recent software.

I've done this no problem with my old windows computer with no error, so I'm curious to know how best to troubleshoot! Thank you!
  • dstillman Zotero Team
    Can you provide a Debug ID for the startup? See Reporting Startup Errors.
  • KhandysAg
    Greetings!

    I'm experiecing the same issue, and below is what I got in the terminal, and the image is from the Zotero app:

    Image:
    https://s3.amazonaws.com/zotero.org/images/forums/u21416491/tuhsjdep54nua0evtpmk.png

    Terminal output:
    Admin@MacBook-Pro-3 ~ % /Applications/Zotero.app/Contents/MacOS/zotero -ZoteroDebug
    Missing chrome or resource URL: chrome://zotero/skin/16/white/loading.svg
    JavaScript error: chrome://zotero/content/xpcom/db.js, line 702: Error: Error(s) encountered during statement execution: attempt to write a readonly database [QUERY: REPLACE INTO settings VALUES ('db', 'integrityCheck', 1)] [PARAMS: ] [ERROR: attempt to write a readonly database]
    UNSUPPORTED (log once): POSSIBLE ISSUE: unit 1 GLD_TEXTURE_INDEX_2D is unloadable and bound to sampler type (Float) - using zero texture because texture unloadable
    JavaScript error: chrome://global/content/elements/browser-custom-element.mjs, line 932: TypeError: this.ownerGlobal.gBrowser.getTabForBrowser is not a function

    thank you, and
    Have a wonderful day.
  • dstillman Zotero Team
    Is your Zotero data directory in the default location, or have you moved it?
  • dstillman Zotero Team
    But at least for @KhandysAg, this is just a regression in error messaging in Zotero 10. The underlying error is that Zotero can't write to its database. That could happen due the data directory being copied from another computer. We'll fix the error message in Zotero 10, but the fix would be the same — fixing the permissions problem on the data directory or zotero.sqlite database.
  • KhandysAg
    Greetings and thank you @dstillman for your help.

    My Zotero data directory seems to be in the right location (default location): /Users/Admin/Zotero

    If this provides any further clarification, I just downloaded the Zotero app today. I followed the download instructions, and the application was saved to my Applications folder. The error message from the first use. No files were moved at any point.

    Any further recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

    Thanks again!
  • dstillman Zotero Team
    edited yesterday at 6:14pm
    That could still be a permissions problem in your home directory.

    Can you open Terminal via Spotlight, paste in the following, press Return, and let us know the output?

    ls -lad ~ ~/Zotero ~/Zotero/zotero.sqlite ; ls -leO ~/Zotero ; ls -leO@ ~/Zotero/zotero.sqlite

    You can x out your username.
  • KhandysAg
    Greetings @dstillman,

    thank you for your quick responses. please see the following:
    Last login: Mon Aug 31 13:04:40 on ttys000
    Admin@MacBook-Pro-3 ~ % ls -lad ~ ~/Zotero ~/Zotero/zotero.sqlite ; ls -leO ~/Zotero ; ls -leO@ ~/Zotero/zotero.sqlite

    drwxr-xr-x+ 26 Admin staff 832 Aug 31 16:18 /Users/x
    drwxr-xr-x 8 root wheel 256 Sep 12 2025 /Users/x/Zotero
    -rw-r--r-- 1 root wheel 1101824 Sep 12 2025 /Users/x/Zotero/zotero.sqlite
    total 6344
    drwxr-xr-x 4 root wheel - 128 Sep 12 2025 locate
    drwxr-xr-x 17 root wheel - 544 Sep 12 2025 styles
    drwxr-xr-x 735 root wheel - 23520 Sep 12 2025 translators
    -rw-r--r-- 1 root wheel - 1101824 Sep 12 2025 zotero.sqlite
    -rw-r--r-- 1 root wheel - 1073152 Sep 12 2025 zotero.sqlite.1.bak
    -rw-r--r-- 1 root wheel - 1073152 Sep 12 2025 zotero.sqlite.bak
    -rw-r--r-- 1 root wheel - 1101824 Sep 12 2025 /Users/Admin/Zotero/zotero.sqlite
    x@MacBook-Pro-3 ~ %
  • dstillman Zotero Team
    edited yesterday at 8:33pm
    Right, so you have a Zotero folder in your home folder owned by the super-user account. That could only happen if you (or someone else on this computer) copied these files from another computer or ran Zotero as root — on September 12, 2025.

    If you don't expect to have any Zotero data on this computer, you should delete that folder outside of Zotero and let Zotero create a new one.
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