[Bug]: Herd Crashes on Launch — Helper Tool Not Installed / Cannot Create /opt/herd on macOS 14.7.3 (M3 Pro)

[tarunhere]

Platform

macOS

Operating system version

macos Sonomo 14.7.3 M3 Pro

System architecture

ARM64 (M1, M2, etc)

Herd Version

1.24.2 (59)

PHP Version

No response

Bug description

Herd crashes immediately on launch on macOS. After a completely fresh install, Herd does not create the required directory /opt/herd, and the privileged helper tool (de.beyondco.herd.Helper) is not installed under:

/Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/
/Library/LaunchDaemons/

Since the helper is missing, Herd fails during its initialization phase and crashes with:

EXC_BREAKPOINT (SIGTRAP)

This happens before any window loads, so no logs are generated in:

~/Library/Application Support/Herd/logs/

This appears to be caused by macOS blocking the helper install silently (no admin prompt).

Environment

macOS: 14.7.3 (23H417)

Chip: Apple M3 Pro

Model: Mac15,7

Herd Version: 1.24.2 (59)

Fresh install (all old files removed)

System Integrity Protection: enabled

Herd crashes instantly with:

Exception Type: EXC_BREAKPOINT (SIGTRAP)
Termination Reason: SIGNAL, Code 5 Trace/BPT trap: 5
Crashed Thread: Dispatch queue: com.apple.main-thread

Crash occurs inside _dispatch_once() during early initialization, before the UI loads — likely when Herd attempts communication with the non-existent helper tool.

Steps to reproduce

Remove any existing Herd installation:

rm -rf /Applications/Herd.app
rm -rf ~/.herd
rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/Herd

Install Herd 1.24.2 fresh.

Launch Herd.

Result: No admin prompt → helper tool not installed → Herd crashes instantly.

What I Have Tried

Full uninstall and reinstall

Removing /Applications/Herd.app, ~/.herd, ~/Library/Application Support/Herd

Resetting permissions (TCC, authd, secd)

Launching via Terminal (open /Applications/Herd.app)

Manually creating /opt/herd

Restarting the system

Still no helper installation prompt and still no helper files.

Relevant log output

Exception Type:        EXC_BREAKPOINT (SIGTRAP)
Exception Codes:       0x0000000000000001, 0x000000010264a380
Crashed Thread:        0  Dispatch queue: com.apple.main-thread

Thread 0 Crashed:
0   Herd                                 0x10264a380 
1   Herd                                 0x102649f5c 
2   libdispatch.dylib                    _dispatch_client_callout
3   libdispatch.dylib                    _dispatch_once_callout
4   Herd                                 0x1026396bc
5   Herd                                 0x102607fb4
6   Herd                                 0x1026069c4
7   libdispatch.dylib                    _dispatch_client_callout
8   libdispatch.dylib                    _dispatch_once_callout
9   Herd                                 0x102776f54
10  Herd                                 0x1027767a4
11  libdispatch.dylib                    _dispatch_client_callout
12  libdispatch.dylib                    _dispatch_once_callout
13  Herd                                 0x10274fc9c
14  Herd                                 0x10274fcb4
15  Herd                                 0x1025b06d0
16  dyld                                 start + 2476

[sschlein]

How does your user structure on your machine look like? Any non-standard user groups or permissions?

[tarunhere]

No, I haven't created any new user. I have single user in my mac. Neither do I remember to change of any permissions. I had herd working fine in local and one fine day it was not opening and added removed and tried everything.

[mpociot]

Could you share the entire crashlog? Herd does not need/create /opt/herd though and the helper gets installed during the onboarding 🤔

Have you tried the uninstallation script? Run /Applications/Herd.app/Contents/Resources/uninstall in your terminal. Maybe you have some leftover settings that cause trouble.

[tarunhere]

I am now on macOS 15.6, Just upgraded thinking it might be issue on macOS 14. I ran the uninstall and this crashlog came. It is very big so sent and email with detailed log. Let me know what next shall I do.

[tarunhere]

Thanks a lot to support team and @mpociot for supporting me in this issue. The issue was some conda script in my .zshrc file. It has been fixed now and Herd is back.

Take care. Enjoy