Hi. I just purchased Sketchup 2025 and followed installation procedures note by note, but when I click to open the app I get only a spinning beachball. (I don’t find a solution on this site, Trimble, or Creation Engine.)
I installed it by opening the .dmg file and dragging the app to the Applications folder. All good till then, but when I click to open the app, all I get is a spinning beachball.
I’m running macOS Sequoia 15.5 on a 2023 Mac Studio M2 Ultra with 64GB RAM and a 1TB drive (with ~850GB free space). The graphics card is Apple’s built-in model.
I’ve tried installing it a few times. I’ve had no other versions of Sketchup on this Mac.
Please advise. I’m not an ultra 'power user," but have been using Macs for several decades.
– HDMC
I found a post of a similar problem, but the solution there – reduce the monitor refresh rate from 120Hz to 60 Hz – does not work for me. For reference, here’s that post:
Ok, two things comes to mind, not specifically with SU but softwares in general :
try launching sketchup by doing a right click on it then open. this bypasses the basic security against unknown softwares.
in mac os’s preferences, look for confidentiality/security, and scroll down. check if your mac is set to accept any app from the store, or trusted devs too.
I you’ve previously installed Sketchup and have denied it access to the file system or network, this can cause problems.
Check the Mac setting for those things and make sure the toggle is turned on for SketchUp. It’s under privacy and secuity somwhere.
You can also reset them, so it will ask again by opening “terminal” from the utilities folder
pasting in tccutil reset All
press enter
It may ask you for your password, enter that and press enter.
If this continues, command-option-escape to open the Force Quit panel, and force quit. A panel will appear to ask if you want to ignore or Report… click on Report, and copy/paste the details in a Private Message to us and we’ll take a look.
I’ve tried the various solutions above to no avail, but generating perhaps a few clues.
A right-click doesn’t open it.
Going to Terminal and typing “tccutil reset All” didn’t help.
For #1 in UniquelyCreated’s post, “Check Console Logs…”, I don’t get Sketchup to appear in any category under console except Diagnostic Reports. There it shows a wide variety of info, but none of it related to errors or crashes.
I don’t have a VPN,so Step #2 in inapplicable.
For #3, I get this output from Terminal:
bash-3.2$ CopyEdit
bash: CopyEdit: command not found
bash-3.2$
bash-3.2$ /Applications/SketchUp\ 2025/SketchUp.app/Contents/MacOS/SketchUp
objc[1879]: Class SKTextPath is implemented in both /Applications/SketchUp 2025/SketchUp.app/Contents/Frameworks/SketchUpAPI.framework/Versions/A/SketchUpAPI (0x10a8f99d8) and /Applications/SketchUp 2025/SketchUp.app/Contents/MacOS/SketchUp (0x1051863b8). This may cause spurious casting failures and mysterious crashes. One of the duplicates must be removed or renamed.
[1879:65283:0619/142008.150469:ERROR:trust_store_mac.cc(757)] Error parsing certificate:
ERROR: Failed parsing extensions
[1879:65283:0619/142008.150577:ERROR:trust_store_mac.cc(757)] Error parsing certificate:
ERROR: Failed parsing extensions
[ETC.]
Weirdly, it did open the application, but then after closing the application it woulds till not open via the Finder.
To try #4, These files are not found on my drive, visible or invisible:
“SketchUpWebHelper”
“trimble connect”
Any thoughts so far? I have the same issue with Layout.app.
I will send a private message to Barry showing the hang in the “force quit” report.
mac applications are packaged. you have a nice icon, but inside is all the bits and bobs.
if you right click on the sketchup application, you can show content.
there, navigate to content / macos
you’ll find a small black sketchup file. this is the actual launch file.
where it’s interesting is that launching this specific file through the terminal worked.
can you try to launch it manually ? if it works, at least you have a way to go around the bug.
wasn’t there a mac version a few years ago where the material panel would crash SU, temp solution was to do what I described… 2021 maybe, on sillicon macs ?
Maybe it’s just extended attributes? You can clear them in Terminal:
to see them: xattr /Applications/SketchUp\ 2025
Sometimes there are two that are set, and you clear them via: xattr -rd com.apple.quarantine /Applications/SketchUp\ 2025
Read more below, because I did this one but it’s probably not needed: xattr -rd com.apple.provenance /Applications/SketchUp\ 2025
Now go back and see if they’re cleared: xattr /Applications/SketchUp\ 2025
And try again… (he says, crossing fingers)
Here’s what AI tells me about com.apple.provenance:
com.apple.provenance is a new extended attribute (xattr) introduced in macOS Ventura to track the origin of files, particularly those downloaded from the internet or otherwise marked as quarantined. It’s a 11-byte binary reference that helps macOS identify the source of a file, even after the initial quarantine flag is removed. This attribute is protected by System Integrity Protection (SIP) to prevent tampering.
Here’s a more detailed breakdown:
Purpose:
com.apple.provenance is part of macOS’s enhanced security measures, specifically designed to track the provenance (origin and history) of files, especially those downloaded from the internet.
Mechanism:
It’s a small, 11-byte extended attribute that’s added to a file when it’s cleared from quarantine. This attribute contains a unique identifier for the quarantine event.
Persistence:
The attribute is protected by SIP, meaning it cannot be easily removed or modified, ensuring that macOS can reliably track the file’s origin.
Relationship to Quarantine:
com.apple.provenance is related to the com.apple.quarantine attribute, which flags files downloaded from the internet or transferred from external sources. When a quarantined file is cleared, com.apple.provenance is added to record the file’s provenance.
Impact:
This mechanism helps macOS track the origin of files and potentially identify the source of malware or other malicious software, even if the initial quarantine flag is removed.
In essence, com.apple.provenance is a persistent record of a file’s origin, added by macOS to enhance security and tracking capabilities.
Ventura Adds com.apple.provenance - Michael Tsai
Mar 16, 2023 — What happens in macOS Ventura is essentially the same until the moment that quarantine is cleared, when macOS now atta…
[image]
Michael Tsai
All files touched by Zed have xattr: com.apple.provenance on …
Mar 17, 2025 — nerdalytics commented on Mar 19. This extended file attribute belongs to macOS (since Ventura ) security measures. Thi…
[image]
GitHub
[image]
How macOS now tracks the provenance of apps
May 10, 2023 — provenance xattr, with a fixed size of 11 bytes and consisting of high order bits and an 8-byte integer primary key, a…
First, I tried the three lines of code pertaining to extended attributes, shown by Barry. Terminal responded: “com.apple.FinderInfo”
Huh?
I tried launching the app, but no go.
Then, following ateliernab, the app did launch from inside the package, content/macOS. Good.
Following that, I’ve now opened and closed the app twice from the standard app icon.
So what fixed the problem? Was it the “extended attributes” dance, and it took a moment for something to reset, or was it really just by opening the app from inside the package?
And maybe no longer relevant, but what’s this quote about at the bottom of Barry’s last post?:
“trust_store_mac.cc”
Now, it’s been many years since I played around a little with Sketchup – either there was a free version or my housemate had a copy, I don’t recall – so I’m basically starting from scratch with it. Any common wisdom on the best “how to” resource(s)? One thing I want to do is import a floorplan from a jpeg, then play with variations on it from there.
