FreeFileSync command line not working for M1 MacBook

[bigmount]

Hi,
I was trying to use the FreeFileSync command line to backup files automatically, however, the /Applications/FreeFileSync.app/Contents/MacOS/FreeFileSync doesn't work on M1 Macbook Pro.

When I ran /Applications/FreeFileSync.app/Contents/MacOS/FreeFileSync -h or use the ffs_batch file, there is no response, and never quit by itself.

One interesting thing is that, when running the about command, 2 "FreeFileSync" process will be created, however, after cancel the running (cmd + c), only one process will quit, the other process (/Applications/FreeFileSync.app/Contents/MacOS/FreeFileSync_main) will stay.

And also, if the FreeFileSync process is running in the background, the FreeFileSync.app (the GUI) will never start. After killing all the FreeFileSync processes, the GUI can start.

The GUI will also start 2 FreeFileSync process, but after closing the app, both process will quit.

I also tried the same version on a Intel CPU MacBook Pro, everything is ok, so I guess this is because of the M1 chip...

[Zenju]

I also tried the same version on a Intel CPU MacBook Pro, everything is ok, so I guess this is because of the M1 chip...

Maybe you're right. I don't have an M1 for testing, but on Intel the command "/Applications/FreeFileSync.app/Contents/MacOS/FreeFileSync -h" indeed works fine, i.e.: it creates two processes, one is the launcher "FreeFileSync", the other the main executable "FreeFileSync_main".

But perhaps it's simpler: Maybe the help popup dialog is hidden in the back behind your other windows?

[bigmount]

Thank you for the suggestion! I checked all opened windows, but didn't see the dialog. Then I updated the MacOS to 11.5.1, this time, I can see an error message box (attached) saying that the installation files are corrupted. I do tried to re-install, but still didn't work.

[Zenju]

Very strange. What do you get when you enter via command line:

codesign --verify /Applications/FreeFileSync.app/Contents/MacOS/FreeFileSync_main


And also:

codesign --help


[bigmount]

Hi, I didn't get any echo back after running codesign command, here is the screenshot.

[Zenju]

what happens if you enter "codesign" without the "/usr/bin" prefix?

And if this makes a difference:

whereis codesign


[bigmount]

Hi Zenju,

I installed conda on my computer, and the the conda bin folder have a higher privilege in my $PATH, so if omitting the /usr/bin the codesign will be the conda installed version (I didn't install it by myself, so it should be a dependency of certain conda package).

Here is the result for the no prefix version (conda version)

$ codesign --verify /Applications/FreeFileSync.app/Contents/MacOS/FreeFileSync_main --sign

--sign: 1 required TEXT missing
Run with --help for more information.

These 2 codesign version seems to have different arguments...
# the conda installed condesign

$ codesign --help
codesign
Usage: codesign [OPTIONS] [files...]

Positionals:
files TEXT ... Files to sign

Options:
-h,--help Print this help message and exit
-s,--sign TEXT REQUIRED Code signing identity
-i,--identifier TEXT File identifier
-f,--force Replace any existing signatures
--entitlements TEXT Entitlements plist

# the macOS default codesign

$ /usr/bin/codesign --help
Usage: codesign -s identity [-fv*] [-o flags] [-r reqs] [-i ident] path ... # sign
codesign -v [-v*] [-R=<req string>|-R <req file path>] path|[+]pid ... # verify
codesign -d [options] path ... # display contents
codesign -h pid ... # display hosting paths

[Zenju]

That explains the issue! Fixed: https://www.mediafire.com/file/pzquib2fv089kym/FreeFileSync_11.25_beta_macOS.zip

[bigmount]

wow! Thank you for the quick fix, I just tried the new version, and it works!