OBS no longer starting on macOS

[mjbright]

I've been struggling off and on for a month or two with OBS which simply won't start on my Mac.

Environment
I'm currently running OBS obs-studio-29.1.3-macos-arm64, but the problem occurred with several other v28 and v29 releases.
I'm currently running macOS Ventura 13.4.1 on a 2021 MacBookPro M1.
I've reinstalled OBS many times trying to fix/understand the problem.

Symptom - launching from the LaunchPad
The symptom has been that when starting OBS from the LaunchPad, no window opens.
I see the OBS icon in the dock, bobbing up and down.
After several seconds I see "OBS Studio (Not Responding)" in the macOS "Activity Monitor".

NOTE: OBS has both screen recording and accessibility permissions

Launching OBS from command-line (iTerm2)
As no Window is opened I don't know how to send the log file ... BUT I've been experimenting with starting from the command-line (iTerm2).
I'm essentially launching OBS using the command
/Applications/OBS.app/Contents/MacOS/OBS > obs.log 2>&1 &

iTerm2 (w/o screen recording permissions) + launching OBS => Window opens (but no screen record permissions)
Amusingly, I did manage to get the OBS window to open whilst iTerm2 didn't have "Screen Recording" permissions !
I've attached log obs.iTerm2.screenrecord.WithoutPerms.log

iTerm2 (with screen recording permissions) + launching OBS => Window doesn't open
Giving "Screen Recording" permissions to iTerm2 I get the same OBS icon bobbing up and down in the Dock.
I've attached log obs.iTerm2.screenrecord.perms.log

 

[mjbright]

No reply - no problem, I was about to open an issue on github but discovered that the problem has sorted itself out somehow :)

 

[RustyPeterson7]

I am having this same issue and it has not resolved. I run OBS 29.1.3 (64 bit) on a 2023 Mac Studio running MacOS Ventura 13.5. Mac Studio has M2 Ultra, 64 GB unified memory and 2TB SSD. I am wondering if the Uniifed storage is causing problems because I have the same setup on a 2020 MBP 14" running the M1 Max chip with 32 GB of memory.

On the Mac Studio when I open OBS it will say not responding in the Force Quit screen.

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks.

 

[NinjaPotato]

Having the same exact problem, but interestingly it's on my Intel 16" 2019 MacBook..
Has anyone managed to solve it?

 

[tripletopper]

I've been having Mac OS issues too with my obs. Do any of you guys use cameras that are the exact same USB name: multiple copies of the same one? I just want to see if your issues are related to my issues. My issue is that when I try to call a camera, OBS just crashes. An OS 13.5.1 it was kind of usable annoying in 13.5.2 it became unworkable. I discussed my situation on a different entry in the OBS project forum. Last time the OBS people told me that there's nothing they could do until Apple has a way to differentiate two different cameras of the same name without relying on the manufacturer to have a way to do it.

 

[bryanhirsch]

@tripletopper: Yes! I also have two of the same cameras. OBS has become unusable. I just unplugged one of my cameras and all of the sudden I can start OBS again!

Strangely, after OBS is open and running, when I plug my second camera back in, it seems to work. I only just did this minutes ago. I suspect it will stop working in a bit. But this has gotten me unstuck. Thanks!

 

[enocmt01]

Im having the same issue, can't launch OBS (sometimes I can, when deleting and re installing, but then a few moments later can't open it again). I hadn't this issue before, I notice it started (literally) the moment I make an ssd backup of an old MacBook (2011) using my now main MacBook (backup to another drive, through this Mac). I mess around with some "permissions" of folders of that old ssd, and I just copied everything (including apps - I realized there was an old OBS app). I was running OBS (while doing the transfer, because I was testing some ideas), and when I unplugged the drive where was receiving the backup, I couldn't launch OBS again. And I don't know, I deleted some of those files in the backup and deleted OBS and installed it again, and kinda work, but Im just having the same issues again and again.

 

[vega4]

Having the exact same issue on macos; thus it's unusable

 

[CoachKidd]

*Temporary Fix* ... I'm having the same issue. My workaround is to install OBS-Studio-30.0.2-macOS-Apple.dmg and reboot so the virtual camera works.

I've found that any release after 30.0.2 doesn't work for me on my setup:

• Mac Mini, Apple M2 Pro, 32Gb
• Sequoia 15.0 (although the above was true for OX 14x too)

I keep a copy of the above installer file safe if I succumb to temptation and accidentally instal the latest version of OBS.

I hope this helps someone else.