Helicon Focus 9.0.5 Doesn't start on MacBook

[jrhoffman75]

Hi. HF 8 executes fine on MacBook Air M5 with Tahoe. When I try and execute HF 9.0.5 nothing happens other than the Dock at bottom of screen expanding and contracting as if it is trying to show an app.

[Catherine]

Hi,
Is there no "Application quit unexpectedly" pop-up after that?

[jrhoffman75]

No. Nothing displays.

[Catherine]

Please open the Terminal (Applications - Utilities - Terminal), and run this command to start Helicon Focus and watch its diagnostic output. Paste the command and press Enter:

Code: Select all

/Applications/HeliconFocus.app/Contents/MacOS/HeliconFocus --disable-opencl

Then, if it still doesn't open, please send us the full output that appears in the terminal after your command. You can paste it here or mail to [email protected].

If it does open - the the problem was related to OpenCL, the output still might be helpful.

[jrhoffman75]

Last login: Tue Sep 1 09:23:30 on console

The default interactive shell is now zsh.
To update your account to use zsh, please run `chsh -s /bin/zsh`.
For more details, please visit https://support.apple.com/kb/HT208050.
JohnHoffmansAir:~ johnhoffman$
JohnHoffmansAir:~ johnhoffman$ /Applications/HeliconFocus.app/Contents/MacOS/HeliconFocus --disable-opencl
-bash: /Applications/HeliconFocus.app/Contents/MacOS/HeliconFocus: No such file or directory
JohnHoffmansAir:~ johnhoffman$ /Applications/HeliconFocus.app/Contents/MacOS/HeliconFocus --disable-opencl
[I 2561602 * / +1ms] logging verbosity: info (info compiled-in), async-log: true
[I 2561602 * / +0ms] Arguments:
--disable-opencl
[I 2561602 * / +2ms] UI language: english.lng
[I 2561602 * / +5ms] Time: 2026-09-03T18:37:27Z UTC, 2026-09-03T14:37:27
[I 2561602 * / +0ms] Built from: 05e8520a
[I 2561602 * / +0ms] Helicon Focus 9.0.5 BETA x64 DISTRIB
[I 2561602 * / +0ms] Exiv2: 0.28.8, lcms: 2190, LibRaw: 0.22.1-Release, libtiff: 4.7.1, jpeg: 80, turbo: 3.1.4.1, spdlog: 1.17.0
[I 2561602 * / +0ms] Running on macOS Tahoe (26.6.2) (26.6.2) arm64
[I 2561602 * / +0ms] Built on Aug 27 2026 at 22:52:56 with Qt 6.10.2
[I 2561602 * / +0ms] Running with Qt 6.10.2
[I 2561602 * / +0ms] CPU: Apple M5
[I 2561602 * / +0ms] 10 physical cores, 10 logical cores
[I 2561602 * / +0ms] Total RAM: 16384 MB
[I 2561602 * / +0ms] Free RAM: 9197 MB
[I 2561602 * / +0ms] Total paging memory: 0 MB
[I 2561602 * / +0ms] Free paging memory: 0 MB
[I 2561602 * / +0ms] Application executable path: /Applications/HeliconFocus.app/Contents/MacOS/HeliconFocus
[I 2561602 * / +0ms] Working directory: /Users/johnhoffman
[I 2561602 * / +0ms] Maintenance files directory: /Users/johnhoffman/Library/Application Support/HeliconFocus
[I 2561602 * / +2ms] CO plugin installed
[I 2561602 * / +0ms] Adobe DNG converter installed, version 14.1
[I 2561602 * / +1ms] OpenCL disabled with command line option
[E 2561602 * / +0ms] Failed to create the cache folder (%d) 13
JohnHoffmansAir:~ johnhoffman$

[jrhoffman75]

Version 8 returned an error about not creating cache. Resolved that and set cache for 9.0.5.

Program now starts, but shows as trial. How do I transfer license to 9.0.5?

[Catherine]

Thank you! We'll fix the cache folder issues.
The license: just enter your activation code in menu - Help - Register online. But before you do, could you please check if the version 8 shows up as registered right now? If the license exists on your Mac but didn't transfer automatically - that is also something we need to look into.

[jrhoffman75]

All set now. Retrieved my code; program now shows lifetime.

Very sorry for all that your country is going through. We have an organization near me that is sending support - affiliated with the CommonMan restaurant in New Hampshire USA. We are doing what we can.

[Catherine]

Thank you! We know you are, and we appreciate it.

[dansroka]

But before you do, could you please check if the version 8 shows up as registered right now? If the license exists on your Mac but didn't transfer automatically - that is also something we need to look into.

I have Helicon 8 registered, but when I installed Helicon 9.0.7, it did not transfer the registration automatically. (I could do it manually.)