Xcode won't start, stuck on 'Verifying "Xcode"...'

Question

I've installed Xcode on a mac and when I try to start it I get a little window open saying 'Verifying Xcode' with a status bar scrolling across, anyone got a fix rather than reinstalling?

Didn't have this problem last week w/working XCode 6.0.1 GM, but suddenly this morning it refused to start; said XCode was damaged & should be thrown in the trash. Re-installed 6.0.1 w/same issue. Downloaded/installed latest version (6.1_gm_seed_2) and it worked eventually but took forever to "verify" & ask for my password. Wondering if it's an issue w/using an outdated version & not installing via App Store? Worked great last week & only died after 6.1 became available... — mc01, Oct 10 '14 at 16:51
Could you please accept one of the very good answers you've gotten and dole out very well-deserved rep? — Robin Kanters, Jun 28 '16 at 21:00

score 284 · Answer 1 · edited Feb 01 '19 at 07:24

284

If you don't want to wait forever, this might help:

xattr -d com.apple.quarantine '/Applications/Xcode.app'

edited Feb 01 '19 at 07:24

user7610

25,267
15
124
150

answered Oct 21 '14 at 00:15

Mustafa

5,307
1
20
19

2

make sure Xcode.app is at the same directory where the command is run. It also requires admin privileges or use sudo – naz Dec 03 '14 at 14:21
18

it worked like xattr -d com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Xcode.app Thanks – Pedro.Alonso May 14 '15 at 18:04
3

THANKYOU! This is super helpful in a pinch when you need an app RIGHT NOW (Like if you go to a WWDC session that you need Xcode 7 for and you... uh... forgot to download it) – Allison Jun 09 '15 at 19:28
1

Great answer! Do not run this code willy-nilly though, see my answer for why and for more detailed instructions below. – Henry F Jul 03 '15 at 19:57
2

This is a STUNNINGLY bad idea. Yes, the verification takes a few minutes, but as the television news will tell you today, as I write, someone has put together a subverted Xcode package that installs unwanted additional code into iOS apps. Just let Mac OS X validate it. – al45tair Sep 21 '15 at 13:40
4

@alastair If I downloaded Xcode from Apple's site, whose identity is verified with HTTPS, I don't see where there's a security hole if I skip verification. – sudo Oct 15 '15 at 07:08
Xcode 8 takes forever for macOS to verify. Thanks for this, now I can make stickers! – bb216b3acfd8f72cbc8f899d4d6963 Jun 14 '16 at 14:06
16

It is giving an error: Xcode.app: No such xattr: com.apple.quarantine – dhruvm Aug 20 '16 at 04:29
I am also having the same error: No such xattr: com.apple.quarantine – Paresh Thakor Sep 15 '16 at 12:47
xattr: Xcode.app: No such xattr: com.apple.quarantine – bLacK hoLE Sep 22 '16 at 15:33
@Mobihunterz You should write full path to downloaded file, like this: "xattr -d com.apple.quarantine /Users/MYUSERNAME/downloads/xcode.app" – Iban Oct 06 '16 at 19:22
Thanks @Iban. However, I forgot why I posted this :( – Paresh Thakor Oct 07 '16 at 06:04
I just ran into the same issue for Xcode beta, so just to confirm this will also work with beta versions of Xcode, e.g.: `xattr -d com.apple.quarantine Xcode_9_beta_3.xip` – nburk Jul 19 '17 at 07:12
1

Worked like a charm. Shame on Apple for their flawed "verifying" crap. – Oct 04 '19 at 08:57

Henry F · Answer 2 · 2016-08-30T02:38:07.683

132

Running a command to get through Gatekeeper sounds like the way to go, since you downloaded it from a trusted source. This is a common occurrence when installing large bundles in Mac OS X. Basically, Gatekeeper examines your entire bundle, making sure that there is no suspicious code. This is one of the many things that keeps Mac OS X as secure as it is. You have two options:

1: Give it time.

Or,

2: Manually tell Gatekeeper "It's okay, this is from a trusted source". How do we do this? Well, first fire up the Terminal and navigate to your Xcode.app folder. (Or type in cd and drag-and-drop Xcode from your applications folder), then hit enter. Next, run the command:

xattr -d com.apple.quarantine Xcode.app

Now, be careful getting past Gatekeeper if whatever you are installing is even slightly from an untrusted source, or else you introduce a security risk to your computer. In my case, opening new versions of Xcode quickly is the only time I will ever run that command.

edited Aug 30 '16 at 02:38

answered Jun 17 '15 at 20:56

Henry F

4,960
11
55
98

4

This worked. Thanks for the explanation as to why it works and the Gatekeeper background info. – Robert J. Clegg Jul 03 '15 at 09:38
2

This answer is so much more helpful than the accepted one because of your explanation. – yesthisisjoe Jun 16 '16 at 18:34
1

This is the only answer which answers how and why. Others just care about how. Thanks for such a nice and easy to understand answer. – Nitesh Borad Jul 07 '16 at 04:21
1

+1 for this line , "How do we do this? Well, first fire up the Terminal and navigate to your Xcode.app folder. (Or type in cd and drag-and-drop Xcode from your applications folder), then hit enter. " :) – Rizwan Ahmed Jul 16 '16 at 10:44
I was just trying to install qt-opensource for mac - t's 3.5GB and it was hanging and this fixed it on 10.11.6 – xaxxon Nov 03 '17 at 10:36

score 30 · Answer 3 · answered Sep 30 '14 at 21:10

30

anyone got a fix rather than me reinstalling?

For anyone else seeing a very long "Verifying Xcode" phase, just give it time. The indeterminate progress bar stays up there for a long time (tens of minutes) while Gatekeeper looks at the (very large) Xcode bundle to make sure that it's legit. Eventually, you'll get the familiar message along the lines of "This application was downloaded from the Internet. Do you want to continue?" Or, if the bundle doesn't check out, you'll of course get a message to that effect.

answered Sep 30 '14 at 21:10

Caleb

124,013
19
183
272

4

This is the answer I need. It took around 20 minutes to finish. – Golden Thumb Apr 06 '16 at 01:18
2

You really do have to be patient. Mine took at least 20 minutes past when the status bar hit the end, and the countdown finished. I finally got the "...downloaded from the Internet..." dialogue box, and clicked the "Open" button. That took another 10+ minutes before being prompted with licensing, etc. Now I'm trying to add "Command Line Tools". I'm hoping that being patient with that pays off as well. Currently, that just says "Installing components", with the status bar already at the end, and looking unresponsive like the others did. – LOlliffe May 24 '16 at 21:46

score 26 · Answer 4 · answered Jun 23 '16 at 20:11

26

Almost every answer here recommends running xattr -d on the file. This deletes the file's extended attributes (like com.apple.quarantine) so OSX will not run the verification phase. You should only do this as an absolute last resort if at all. Apple explicitly recommends leaving Gatekeeper enabled to validate your version of Xcode after XcodeGhost malware was spread to popular iOS apps via infected versions of Xcode.

If you're stuck trying unarchive an Xcode beta .xip archive, try this:

Open the Archive Utility app. (Open Finder by hitting ⌘+spacebar and type "Archive Utility")
Choose File->Expand Archive and select the Xcode archive.

answered Jun 23 '16 at 20:11

GingerBreadMane

2,630
1
30
29

1

It shows an 'Expanding Xcode_8_beta_2.xip' and states 'Verifying digital signature' and thereafter prompts an alert 'The operation couldn't be completed' – Jayprakash Dubey Jul 22 '16 at 04:38
1

I was stuck trying to unarchive an Xcode beta xip and a restart fixed it. After that I waited ~20 min for Xcode to verify. – daramasala Sep 11 '16 at 10:56

Jayprakash Dubey · Answer 5 · 2015-11-19T09:52:55.917

20

I had same issue. Quick fix is to open terminal from application or type terminal in spotlight and enter below command.

cd /Applications - This will move to applications directory where Xcode is present

xattr -d com.apple.quarantine Xcode.app - This will bypass Gatekeeper in OS X and will launch Xcode quickly

Note: If you have changed name of Xcode (say Xcode7-1) then you should enter ... Xcode7-1.app command. Refer screenshot

edited Nov 19 '15 at 09:52

answered Oct 29 '15 at 06:25

Jayprakash Dubey

35,723
18
170
177

This worked for me...open terminal through spotlight which will be in /Users directory and then follow the steps given above – Vinayak Hejib Oct 29 '15 at 07:19
Works for XCODE 7.3.1 – Jasmeet May 06 '16 at 04:51
1

This worked for me with OSX 10.11.8 and Xcode_8.2.xip . First in Downloads I opened Xcode_8.2.xip which produced Xcode.app in Downloads. Then I moved Xcode.app to /Applications . Then, as suggested by Dubey, I executed `xattr -d com.apple.quarantine Xcode.app` without sudo. Then in Finder I opened Xcode without getting the verifying message. – zerowords Jul 19 '18 at 15:55

shyla · Answer 6 · 2016-10-13T11:57:34.140

16

open terminal -

1.Type cd drag drop your xcode (for path) then enter

2.next xattr -d com.apple.quarantine Xcode.app enter

agree for terms and condition

edited Oct 13 '16 at 11:57

answered Oct 13 '15 at 06:18

shyla

1,430
1
13
10

1

when drag drop and press enter i get Permission denied message – nivritgupta Sep 20 '16 at 20:24
nivritgupta add sudo before the command: sudo xattr -d com.apple.quarantine /Path/To/Xcode.app Then type in your password (it will not show typing in terminal) – YeaTheMans Oct 24 '16 at 07:04

score 15 · Answer 7 · edited Jun 16 '16 at 01:20

15

For Xcode 8: To skip the verifying process on El Capitan for Xcode 8, download Xcode 8 at the developer downloads page, then open terminal.

Following this, type

xattr -d com.apple.quarantine

Then drag your xcode 8 download into your terminal window. It should look like this:

edited Jun 16 '16 at 01:20

Levon

1,681
2
18
40

answered Jun 15 '16 at 20:57

Dowland Aiello

440
8
18

Thank you. I let the verifying process run for a few hours, but finally looked up this answer b/c it was taking a ridiculous amount of time. – Chris Livdahl Jun 18 '16 at 04:50
I left it running overnight but it didn't fill in any of the progress bar. Then I rebooted and it worked basically instantly. – rob mayoff Jul 13 '16 at 17:55

score 8 · Answer 8 · answered Aug 19 '16 at 18:47

8

A lot of talk here about exempting Xcode-beta.app from Gatekeeper, but for me, I had to make the .xip file exempt.

I placed Xcode_8_beta_6.xip into /Applications, then in Terminal, changed directory to /Applications and ran:

xattr -d com.apple.quarantine Xcode_8_beta_6.xip

Then double clicked the .xip to get it to unpack.

answered Aug 19 '16 at 18:47

simioliolio

209
3
7

Thank you so freaking much. I had no idea how to do this because there wasn't anything with beta 6 so I wasn't really sure what to type or do before that! – dhruvm Aug 20 '16 at 04:36

score 6 · Answer 9 · edited Apr 02 '16 at 04:41

6

running xattr -d com.apple.quarantine Xcode.app worked like a charm. Waiting on the "verifying xcode" didn't work, as it never completed.

edited Apr 02 '16 at 04:41

Nicholas Johnson

1,012
2
12
35

answered Jan 27 '16 at 17:59

Ola Peters

61
1
2

Please format your code using four spaces before it or surrounding it with backticks. Thanks! – johnnyRose Jan 27 '16 at 18:07
Finally the answer I was looking for. This works for everything, not just Xcode. I routinely get stuck with things that absolutely _never_ finish being verified, so I have to use this. – sudo May 12 '16 at 01:42

score 5 · Answer 10 · edited Jan 31 '16 at 16:31

5

Also you can remove Open Warning for entire directory Applications via the command in the terminal:

xattr -d -r com.apple.quarantine ~/Applications

edited Jan 31 '16 at 16:31

Bhargav Rao

50,140
28
121
140

answered Jan 31 '16 at 16:20

Andrii Vasyliev

107
1
3

score 4 · Answer 11 · answered May 19 '17 at 03:15

4

it's work for me:

open Terminal cd to path Xcode.app
xattr -d com.apple.quarantine Xcode.app

answered May 19 '17 at 03:15

Giang

3,553
30
28

score 3 · Answer 12 · answered Jun 22 '16 at 01:56

You can try the command:

xattr -r -d com.apple.quarantine /your_path_to_xcode/Xcode.app

If you do not use -r, you will have to run the same command for the iOS simulator later on. I am not sure what other executables are hidden in this bundle and are quarantined.

If you have time, the recommended method is to leave the verification to complete so that everything is verified properly.

score 3 · Answer 13 · answered Jul 07 '16 at 18:22

I had the same issue (Macbook Pro, Mid 2015, OS X 10.11.15) and was able to fix it without using the terminal to bypass Gatekeeper:

Trash all previously downloaded versions of the file and empty the trash. (If you haven't emptied your trash in forever this may take a long time. You can selectively delete the offending .xip files manually to save time.) I found multiple instances that would not delete because they were currently in use.
Restart your computer. Now you should be able to delete any .xip files in the trash without issue.
Download the Xcode8 beta again (don't stream media while doing this to save on time and packet loss.) and open it.
If this doesn't do the trick, open up terminal and follow one of the answers above.

score 1 · Answer 14 · answered Sep 24 '15 at 16:25

Run the following command making sure this is your Xcode's location on the system & replace the xcode name with actual name which code be xcode2 or Xcode 3 incase if you have more versions of Xcode on your machine.. All the best ..

xattr -d com.apple.quarantine Xcode.app

score 1 · Answer 15 · answered Apr 06 '16 at 17:37

1

Just wait for process to get over with.. sometimes it takes longer than the usual time but ends up showing the alert boxes for next process! sit back let it finish. :)

answered Apr 06 '16 at 17:37

Shashant Dahikar

252
4
16

score 0 · Answer 16 · answered Sep 28 '20 at 17:19

0

If you are not logged in to Xcode try logging in with any Apple account.

answered Sep 28 '20 at 17:19

Wowo Ot

1,362
13
21

Xcode won't start, stuck on 'Verifying "Xcode"...'

16 Answers16

Linked

Related