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Have installed Eclipse Neon 3 x86_64 bit on macOS Sierra...

Proceeded by picking a workspace folder and installed the following plugins:

  • Subclipse 1.10.13 (by dragging the icon on to the workspace from https://marketplace.eclipse.org/content/subclipse)

  • Installed the following plugins (by going to Help -> Install New Software -> All Available Sites and expanded Web, XML, Java EE and OSGI Enterprise Development):

  • Eclipse Java EE Developer Tools 3.8.0.v201701262139

  • Eclipse Java Web Developer Tools 3.8.0.v201702270442
  • Eclipse Web Developer Tools 3.8.2.v201702270442
  • JST Server Adapters 3.2.400.v201606081655
  • JST Server Adapters Extensions 3.3.501.v201609071751
  • JST Server UI 3.4.300.v201606081655

Everything works (plugin functionality) but everytime I close Eclipse, it brings up the default dialog asking for a workspace and is completely fresh (no plugins and preferences...). I have to manually install these plugins every single time I restart Eclipse!

I've deleted the following directories and files:

~/.eclipse (folder);

~/Library/Saved Application/org.eclipse.eclipse.savedState;

~/Library/Preferences/org.eclipse.platform.ide.plist;

~/Library/Caches/org.eclipse.platform.ide;

And, also unzipped Eclipse into a different folder and specified a new workspace and after installing the plugins and restarting Eclipse, its completely fresh again!

This is very annoying and also disappointing...

I even tried to put -clean as the first line of the eclipse.ini file but it didn't help any...

What's weird is that this is happening on my company issued MacBook Pro but not my personal MacBook Pro (which is the exact same model and year as the company issue one)...

Any suggestions would be most appreciated!

PacificNW_Lover
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  • This sounds a lot like: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/40724146/sts-app-on-mac-10-12-1-always-creates-a-new-org-springsource-sts-folder-in-ecli – Martin Lippert Jun 19 '17 at 12:48
  • How did you "install" Eclipse initially? Did you download a zip file from Eclipse.org and unzipped it or did you use the Eclipse installer? – Gunnar Jun 19 '17 at 12:54
  • I unzipped the tar.gz and also unzipped the zip file - don't like installing from DMG installer when its an open source project. – PacificNW_Lover Jun 19 '17 at 16:39
  • Unfortunately it's Gatekeeper Path Randomization. It's a macOS feature that causes issues with a lot open source projects. Thus, the direction macOS is heading towards, unzip as well as gunzip & untar will no longer be a reliable way of distributing apps for macOS. see: http://www.openradar.me/radar?id=5022734169931776 – Gunnar Jun 19 '17 at 17:45
  • Downloaded eclipse-java-neon-3-macosx-cocoa-x86_64.tar.gz and unzipped it inside /Applications. This version of Eclipse works in my personal MacBook Pro which is the same exact machine and operating system as my work issued MacBook Pro, its just that for some odd reason this doesn't work on my company issued MacBook Pro. – PacificNW_Lover Jun 19 '17 at 18:02
  • Can you check that the Gatekeeper/Security settings exactly the same on both machines? Also, try unzipping into the Downloads folder and then Drag&Drop it using Finder into the Applications folder. As stupid as it sounds that how Apple wants it to be for disabling Gatekeeper Path Randomization. See also answer below for details how to verify if Path Randomization is happening. – Gunnar Jun 19 '17 at 18:36
  • Yes, I checked the Gatekeeper/Security settings on both machines and you are correct, sir! It finally works! You are right - unzip in Finder and then drag to Applications folder using Finder. Thank you! What a headache it has been... – PacificNW_Lover Jun 20 '17 at 03:46

1 Answers1

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Have you checked Eclipse Bugzilla for a similar issue?

It looks like you are running into this:
Bug 507328 - Eclipse forgets about global settings and installed features

It's a feature of macOS introduced with Sierra called "App Translocation" or "Gatekeeper Path Randomization". Try unzipping Eclipse and moving it (drag and drop) with Finder to a different location. This should set a flag which disables Gatekeeper Path Randomization. However, it's important this this is done from within Finder.

The Eclipse Oxygen packages will ship as DMG which will motivate users to drag and drop the Eclipse.app bundle into the Applications folder using Finder. There is an Apple bug here where Apple explicitly states that Finder may be able to opt an app out of Gatekeeper Path Randomization.

To check whether Gatekeeper Path Randomization is happing in Eclipse perform the following:

  • Open Eclipse > About Eclipse
  • Click Installation Details
  • Navigate to tab Configuration
  • Check the value of osgi.install.area property

If it points to some random looking path with /var/private that path randomization is in effect.

The situation may become more complicated in future macOS versions, though.

Gunnar
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  • Unzipped it under /Applications and after restarting my computer and relaunching eclipse, the same exact problem occurred. So, unzipping it and placing the Eclipse.app in a different folder doesn't help. – PacificNW_Lover Jun 19 '17 at 17:25
  • You need to drag and drop it using Finder into the Applications folder. Did you do that? Which package did you download and unzip? – Gunnar Jun 19 '17 at 17:33
  • Yes, I checked the Gatekeeper/Security settings on both machines and you are correct, sir! It finally works! You are right - unzip in Finder and then drag to Applications folder using Finder. Thank you! What a headache it has been... – PacificNW_Lover Jun 20 '17 at 03:46
  • Cool. Thanks for confirming! – Gunnar Jun 20 '17 at 06:34