Mar 08, 2017  'macOS needs to repair your Library to run applications. Type your password to allow this.' They just keep coming up. I've tried setting the permissions on the home and library directories, by doing a Get Info-Sharing & Permissions-Select User-Select Read & Write-Apply to Enclosed Items. 'macOS needs to repair your Library to run applications' Close. 'macOS needs to repair your Library to run applications'. But then someone with a brand new Mac had the issue and they're using the OS that came with the iMac out of the box. That has to mean it's a software package I'm pushing to these Macs that don't come with it. Mar 24, 2020  You repeatedly get a message that macOS needs to repair your Library to run applications. When saving changes to an item, you get a message that the file is locked or you don't have permission to save. Preview, TextEdit, or other sandboxed apps unexpectedly quit when opened.

A number of MacOS users have upgraded their devices to High Sierra for a number of reasons. Added security, clear photos and fancy features are some of these reasons. Though this sounds a substantial move, the majority are hit by ‘macOS needs to repair your library to run applications’ message just after the update.

The message pops up each time you open an application in your mac. To help you enjoy the Mojave or High Sierra new features, try to fix the macOS library using the following options.

Fixing ‘macOS needs to repair your library to run applications’ error

Follow these steps to fix the macOS needs to repair your library issue:

Solution 1: Run the First Aid Feature

This feature is used to repair disks. You can also use “First Aid” to diagnose your apps when they are not running properly. You can also use it when you get the message “macOS needs to repair your library to run applications after migration.” Follow these steps to run First Aid.

• Navigate to Finder and select Utilities.
• Click on Disk Utility then select First Aid.
• Press ‘Run’ on the first Aid dialogue that comes into view

Mac Os Needs To Repair Your Library To Run Applications Password

Wait for this feature to finish the required repair process. Reboot your Mac and check if the applications are running smoothly. If the solution is unable to fix the issue, try the next alternative.

Read Also:How to find your downloads on macOS

Solution 2: Fix the Exact Application Producing the Error

If a specific application is producing the error message;

• Click on ‘Option and Command’ keys to open the application
• Click on ‘Repair’ to repair the application from the pop-up window that shows up.

Wait for few minutes for the program to repair. Restart your device and check if the issue is resolved.

Solution 3: Use the Terminal

• Restart your Mac and click “Command + R” key to enter the recovery mode
• Proceed to utilities and open terminal
• Click reset password and press “return”
• Select your system drive which in this case is Macintosh HD/SSD then select your preferred username
• Press on ‘Reset Home folder Permissions and ACL key’

Once you are done with this procedure, restart your machine and see if the error message is still there. If yes, you should consider reinstalling High sierra.

Solution 4: Reinstall High Sierra

The error might occur as a result of you not having a successful Mojave upgrade. As such, you may consider reinstalling High Sierra following these steps.

• Restart your Mac and press “Command + R” when the startup sound appears. This will take you to recovery mode.
• While in the recovery menu, Reinstall Mac OS and press continue.
• Choose Macintosh HD/SSD which is your Mac hard drive
• Choose install and follow the prompted procedure to finish the installation process.

Any of these four solutions should repair Mojave. If they both fail to fix MacOS library, downgrade to Sierra and check if the problem is resolved.

Read Also: How to fix macOS spotlight isn’t working

Your home folder contains many files and folders that apps on your Mac have permission to read or modify. If you use Get Info or other methods to change those permissions, you could experience issues such as these:

• Changes that you make in System Preferences aren't saved after you quit System Preferences.
• Changes that you make to the Dock aren't saved after you log out of your user account.
• Windows that were open the last time you logged out or quit an app (before you changed permissions) open again after you log in or open the app.
• You're asked for an administrator name and password when moving certain items in the home folder.
• You repeatedly get a message that macOS needs to repair your Library to run applications.
• When saving changes to an item, you get a message that the file is locked or you don't have permission to save.
• Preview, TextEdit, or other sandboxed apps unexpectedly quit when opened.
• You get an alert that the startup disk has no more space available for application memory.
• Activity Monitor shows that Safari or SafariDAVClient is using a large amount of system resources.
• Your Mac performs slowly.
• iTunes says that your device cannot be synced.
• Photos and videos that you import into Photos or iPhoto don't appear within the app, but do appear in Finder. Or your library needs to be updated or reselected each time you open Photos or iPhoto.

Reset permissions

Mac Os Needs To Repair Your Library To Run Applications. Enter Your Password To Allow This

If the issue started after changing the permissions of items in your home folder , use these steps to reset permissions.

1. Turn on or restart your Mac, then immediately press and hold Command (⌘)-R to start up from macOS Recovery.
2. You might be prompted to enter a password, such as a firmware password or the password of a user who is an administrator of this Mac. Enter the requested password to continue.
3. When you see the macOS Utilities window, choose Utilities > Terminal from the menu bar.
4. Type repairHomePermissions in the Terminal window, then press Return. The Repair Home app opens.
5. Select your user account, click Next, then enter your administrator password. Click Next unlock the volume and begin resetting permissions on your home directory.
   
6. When done, click Exit to return to the macOS Utilities window.
7. Select Reinstall macOS, then click Continue and follow the onscreen instructions to reinstall macOS.
   

If the issue persists

Mac Os Needs To Repair Your Library To Run Applications Mojave

If resetting permissions doesn't resolve the issue:

Mac Os Needs To Repair Your Library To Run Applications

Error Message Macos Needs To Repair Your Library To Run Applications

1. Make sure that you have a backup of your Mac, then erase your startup disk.
2. When done, reinstall macOS.
3. After installation completes and your Mac restarts to the setup assistant, create a new user account using a different name than the one you were using before. Any difference in spelling is enough.
4. If you made a Time Machine backup, use Migration Assistant to restore all your files from the backup.