[Resolved] Rack V2 cannot start on macOS 10.12 or lower

I downloaded the Rack 2 build linked here for Mac OS: Rack development blog - #72 by Vortico

When i run the program it immediately crashes with this as the error in the log file:

[0.008 info adapters/standalone.cpp:131 main] VCV Rack CE v2.git.042a9ce0
[0.008 info adapters/standalone.cpp:132 main] Mac 10.12.7
[0.008 info adapters/standalone.cpp:138 main] Args: /Users/john/Downloads/VCV Rack 2.app/Contents/MacOS/Rack 
[0.008 info adapters/standalone.cpp:141 main] System directory: /Users/john/Downloads/VCV Rack 2.app/Contents/Resources
[0.008 info adapters/standalone.cpp:142 main] User directory: /Users/john/Documents/Rack2
[0.008 info adapters/standalone.cpp:144 main] Bundle path: /Users/john/Downloads/VCV Rack 2.app
[0.008 info adapters/standalone.cpp:146 main] System time: 2021-10-03T22:25:15-0700
[0.008 info src/settings.cpp:401 load] Loading settings /Users/john/Documents/Rack2/settings.json
[0.008 info adapters/standalone.cpp:169 main] Initializing environment
[0.011 info src/rtaudio.cpp:239 RtAudioDriver] Creating RtAudio CoreAudio driver
[0.836 info src/plugin.cpp:106 loadPlugin] Loading Core plugin
[0.837 info src/plugin.cpp:166 loadPlugin] Loaded Core v2.0.0
[0.837 info src/plugin.cpp:235 init] Extracting bundled Fundamental package
[0.850 info src/plugin.cpp:108 loadPlugin] Loading plugin from /Users/john/Documents/Rack2/plugins/Fundamental
[0.853 info src/plugin.cpp:166 loadPlugin] Loaded Fundamental v2.0.0
[0.865 info adapters/standalone.cpp:186 main] Initializing context
[0.866 info src/window/Svg.cpp:28 loadFile] Loaded SVG /Users/john/Downloads/VCV Rack 2.app/Contents/Resources/res/ComponentLibrary/Rail.svg
[0.955 fatal adapters/standalone.cpp:49 fatalSignalHandler] Fatal signal 11. Stack trace:
7: 1   Rack                                0x00000001028d730d _ZL18fatalSignalHandleri + 45
6: 2   libsystem_platform.dylib            0x00007fff8f37eb3a _sigtramp + 26
5: 3   libRack.dylib                       0x0000000103093900 _dyld_private + 0
4: 4   libRack.dylib                       0x0000000102a85cfe _glfwPlatformCreateWindow + 702
3: 5   libRack.dylib                       0x0000000102a7facf glfwCreateWindow + 495
2: 6   libRack.dylib                       0x0000000102a12478 _ZN4rack6window6WindowC2Ev + 328
1: 7   Rack                                0x00000001028d6bae main + 1918
0: 8   libdyld.dylib                       0x00007fff8f16f235 start + 1

My system is Mac Mini 2014 Sierra 10.12.6

Is the app in the downloaded zip file really called “VCV Rack 2.app” or did you rename it to that yourself? If you renamed it - It could be (just a hunch) that Rack doesn’t support those spaces in the name, and it could also be that the “security magic” in MacOS would prefer it if you have it in “Applications”. I would try and delete it, unzip again, call it “Rack2.app” and before launching it for the first time, drag it to your Applications folder, and then right-click on it and select Open. Then what happens?

Both of the builds have worked fine on my 2020 iMac running BigSur 11.6. The spaces are in the name of the .app file and my system doesn’t seem bothered by that. I have mine in the Applications folder. Could it be something with Sierra?

Definitely put VCV Rack 2 in the applications folder and don’t try running it from Downloads.

That may or may not be the issue here but it’s something to at least exclude first.

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VCV Rack 2.app (including spaces) runs fine on my 2014 Mac Mini with macOS Mojave, even from the Downloads folder. So those are not the problems.

Don’t be so sure. more recent operating systems have more aggressive security features.

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I tried VCV Rack 2.app on my 2009 Mac Pro with El Capitan and… it crashed on launch. My guess is that minimum requirements for Rack 2 include a later version of macOS.

That would be strange, as Andrew has not said a peep about that. The current manual says: “Operating system: MacOS 10.7+, Windows 7+, or Linux (such as Ubuntu 16.04+)” and v2/compile.mk says: “MAC_SDK_FLAGS := -mmacosx-version-min=10.9”.

So it looks like oldest MacOS has been bumped from 10.7 to 10.9, and El Capitan is 10.11 so that’s not the issue here, unless Andrew inadvertently introduced a higher-OS dependency by mistake, possibly in one of the dependencies.

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Ok, I’m on Sierra as well so time to do a test to see if it works for me, or I have the same problem as the OP. What I did, exactly:

  • Downloaded latest RackV2 beta build from https://vcvrack.com/downloads/Rack-2.git.042a9ce0-mac.zip to the directory “~/Downloads/Rack2/”
  • In Finder I double-clicked on the downloaded “Rack-2.git.042a9ce0-mac.zip” file and it unpacked “VCV Rack 2.app”.
  • In Finder I dragged “VCV Rack 2.app” to “/Applications/”.
  • In Finder I right-clicked “VCV Rack 2.app” and selected “Open”.
  • I select “Open” in the security dialog, informing me that it’s from the internet and dangerous and yada yada… same as it was for Rack1.
  • I get a dialog informing that VCV Rack has crashed and I can look in “/Users/lab/Documents/Rack2/log.txt” for details. There’s only one button to click - “Ok”. It looks like this:
    (here I wanted to paste the image into the forum post, but the forum seems to have problems with that at the moment, as other people have observed, so instead I put it on imgur)
    Rack 2 crash dialog - Album on Imgur
  • After that I get the familiar MacOS “Rack quit unexpectedly” dialog.
  • I select “Report” and get this crash info report:
    (this is shortened as the kind forum software informs me that the post is 52K chars and I’m limited to 32K. Let me know if you want the crash report by other means.)
Process:               Rack [28178]
Path:                  /Applications/VCV Rack 2.app/Contents/MacOS/Rack
Identifier:            com.vcvrack.rack
Version:               2.git.042a9ce0 (2.git.042a9ce0)
Code Type:             X86-64 (Native)
Parent Process:        ??? [1]
Responsible:           Rack [28178]
User ID:               501

Date/Time:             2021-10-04 17:57:09.019 +0200
OS Version:            Mac OS X 10.12.6 (16G2136)
Report Version:        12
Anonymous UUID:        211F012D-B8AD-D5AA-ECB5-25E992615EB5

Sleep/Wake UUID:       7CA968D1-BB15-4823-8336-63CE35E6850E

Time Awake Since Boot: 420000 seconds
Time Since Wake:       2000 seconds

System Integrity Protection: enabled

Crashed Thread:        0  Dispatch queue: com.apple.main-thread

Exception Type:        EXC_BAD_ACCESS (SIGABRT)
Exception Codes:       KERN_INVALID_ADDRESS at 0x0000000000000000
Exception Note:        EXC_CORPSE_NOTIFY

VM Regions Near 0:
--> 
    Kernel Alloc Once      0000000007a62000-0000000007a64000 [    8K] rw-/rwx SM=PRV  

Application Specific Information:
abort() called

Thread 0 Crashed:: Dispatch queue: com.apple.main-thread
0   libsystem_kernel.dylib        	0x00007fff8c0f4d42 __pthread_kill + 10
1   libsystem_pthread.dylib       	0x00007fff8c1e2457 pthread_kill + 90
2   libsystem_c.dylib             	0x00007fff8c05a420 abort + 129
3   com.vcvrack.rack              	0x0000000107a544e9 fatalSignalHandler(int) + 521
4   libsystem_platform.dylib      	0x00007fff8c1d5b3a _sigtramp + 26
5   ???                           	0x01006000001e5700 0 + 72163147156182784
6   libRack.dylib                 	0x0000000107bfecfe _glfwPlatformCreateWindow + 702
7   libRack.dylib                 	0x0000000107bf8acf glfwCreateWindow + 495
8   libRack.dylib                 	0x0000000107b8b478 rack::window::Window::Window() + 328
9   com.vcvrack.rack              	0x0000000107a53bae main + 1918
10  libdyld.dylib                 	0x00007fff8bfc6235 start + 1

Thread 1:
0   libsystem_kernel.dylib        	0x00007fff8c0ed34a mach_msg_trap + 10
1   libsystem_kernel.dylib        	0x00007fff8c0ec797 mach_msg + 55
2   com.apple.audio.midi.CoreMIDI 	0x00000001083f69c1 XServerMachPort::ReceiveMessage(int&, void*, int&) + 107
3   com.apple.audio.midi.CoreMIDI 	0x000000010840cba9 MIDIProcess::RunMIDIInThread() + 105
4   com.apple.audio.midi.CoreMIDI 	0x0000000108419a9a XThread::RunHelper(void*) + 10
5   com.apple.audio.midi.CoreMIDI 	0x000000010841d053 CAPThread::Entry(CAPThread*) + 85
6   libsystem_pthread.dylib       	0x00007fff8c1df93b _pthread_body + 180
7   libsystem_pthread.dylib       	0x00007fff8c1df887 _pthread_start + 286
8   libsystem_pthread.dylib       	0x00007fff8c1df08d thread_start + 13

Thread 2:
0   libsystem_kernel.dylib        	0x00007fff8c0f4bf2 __psynch_cvwait + 10
1   libsystem_pthread.dylib       	0x00007fff8c1e07fa _pthread_cond_wait + 712
2   libc++.1.dylib                	0x00007fff8ab0a572 std::__1::condition_variable::__do_timed_wait(std::__1::unique_lock<std::__1::mutex>&, std::__1::chrono::time_point<std::__1::chrono::system_clock, std::__1::chrono::duration<long long, std::__1::ratio<1l, 1000000000l> > >) + 126
3   libRack.dylib                 	0x0000000107ad1cbe void* std::__1::__thread_proxy<std::__1::tuple<std::__1::unique_ptr<std::__1::__thread_struct, std::__1::default_delete<std::__1::__thread_struct> >, rack::library::init()::$_0> >(void*) + 270
4   libsystem_pthread.dylib       	0x00007fff8c1df93b _pthread_body + 180
5   libsystem_pthread.dylib       	0x00007fff8c1df887 _pthread_start + 286
6   libsystem_pthread.dylib       	0x00007fff8c1df08d thread_start + 13

Thread 3:: com.apple.NSEventThread
0   libsystem_kernel.dylib        	0x00007fff8c0ed34a mach_msg_trap + 10
1   libsystem_kernel.dylib        	0x00007fff8c0ec797 mach_msg + 55
2   com.apple.CoreFoundation      	0x00007fff767c1b44 __CFRunLoopServiceMachPort + 212
3   com.apple.CoreFoundation      	0x00007fff767c0fd1 __CFRunLoopRun + 1361
4   com.apple.CoreFoundation      	0x00007fff767c0824 CFRunLoopRunSpecific + 420
5   com.apple.AppKit              	0x00007fff74402f02 _NSEventThread + 205
6   libsystem_pthread.dylib       	0x00007fff8c1df93b _pthread_body + 180
7   libsystem_pthread.dylib       	0x00007fff8c1df887 _pthread_start + 286
8   libsystem_pthread.dylib       	0x00007fff8c1df08d thread_start + 13

Thread 4:
0   libsystem_kernel.dylib        	0x00007fff8c0f544e __workq_kernreturn + 10
1   libsystem_pthread.dylib       	0x00007fff8c1df48e _pthread_wqthread + 1023
2   libsystem_pthread.dylib       	0x00007fff8c1df07d start_wqthread + 13

Thread 5:
0   libsystem_kernel.dylib        	0x00007fff8c0f544e __workq_kernreturn + 10
1   libsystem_pthread.dylib       	0x00007fff8c1df621 _pthread_wqthread + 1426
2   libsystem_pthread.dylib       	0x00007fff8c1df07d start_wqthread + 13

Thread 6:
0   libsystem_kernel.dylib        	0x00007fff8c0f544e __workq_kernreturn + 10
1   libsystem_pthread.dylib       	0x00007fff8c1df621 _pthread_wqthread + 1426
2   libsystem_pthread.dylib       	0x00007fff8c1df07d start_wqthread + 13

Thread 7:
0   libsystem_kernel.dylib        	0x00007fff8c0f544e __workq_kernreturn + 10
1   libsystem_pthread.dylib       	0x00007fff8c1df621 _pthread_wqthread + 1426
2   libsystem_pthread.dylib       	0x00007fff8c1df07d start_wqthread + 13

Thread 8:
0   libsystem_kernel.dylib        	0x00007fff8c0f544e __workq_kernreturn + 10
1   libsystem_pthread.dylib       	0x00007fff8c1df621 _pthread_wqthread + 1426
2   libsystem_pthread.dylib       	0x00007fff8c1df07d start_wqthread + 13

Thread 9:

Thread 0 crashed with X86 Thread State (64-bit):
  rax: 0x0000000000000000  rbx: 0x0000000000000006  rcx: 0x00007fff581acef8  rdx: 0x0000000000000000
  rdi: 0x0000000000000307  rsi: 0x0000000000000006  rbp: 0x00007fff581acf20  rsp: 0x00007fff581acef8
   r8: 0x00007ff123906000   r9: 0x0000000000008003  r10: 0x0000000008000000  r11: 0x0000000000000206
  r12: 0x0000000000000021  r13: 0x00007ff121d0bd50  r14: 0x00007fff94ef63c0  r15: 0x000061800003e680
  rip: 0x00007fff8c0f4d42  rfl: 0x0000000000000206  cr2: 0x00007fff94ed8128
  
Logical CPU:     0
Error Code:      0x02000148
Trap Number:     133

Model: iMac14,2, BootROM 139.0.0.0.0, 4 processors, Intel Core i7, 3,5 GHz, 16 GB, SMC 2.15f7
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M, PCIe, 4096 MB
Memory Module: BANK 0/DIMM0, 8 GB, DDR3, 1600 MHz, 0x02FE, 0x45424A3831554738454655352D474E4C2D46
Memory Module: BANK 1/DIMM0, 8 GB, DDR3, 1600 MHz, 0x02FE, 0x45424A3831554738454655352D474E4C2D46
AirPort: spairport_wireless_card_type_airport_extreme (0x14E4, 0x111), Broadcom BCM43xx 1.0 (7.21.171.134.1a2)
Bluetooth: Version 5.0.5f7, 3 services, 27 devices, 1 incoming serial ports
Network Service: Wi-Fi, AirPort, en1
Serial ATA Device: APPLE SSD SM0256F, 251 GB
USB Device: USB 3.0 Bus
USB Device: 4-Port USB 3.0 Hub
USB Device: 4-Port USB 3.0 Hub
USB Device: BRCM20702 Hub
USB Device: Bluetooth USB Host Controller
USB Device: FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)
USB Device: Contour Receiver
USB Device: 4-Port USB 2.0 Hub
USB Device: MIDI Mix
USB Device: 4-Port USB 2.0 Hub
USB Device: Scarlett 2i2 USB
Thunderbolt Bus: iMac, Apple Inc., 23.10
  • The entire content of Rack’s log.txt is the following:
[0.007 info adapters/standalone.cpp:131 main] VCV Rack CE v2.git.042a9ce0
[0.007 info adapters/standalone.cpp:132 main] Mac 10.12.7
[0.007 info adapters/standalone.cpp:138 main] Args: /Applications/VCV Rack 2.app/Contents/MacOS/Rack -psn_0_3875762 
[0.007 info adapters/standalone.cpp:141 main] System directory: /Applications/VCV Rack 2.app/Contents/Resources
[0.007 info adapters/standalone.cpp:142 main] User directory: /Users/lab/Documents/Rack2
[0.007 info adapters/standalone.cpp:144 main] Bundle path: /Applications/VCV Rack 2.app
[0.007 info adapters/standalone.cpp:146 main] System time: 2021-10-04T17:55:11+0200
[0.007 info src/settings.cpp:401 load] Loading settings /Users/lab/Documents/Rack2/settings.json
[0.007 info adapters/standalone.cpp:169 main] Initializing environment
[0.009 info src/rtaudio.cpp:239 RtAudioDriver] Creating RtAudio CoreAudio driver
[0.816 info src/plugin.cpp:106 loadPlugin] Loading Core plugin
[0.816 info src/plugin.cpp:166 loadPlugin] Loaded Core v2.0.0
[0.817 info src/plugin.cpp:235 init] Extracting bundled Fundamental package
[0.827 info src/plugin.cpp:108 loadPlugin] Loading plugin from /Users/lab/Documents/Rack2/plugins/Fundamental
[0.830 info src/plugin.cpp:166 loadPlugin] Loaded Fundamental v2.0.0
[0.843 info adapters/standalone.cpp:186 main] Initializing context
[0.844 info src/window/Svg.cpp:28 loadFile] Loaded SVG /Applications/VCV Rack 2.app/Contents/Resources/res/ComponentLibrary/Rail.svg
[0.885 fatal adapters/standalone.cpp:49 fatalSignalHandler] Fatal signal 11. Stack trace:
8: 1   Rack                                0x0000000107a5430d _ZL18fatalSignalHandleri + 45
7: 2   libsystem_platform.dylib            0x00007fff8c1d5b3a _sigtramp + 26
6: 3   ???                                 0x01006000001e5700 0x0 + 72163147156182784
5: 4   libRack.dylib                       0x0000000107bfecfe _glfwPlatformCreateWindow + 702
4: 5   libRack.dylib                       0x0000000107bf8acf glfwCreateWindow + 495
3: 6   libRack.dylib                       0x0000000107b8b478 _ZN4rack6window6WindowC2Ev + 328
2: 7   Rack                                0x0000000107a53bae main + 1918
1: 8   libdyld.dylib                       0x00007fff8bfc6235 start + 1
0: 9   ???                                 0x0000000000000002 0x0 + 2
  • So the crash is identical to the OP who’s also running Sierra.
  • I tried running “VCV Rack 2.app” a few more times, same result.
  • I tried renaming it to Rack-2.app, same result.
  • I can see that it successfully unpaced the Fundamentals plugin in “/Users/lab/Documents/Rack2/plugins/Fundamental”.
  • So it crashes on loading the first SVG, maybe a bug in the SVG library?

It would seem that indeed the latest Rack2 build cannot start on MacOS Sierra. @Vortico - do you want this bug report somewhere?

Edit: I just tried the previous/first Rackv2 build, https://vcvrack.com/downloads/Rack-2.git.b04e4117-mac.zip, and it’s exactly the same crash and same content in log.txt :frowning:

that looks bad… that looks to crash indeed reading some files, though not necessarily where the log stopped I would think…

Is this like the mystery crash when the graphic driver is bad?

i tried running vcv rack 2 from the applications folder and got the same error. the error log i made was generated for the forum post so i just grabbed a fresh download of the zip file and launched it from the downloads folder to save time.

the “.app” ending to the file was not my doing. that shows up in the log but i did not change the file to “.app”. i tried unzipping the download name a few times removing the “.zip” portion of the file name. the unpacked file is identical and the error message is the same.

i also tried removing the template file within folders in the “show contents” right click menu. no dice. same error message.

What’s the best way to share a log on here? Now Rack 2 is crashing occasionally on BigSur when I CMD+Q to close the program.

No, this machine has been running Rack just fine since November 2017, unchanged since then.

If it’s not a humongous log you can just paste it into the post, and mark the text with “Preformatted Text” in the toolbar.

Got it. Thanks! Here’s the bottom portion when things froze.


[11.682 info adapters/standalone.cpp:231 main] Stopped window
[11.682 info src/patch.cpp:186 saveAutosave] Saving autosave /Users/kylegrayyoung/Documents/Rack2/autosave/patch.json
[11.685 info adapters/standalone.cpp:245 main] Destroying context
[49.647 fatal adapters/standalone.cpp:49 fatalSignalHandler] Fatal signal 15. Stack trace:
23: 1   Rack                                0x0000000108c4830d _ZL18fatalSignalHandleri + 45
22: 2   libsystem_platform.dylib            0x00007fff203d4d7d _sigtramp + 29
21: 3   ???                                 0x000000011405c54b 0x0 + 4630889803
20: 4   libsystem_pthread.dylib             0x00007fff2038c957 _pthread_rwlock_lock_slow + 495
19: 5   libRack.dylib                       0x0000000108d6ce60 _ZN4rack6engine6Engine12removeModuleEPNS0_6ModuleE + 32
18: 6   libRack.dylib                       0x0000000108d1ba02 _ZN4rack3app12ModuleWidgetD2Ev + 50
17: 7   plugin.dylib                        0x000000000c6915de _ZN10ADSRWidgetD0Ev + 14
16: 8   libRack.dylib                       0x0000000108d385cc _ZN4rack3app10RackWidget5clearEv + 92
15: 9   libRack.dylib                       0x0000000108d38699 _ZN4rack3app10RackWidgetD0Ev + 25
14: 10  libRack.dylib                       0x0000000108d82131 _ZN4rack6widget6Widget13clearChildrenEv + 113
13: 11  libRack.dylib                       0x0000000108d82006 _ZN4rack6widget6WidgetD2Ev + 38
12: 12  libRack.dylib                       0x0000000108d06f6e _ZN4rack3app7browser8ModelBoxD0Ev + 14
11: 13  libRack.dylib                       0x0000000108d82131 _ZN4rack6widget6Widget13clearChildrenEv + 113
10: 14  libRack.dylib                       0x0000000108d82006 _ZN4rack6widget6WidgetD2Ev + 38
9: 15  libRack.dylib                       0x0000000108d821ae _ZN4rack6widget6WidgetD0Ev + 14
8: 16  libRack.dylib                       0x0000000108d82131 _ZN4rack6widget6Widget13clearChildrenEv + 113
7: 17  libRack.dylib                       0x0000000108d82006 _ZN4rack6widget6WidgetD2Ev + 38
6: 18  libRack.dylib                       0x0000000108d37cbc _ZN4rack3app16RackScrollWidgetD0Ev + 44
5: 19  libRack.dylib                       0x0000000108d82131 _ZN4rack6widget6Widget13clearChildrenEv + 113
4: 20  libRack.dylib                       0x0000000108d82006 _ZN4rack6widget6WidgetD2Ev + 38
3: 21  libRack.dylib                       0x0000000108d42679 _ZN4rack3app5SceneD0Ev + 41
2: 22  libRack.dylib                       0x0000000108cb055b _ZN4rack7ContextD2Ev + 91
1: 23  Rack                                0x0000000108c47ccb main + 2203
0: 24  libdyld.dylib                       0x00007fff203aaf3d start + 1


Is the crash in the log.txt very similar to the OP and to mine further down? Care to share yours?

Given the results of the OP and my exact same result got me thinking on plausible hypothesis for this. Could it be that one of the (updated?) dependencies of Rack, perhaps SVG related, has moved to support only 10.14 (Mojave) and later? Or possible 10.13 (High Sierra) and later? What we “know” from this post is that Rack2 cannot start on 10.12 (Sierra) and earlier, but works on 10.14 (Mojave) and later (presumably).

Question @dronehands : Does Rack V1 run without problems on this exact system?

Same question for you @henk.lasschuit : Does Rack V1 run without problems on this exact system?

vcv 1 runs great. i use the diimdeep fork.

1 Like

More confirmations over here of a possible, accidental MacOS minimum version requirement:

Yes, it does.

1 Like