macOS: Fix "App Is Damaged and Can't Be Opened"

When opening Chatbox on macOS, you may see the error: "Chatbox is damaged and can't be opened. You should move it to the Trash."

In most cases, the app is not actually damaged. This is caused by macOS Gatekeeper blocking apps downloaded from the internet that haven't been notarized by Apple.

Solution 1: Allow in System Settings (Recommended)

This is the simplest and safest method.

1. Try opening Chatbox normally — the error will appear. Click Cancel
2. Open System Settings > Privacy & Security
3. Scroll down to the Security section. You'll see a message like: "Chatbox" was blocked from use because it is not from an identified developer.
4. Click Open Anyway and enter your Mac password

Solution 2: Remove Quarantine via Terminal

If Solution 1 doesn't show the "Open Anyway" option, use Terminal to remove the quarantine flag first, which will make the "Open Anyway" button appear.

1. Open Terminal (found in /Applications/Utilities/)
2. Run the following command:

sudo xattr -cr /Applications/Chatbox.app

Tip: You can type sudo xattr -cr (with a trailing space), then drag the Chatbox app icon from Finder into the Terminal window to auto-fill the path.

3. Try opening Chatbox again — it may still show the "damaged" error, this is normal
4. Now go to System Settings > Privacy & Security, the "Open Anyway" button should appear
5. Click Open Anyway and enter your Mac password — Chatbox will open successfully

If you get "Operation not permitted"

This means Terminal doesn't have sufficient permissions. You need to grant Full Disk Access:

1. Open System Settings > Privacy & Security > Full Disk Access
2. Click the lock icon to unlock, enter your password
3. Click "+", navigate to Applications > Utilities, select Terminal.app, and click Open
4. Make sure the toggle next to Terminal is on
5. Quit and restart Terminal completely
6. Run the command again:

sudo xattr -cr /Applications/Chatbox.app

7. Then follow steps 3–5 above to open via System Settings > Open Anyway

Solution 3: Temporarily Disable Gatekeeper

If the above methods don't work, you can temporarily disable Gatekeeper entirely.

1. Run in Terminal:

sudo spctl --master-disable

2. Open Chatbox
3. Immediately re-enable Gatekeeper after the app opens:

sudo spctl --master-enable

Solution 4: Ad-hoc Code Signing

As a last resort, you can re-sign the app locally:

sudo codesign --force --deep --sign - /Applications/Chatbox.app

Summary

Why Does This Happen?

macOS adds a com.apple.quarantine attribute to files downloaded from the internet. When you open an app with this flag, Gatekeeper checks if it has been code-signed and notarized by Apple. If not, macOS blocks the app and shows the misleading "damaged" error message.