Steps to reproduce
My Obsidian install was done via Homebrew.
I had installed version 1.8.x at some point in 2025.
When I saw the new CLI feature in the release notes, I wanted to give it a try.
Running Obsidian version told me my installer was out of date.
I ran brew install obsidian and it reinstalled with the 1.12.4 installer.
The Obsidian GUI app still works fine, just as before.
Running obsidian version (note, lowercase “o” here and uppercase “O” above, if the two different binaries are significant) gives back this:
> obsidian version
[0304/142619.552427:FATAL:electron/shell/app/electron_main_delegate_mac.mm:65] Unable to find helper app
[0304/142619.557767:FATAL:electron/shell/app/electron_main_delegate_mac.mm:65] Unable to find helper app
1.12.4 (installer 1.12.4)
[0304/142619.594981:FATAL:electron/shell/app/electron_main_delegate_mac.mm:65] Unable to find helper app
[0304/142619.598569:FATAL:electron/shell/app/electron_main_delegate_mac.mm:65] Unable to find helper app
Did you follow the troubleshooting guide?
Yes.
Expected result
Just the version details, nothing else.
Actual result
See above; the same FATAL error repeated a few times, about not being able to find a helper app.
Environment
SYSTEM INFO:
Obsidian version: 1.12.4
Installer version: 1.12.4
Operating system: Darwin Kernel Version 25.3.0: Wed Jan 28 20:48:41 PST 2026; root:xnu-12377.81.4~5/RELEASE_ARM64_T6041 25.3.0
Login status: logged in
Language: en-GB
Catalyst license: none
Insider build toggle: off
Live preview: off
Base theme: adapt to system
Community theme: none
Snippets enabled: 0
Restricted mode: off
Plugins installed: 9
Plugins enabled: 9
1: Linter v1.31.0
2: LanguageTool Integration v0.3.8
3: Templater v2.18.1
4: Tasks v7.23.0
5: Numerals v1.5.5
6: Plugin Update Tracker v1.7.0
7: Spaced Repetition v1.13.6
8: Global Hotkeys v0.1.2
9: QuickAdd v2.11.0
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Community plugins: for bugs, please first try updating all your plugins to latest. If still not fixed, please try to make the issue happen in the Sandbox Vault or disable community plugins.
Note that this is a work laptop with MDM active, so some apps/binaries are blocked from running. I do use things like VSCode for daily work, though, which is another Electron app.
Additional information
Running just obsidian by itself, with the GUI app already running, should give me a TUI if I understood the docs correctly. Instead, I get this:
obsidian
[0304/143410.839656:FATAL:electron/shell/app/electron_main_delegate_mac.mm:65] Unable to find helper app
[0304/143410.842984:FATAL:electron/shell/app/electron_main_delegate_mac.mm:65] Unable to find helper app
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▀█▛ ▟████████▌ Obsidian 1.12.4
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jlucktay-obsidian
Tab to autocomplete, ↑/↓ for history, Ctrl+C to quit
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[0304/143410.891297:FATAL:electron/shell/app/electron_main_delegate_mac.mm:65] Unable to find helper app
[0304/143410.897142:FATAL:electron/shell/app/electron_main_delegate_mac.mm:65] Unable to find helper app
[0304/143410.919505:FATAL:electron/shell/app/electron_main_delegate_mac.mm:65] Unable to find helper app
[0304/143410.923452:FATAL:electron/shell/app/electron_main_delegate_mac.mm:65] Unable to find helper app
[0304/143410.946795:FATAL:electron/shell/app/electron_main_delegate_mac.mm:65] Unable to find helper app
[0304/143410.949762:FATAL:electron/shell/app/electron_main_delegate_mac.mm:65] Unable to find helper app
[0304/143410.975879:FATAL:electron/shell/app/electron_main_delegate_mac.mm:65] Unable to find helper app
[0304/143410.979258:FATAL:electron/shell/app/electron_main_delegate_mac.mm:65] Unable to find helper app
[0304/143411.007872:FATAL:electron/shell/app/electron_main_delegate_mac.mm:65] Unable to find helper app
[0304/143411.011952:FATAL:electron/shell/app/electron_main_delegate_mac.mm:65] Unable to find helper app
[0304/143411.037047:FATAL:electron/shell/app/electron_main_delegate_mac.mm:65] Unable to find helper app
[0304/143411.039986:FATAL:electron/shell/app/electron_main_delegate_mac.mm:65] Unable to find helper app
[0304/143411.066725:FATAL:electron/shell/app/electron_main_delegate_mac.mm:65] Unable to find helper app
[0304/143411.069687:FATAL:electron/shell/app/electron_main_delegate_mac.mm:65] Unable to find helper app
[0304/143411.097887:FATAL:electron/shell/app/electron_main_delegate_mac.mm:65] Unable to find helper app
[70025:0304/143411.099012:FATAL:content/browser/gpu/gpu_data_manager_impl_private.cc:415] GPU process isn’t usable. Goodbye.
[0304/143411.100867:FATAL:electron/shell/app/electron_main_delegate_mac.mm:65] Unable to find helper app
Trace/BPT trap: 5 obsidian