[Bug] macOS: Browser extension cannot wake AB Download Manager via Native Messaging

[cbconne]

📝 Description

On macOS, the AB Download Manager browser extension cannot automatically launch/wake AB Download Manager when the application is not already running.

The issue occurs in Arc, Helium, Google Chrome, so this does not appear to be specific to a particular Chromium-based browser.

When AB Download Manager is already running, the browser extension works normally and can capture downloads.

However, when AB Download Manager is completely quit, starting a download from the browser results in the following error:

There is a problem with the app api, make sure to update both the app and extension to the latest version

java.lang.IllegalStateException: Can't awake the app (process return non-zero code)

🏷️ App Version

1.10.4+(Extension)1.5.0

💻 Platform

macOS 26.6.2

📦 Installation Type (optional)

homebrew

⚙️ System/Device Details (optional)

Apple M5 Pro

🔁 Steps to Reproduce

1. Quit AB Download Manager completely.
2. Open Arc/Google Chrome/Helium.
3. Open a page containing a downloadable file. Start the download.
4. The extension attempts to communicate with AB Download Manager and launch it if necessary.
5. The extension reports the following error:

✅ Expected Behavior

If AB Download Manager is not running, the browser extension should be able to launch/wake the application automatically through Native Messaging, and then pass the download information to AB Download Manager.

📷 Screenshots or Recordings (optional)

No response

🗒️ Additional Information (optional)

No response

💡 Possible Solution (optional)

No response

[MohammedSaud404]

I think I found the cause.

macOS has no setsid command. It comes from util-linux so it is a Linux only tool. In DetachedLauncher.kt both Linux and macOS go through it:

Platform.Desktop.Linux,
Platform.Desktop.MacOS -> execViaSetsid(absExecutable, args.toList())

So ProcessBuilder throws IOException and launch() wraps it into IllegalStateException. The CLI exits with a non zero code and EnsureAppIsAwake reports Can't awake the app (process return non-zero code) which is the message in this report.

I checked it on GitHub macOS runners. One of them runs macOS 26.6.2 which is the same version as the report. All of them gave the same output:

which setsid -> <<< NOT FOUND >>>
RESULT: java.io.IOException: Cannot run program "setsid": Exec failed, error: 2 (No such file or directory)

Full log is here: https://github.com/MohammedSaud404/ab-download-manager/actions/runs/35260075692

On the same runners I tried open instead. open -n Some.app --args --background returned 0. The app received --background and its parent pid became 1 so it is detached from the caller. It also kept running after the caller exited. Note that without -n and with an instance already running the args are dropped.

execViaSetsid came in #1332 so it is in every 1.10.x release and not new in 1.10.4. Issue #843 looks like the same problem reported earlier.

@cbconne could you run these two and paste the output

command -v setsid || echo NOT FOUND
"/Applications/ABDownloadManager.app/Contents/MacOS/ABDownloadManagerCli" gui start-if-not-started; echo "exit=$?"

@amir1376 if this approach looks fine to you I can send a PR that keeps setsid on Linux and uses open on macOS. I will build it and run the same checks on the macOS runners and I will also get it tested on a real machine with the browser extension before I open the PR.