Core functionality breaking following an app upgrade

[ethanndickson]

Many users, including myself, have noticed the core functionality of the app breaks when the app is upgraded, be it via homebrew, or via the .pkg installer.

This issue is identified in two ways:

1. The app being unable to load the user's workspaces, i.e. if this message is displayed when the logged in user certainly owns workspaces. Restarting Coder Connect does not fix it, and typically neither does merely restarting the app.

2. Coder Connect cannot be started, with an error citing the app is not open (and that it must be open during first-time setup).

Both of these issues have the same root cause - the System Network Extension process is unable to communicate with the Coder Desktop application over macOS' XPC.

In the first case, no XPC connection exists to communicate the list of connected workspaces.
In the second case, no XPC connection exists to instruct the app to prompt the user for sudo, in order to mark the .dylib downloaded from the Coder server as safe to execute.

Multiple users on the Apple developer forums have reported this issue in recency:
https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/711713
https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/667597
https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/742992
https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/728063

Attempts to fix, based off thread responses:

• Switched to a .pkg installer from a .dmg (fix(build): switch to pkg based installer #92)
• As part of the .pkg preinstall: Stopping Coder Connect, shutting down the app, deleting the app (which deletes the network extension)
• As part of the .pkg postinstall: Forcing macOS to ingest the App bundle's notarization ticket using spctl --assess. (chore(pkgbuild): delete existing app during preinstall, spctl --assess during postinstall #112)
• Ensuring NSXPCListener.resume() is called after autoreleasepool { NEProvider.startSystemExtensionMode() }

Apple Feedback Assistant

https://feedbackassistant.apple.com/feedback/17032197

(Private link, I believe)

Apple Developer Forum

https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/779395

Workaround

However, if a user encounters this issue on upgrade, the fix is relatively straightforward. Unfortunately, due to macOS security decisions, it's not possible for the app to automate these steps in totality.

macOS <=14

1. Delete the application from /Applications
2. Restart your device

macOS 15+

1. Open System Settings
2. Select General
3. Select Login Items & Extensions
4. Scroll down, and click the (i) for Network Extensions
5. Select the (...) next to Coder Desktop, select Delete Extension, and follow the prompts.

This issue is a successor to #83.

[ethanndickson]

As of 25/03/2025, I think the best next step is to contact Apple developer technical support, checking if there's any progress on this issue in their internal bug tracker, as a post on the forum would imply it's been recorded there.

[matifali]

This is now consistently reportable for me after each upgrade. No workspaces appear following each upgrade. I upgrade using the .pkg installer and do not use Homebrew.

[ethanndickson]

The dev forum thread I made has gotten some attention from Apple DTS: https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/779395

Going to be working on this intermittently.

[ethanndickson]

As mentioned in that dev forum thread, our attempted fix in #92 hasn't been working consistently. #134 effectively ports that fix to older installations that still use the "CoderVPN" configuration.