Workaround

This is the only known way to successfully launch the Battery GUI, in my case:

1. Running open /Applications/Battery.app from a terminal

• Update 2023-07-07: This workaround no longer works, Battery fails to launch with all methods.

Similar bugs:

• #15
• #27
• #55

Problem

Launching the “Battery” GUI app (/Applications/Battery.app) fails when invoked by:

1. Double-clicking /Applications/Battery.app from Finder
2. Running Battery from Spotlight
3. Adding /Applications/Battery.app to System Settings > Login Items > Open at Login and rebooting

Where this specific error is emitted:

Error message:

A dialogue displays this error message:

Error installing battery limiter: undefined

Details

The error occurs regardless of the permissions of anything in ~/.battery. No log lines appear in ~/.battery/battery.log after the error occurs, no menulet appears in Notification Area, and no processes containing a “battery” string are spawned.

If I run open /Applications/Battery.app from a terminal, the Battery app starts and shows its menulet in the Notification Area:

Battery.app Notification Area menulet:

System state for error reproduction:

1. Mac OS: Ventura 13.3.1 (22E261)
2. Battery installed only ever from Homebrew cask (version 1.1.4), updated today
3. Nothing on the entire system has been installed outside of Homebrew, Nix, and the Mac App Store
4. Permissions opened for config directory: sudo chmod -Rc a+w ~/.battery
5. Battery app not already running (Mac OS likely does nothing when invoking an already-running app from Finder or Spotlight)

If I kill the Battery app by clicking “Quit” on its menulet dropdown menu, then all Finder or Spotlight invocations of Battery show the error dialogue shown above in this message, until battery is run with the command: open /Applications/Battery.app again.

So there is something wrong specifically with the Spotlight and Finder invocations of Battery.

Running processes

After running open /Applications/Battery.app:

$ ps aux | grep -i battery | egrep -v 'grep|tail'
nhooey           84631   0.0  0.0        0      0   ??  ?     5:05PM   0:00.00 /bin/bash /usr/local/bin/battery discharge 80
nhooey           84619   0.0  0.0        0      0   ??  ?     5:05PM   0:00.00 /bin/bash /usr/local/bin/battery maintain_synchronous 80 --force-discharge
nhooey           84450   0.0  0.0        0      0   ??  ?     5:05PM   0:00.00 /Applications/Battery.app/Contents/Frameworks/battery Helper.app/Contents/MacOS/battery Helper --type=utility --utility-sub-type=network.mojom.NetworkService --lang=en-US --service-sandbox-type=network --user-data-dir=/Users/nhooey/Library/Application Support/battery --shared-files --field-trial-handle=1718379636,r,18185961855328760586,18097394644492592706,131072 --disable-features=SpareRendererForSitePerProcess --seatbelt-client=45
nhooey           84443   0.0  0.0        0      0   ??  ?     5:05PM   0:00.00 /Applications/Battery.app/Contents/Frameworks/battery Helper (GPU).app/Contents/MacOS/battery Helper (GPU) --type=gpu-process --user-data-dir=/Users/nhooey/Library/Application Support/battery --gpu-preferences=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 --shared-files --field-trial-handle=1718379636,r,18185961855328760586,18097394644492592706,131072 --disable-features=SpareRendererForSitePerProcess --seatbelt-client=35
nhooey           84387   0.0  0.0        0      0   ??  ?     5:05PM   0:00.00 /Applications/Battery.app/Contents/MacOS/battery

After clicking Quit in the Battery menulet in Notification Area:

nhooey           84631   0.0  0.0        0      0   ??  ?     5:05PM   0:00.00 /bin/bash /usr/local/bin/battery discharge 80
nhooey           84619   0.0  0.0        0      0   ??  ?     5:05PM   0:00.00 /bin/bash /usr/local/bin/battery maintain_synchronous 80 --force-discharge

These last two shell processes are never spawned if battery is removed from System Settings > Login Items > Allow in Background section, but the /Applications/Battery.app GUI application continues to launch and work without issue.