Slack is a well-liked application for team communication that many teams and businesses use to improve productivity. However, like any other software, Slack can sometimes encounter issues.
One such problem that Mac users face is the error message “An update is ready to install. Slack is trying to add a new helper tool.”
This message can be frustrating, but fear not, as we’ll guide you through the steps to resolve this issue and get Slack up and running on your Mac.
Fix Slack Is Trying to Add a New Helper Tool on Mac
According to the source, This happens when Applications Slack is owned by the root, rather than the user. There are two main ways to fix the “Slack Is Trying to Add a New Helper Tool” pop-up on your Mac.
You can either change the app ownership of Slack or reinstall the app to resolve the issue. We will explain both methods in detail in this article.
So let’s get started!
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Change the App Ownership for the Slack App
This happens when the root owns the /Applications/Slack.app and not the user. You can change the ownership by simply using the chown terminal command.
Here are steps to change the Slack app ownership:
- Open the Terminal by pressing the command + Space on your keyboard and then search Terminal and hit enter.
- On the command line, type ls -la /Applications/Slack.app, then hit Return.
- After running the command, If you see root admin, it means the app is owned by the root.
- To change the Slack app ownership type sudo chown -R $USER:staff /Applications/Slack.app and hit Return.
Note: The $User variable should automatically be replaced with your Mac username. If it doesn’t, then replace it with your Mac user name.
By following these steps you will get rid of the “Slack helper tool keeps popping up” pop-up issue on your Mac.
Remove and Reinstall Slack
If you still see the Slack Is trying to add a new helper tool pop-up then you need to remove the Slack app and reinstall it again.
Remove Slack
Slack may be uninstalled by dragging it to the Trash in Finder.
Here’s how,
- Open the Finder app on your Mac. You can open the Finder app by doing a Spotlight search.
- On the left pane click Application under the Favourites section.
- Find the Slack app and Double-click on it or control + click on the Finder app.
- Click on Move to Trash from the context menu.
It will uninstall Slack from your Mac.
Reinstall Slack from the App Store
Slack may be installed by going to the app store on your Mac.
Let’s install Slack,
- Open the App Store on your Mac (Press Command + Space Bar and type App Store.)
- Enter Slack in the top-left search field of the App Store window and hit return.
- Tap on GET next to Slack for Desktop.
- Next, click on Install and enter your Mac password.
- Once the download is completed, you can find Slack in Launchpad, in your Applications folder or you can use Spotlight search (Command + Space Bar).
Launch the Slack app, log in to the app and use it. You should not see the pop-up “Slack Is Trying to Add a New Helper Tool on Mac” issue anymore.
FAQs
Q1. What does it mean when Slack is trying to add a new helper tool on my Mac?
Ans: Slack is attempting to install a helper tool on your Mac that will allow it to conduct certain system-level activities. This is frequently required for specific functionality to function properly.
Q2. How do I remove Slack Helper from my Mac?
Ans: Slack helper can be removed from your Mac by changing the app’s ownership or reinstalling it from the App Store.
Wrapping up…
The “Slack Is Trying to Add a New Helper Tool” error on your Mac can be an inconvenience. With these troubleshooting steps, you can quickly get Slack back up and running.
If the issue persists after trying all the solutions mentioned above, you may need to reach out to Slack’s support team for further assistance.
In most cases, though, one of these steps should resolve the problem, allowing you to continue using Slack for seamless team communication.
