Java App not launching on MAC OS Monterey

A user of my software reports that it is not launching on MAC OS Monterey (Intel architecture, a model that cannot be upgraded to MAC OS Ventura). The error message is saying that "the application cannot be opened because it is not compatible with that particular type of Mac" (this is a paraphrase of the user, I haven't seen the actual message, I suspect it is in Portuguese).

I am building my Java application as follows:

  • Open JDK 17
  • Using jpackage for packaging the executable
  • Signing and notarisation following best practice
  • Distribution as a disk image (DMG)
  • Building everything from a MacBook Pro with Ventura 13.4.1

This is working fine for distribution to (many) users with MAC OS Ventura, and it also works fine (with a different build process) for M1 Macs.

I do not have an easy possibility to test and/or build with MAC OS Ventura and I do not have a theory where the problem could come from.

Is there any way that Mac OS Monterey would not be compatible with a Java app built with the above parameters? If so, which? And: Can I tackle the problem from a MAC OS Ventura machine, or would I need yet another machine with MAC OS Monterey installed?

Any pointers in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Thomas

Just to be clear:

  • macOS Ventura is macOS 13

  • macOS Monterey is macOS 12

Can I tackle the problem from a MAC OS Ventura machine, or would I need yet another machine with MAC OS Monterey installed?

I see two two potential issues here:

  • Deployment target issue (macOS 12 vs macOS 13)

  • CPU architecture (Intel vs Apple silicon)

You should be able to use a VM to tease these apart. You can an Apple silicon Mac running macOS 13, right? If so, install macOS 12 as a guest within a VM on that machine. Does your app work there?

Share and Enjoy

Quinn “The Eskimo!” @ Developer Technical Support @ Apple
let myEmail = "eskimo" + "1" + "@" + "apple.com"

Sorry, there was a typo in my post: I wanted to say. "I do not have an easy possibility to test and/or build with MAC OS Monterey". Anyway, thanks for your answer. I didn't know about the "Guest" option and will try that.

Java App not launching on MAC OS Monterey
 
 
Q