pgAdmin 4 Version 9.16 Startup Failure on macOS Intel

[colliert]

(see also #10110 describing same symptoms on Ubuntu machine),

pgAdmin 4 Version 9.16 Startup Failure on macOS Intel

Environment

Hardware: 2019 iMac (Intel x86_64)

Operating System:
macOS 15.7.7 (Sequoia)

Working Version:
pgAdmin 4 v9.15

Version Details:

• Version: 9.15
• Commit: 86a8b16 (2026-05-06)
• Python: 3.13.13
• Electron: 42.0.0

Failing Version:
pgAdmin 4 v9.16

Installations Tested:

1. Homebrew Cask installation
2. Official pgAdmin installer download

Installer Filename:
pgadmin4-9.16-x64.dmg

Issue Summary

After installing pgAdmin 4 v9.16, the splash screen appears and displays:

"Waiting for pgAdmin 4 to start"

The application never progresses beyond the splash screen.

The same behavior occurs whether v9.16 is installed via Homebrew or from the official x64 DMG installer.

Troubleshooting Performed

• Verified no existing pgAdmin processes were running.
• Reinstalled OpenSSL via Homebrew.
• Removed pgAdmin lock files and restarted.
• Tested both Homebrew and direct-download installations of v9.16.
• Reinstalled pgAdmin 4 v9.15.

Result:
v9.15 starts and operates normally on the same system.

Error Observed in pgAdmin 9.16 Log

Traceback (most recent call last):

ImportError: dlopen(...cryptography/hazmat/bindings/_rust.abi3.so...)

Library not loaded:
/usr/local/opt/openssl@3/lib/libssl.3.dylib

Reason:
mapping process and mapped file (non-platform) have different Team IDs

Additional Notes

This issue appears specific to v9.16. Reinstalling v9.15 immediately restored normal operation without any other system changes.

I am submitting this report for informational purposes. Unfortunately, I do not have the expertise to assist further with debugging or code changes, but I wanted to document a reproducible startup failure affecting an Intel-based macOS system.

[duncand]

I came here to report this same problem. Besides 9.16 likewise failing for me on MacOS 15.7.7 Intel, it ALSO likewise fails for me on MacOS 26.5.1 ARM. This happened both with Homebrew and with the package from the PgAdmin website. Reinstall didn't fix it. Installing 9.15 instead worked again.

[trevorrea]

The full error I'm getting with 9.16 on Mac 26.5.1 is:-

Total spawn time to start the pgAdmin4 server: 0.004 Sec
Traceback (most recent call last):

  File "/Applications/pgAdmin 4.app/Contents/Resources/web/pgAdmin4.py", line 38, in <module>
    import config
  File "/Applications/pgAdmin 4.app/Contents/Resources/web/config.py", line 33, in <module>
    from pgadmin.utils import env, IS_WIN, fs_short_path
  File "/Applications/pgAdmin 4.app/Contents/Resources/web/pgadmin/__init__.py", line 46, in <module>
    from pgadmin.utils.session import create_session_interface, pga_unauthorised
  File "/Applications/pgAdmin 4.app/Contents/Resources/web/pgadmin/utils/session.py", line 35, in <module>
    from cryptography.fernet import Fernet, InvalidToken
  File "/Applications/pgAdmin 4.app/Contents/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.13/lib/python3.13/site-packages/cryptography/fernet.py", line 15, in <module>
    from cryptography.exceptions import InvalidSignature
  File "/Applications/pgAdmin 4.app/Contents/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.13/lib/python3.13/site-packages/cryptography/exceptions.py", line 9, in <module>
    from cryptography.hazmat.bindings._rust import exceptions as rust_exceptions
ImportError: dlopen(/Applications/pgAdmin 4.app/Contents/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.13/lib/python3.13/site-packages/cryptography/hazmat/bindings/_rust.abi3.so, 0x0002): Library not loaded: /usr/local/opt/openssl@3/lib/libssl.3.dylib
  Referenced from: <7B82453A-6A52-3497-ADC5-B6AE67F1C00B> /Applications/pgAdmin 4.app/Contents/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.13/lib/python3.13/site-packages/cryptography/hazmat/bindings/_rust.abi3.so
  Reason: tried: '/usr/local/opt/openssl@3/lib/libssl.3.dylib' (code signature in <E7B4082C-03E5-3E69-A3FE-02BF02CE9FB4> '/usr/local/Cellar/openssl@3/3.6.2/lib/libssl.3.dylib' not valid for use in process: mapped file has no cdhash, completely unsigned? Code has to be at least ad-hoc signed.), '/System/Volumes/Preboot/Cryptexes/OS/usr/local/opt/openssl@3/lib/libssl.3.dylib' (no such file), '/usr/local/opt/openssl@3/lib/libssl.3.dylib' (code signature in <E7B4082C-03E5-3E69-A3FE-02BF02CE9FB4> '/usr/local/Cellar/openssl@3/3.6.2/lib/libssl.3.dylib' not valid for use in process: mapped file has no cdhash, completely unsigned? Code has to be at least ad-hoc signed.), '/usr/local/Cellar/openssl@3/3.6.2/lib/libssl.3.dylib' (code signature in <E7B4082C-03E5-3E69-A3FE-02BF02CE9FB4> '/usr/local/Cellar/openssl@3/3.6.2/lib/libssl.3.dylib' not valid for use in process: mapped file has no cdhash, completely unsigned? Code has to be at least ad-hoc signed.), '/System/Volumes/Preboot/Cryptexes/OS/usr/local/Cellar/openssl@3/3.6.2/lib/libssl.3.dylib' (no such file), '/usr/local/Cellar/openssl@3/3.6.2/lib/libssl.3.dylib' (code signature in <E7B4082C-03E5-3E69-A3FE-02BF02CE9FB4> '/usr/local/Cellar/openssl@3/3.6.2/lib/libssl.3.dylib' not valid for use in process: mapped file has no cdhash, completely unsigned? Code has to be at least ad-hoc signed.)

[christian-glattfelder-at-ethz]

Hello,

can confirm the issue for the Intel build only, on both Intel based macOS Tahoe, as well as for ARM based macOS Sequoia ( only when running the Intel version, the native ARM version works fine ).
I suspect that the intel build machine had some non-standard libraries present on the filesystem that were linked into the python libraries while building the 9.16 release.
Can also confirm 9.15 intel build working fine.