How to Fix Steam Won't Open on Mac [Ventura/Sonoma/Monterey]

You should be very familiar with Steam if you are a game enthusiast, and have you ever encountered Steam won't open on Mac when you get everything ready? This post will save you in the nick of time.

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You will undoubtedly be in a low mood when you get everything ready for a game, but your Steam won't open on Mac. You have tried upgrading your macOS, but it failed to work.

Hey, I was trying to download Steam, but after I installed the app and tried to open it, the icon bounced once and then stopped. I try to check and uncheck Steam in Accessibility in System Preferences, but it's not even there. I restarted the computer, but it still didn't work. I updated it to Big Sur, but it still didn't work.  - from Reddit

Do not hurry to argue heatedly with others. Read this post, and you will learn four easy tips to help you solve Steam not opening Mac.

Solution 1. Clear Steam Cache Files to Fix Mac Steam Won't Open

If there are some cache files remaining because of the connection error of Steam, you are highly likely unable to open Steam on your Mac. You just need to delete these files and troubleshoot Steam won't load on Mac like this:

Step 1. Go to your hard drive > "Library" > "Application Support" and find the Steam folder and delete it.

Step 2. Hold Shift + ⌘ + G together or select "Go to Folder".

Step 3. Type ~/Library/Caches then ~/Library/Preferences and then ~/Library/Logs to visit the target folder and delete Steam from all of them.

Now, restart your Steam to see if it works.

clear steam cache files

You can refer to this post to find the location of the steam files on Mac:

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Where Are Steam Games Stored in SteamOS/Windows/macOS

In this passage, you will learn the Steam game location on Windows, macOS, and SteamOS.

where steam game stored

Solution 2. Adjust the Accessibility of Steam to Solve Steam Not Opening

Like other apps on Mac, Steam needs to have accessibility to work normally and smoothly. If you don't permit its accessibility when you install Steam, Stem will bounce and stop you from opening it. If you close the window and ignore this prompt, you may be unable to open the Steam app error. This is also workable when Steam quit unexpectedly on Mac.

Here is how you can solve this:

Step 1. Click the Apple logo on the left-right and go to "System Preferences" > "Security & Privacy".

Step 2. Under the Privacy tab, choose "Accessibility". Click the padlock in the bottom left corner to make changes. 

Step 3. Click the "+" and find Steam from the Applications folder. Click "Open", then quit and restart Steam.

adjust accessibility

Share this post on Twitter or Reddit to help more users fix Steam won't open on Mac:

 

Solution 3. Uninstall And Reinstall Steam to Fix Steam Mac Can't Open

It is also a wise choice to reinstall Steam if there is something wrong with the downloading process. Just delete all relevant files and reinstall Steam on your Mac like this:

Step 1. Quit Steam. Go to "Finder" > "Applications folder".

Step 2. Drag Steam to the Trash. Now, find "Go" > "Go to Folder" from the top menu.

Step 3. Copy and paste this path, then press Enter:~/Library/Application Support/Steam.

Step 4. Delete all the files and folders inside and leave the steamapps folder. Empty the Trash and download Steam again.

reinstall steam and leave the folder

Solution 4. Update Steam to Resolve Stam Fails to Open on Mac

The easiest but often neglected way is to update your to the latest version of Steam in case of some unknown bugs. 

The step-by-step guide is provided below.

Step 1. Go to "Finder" > "Applications" and right-click on Steam. Choose "Show Package Contents".

Step 2. Click "Contents" > "macOS". Then, double-click the file labeled steam_osx.

Step 3. Wait for the Terminal to open and update Steam automatically.

Bonus Tips: How to Repair Corrupted Game Files Online

Once you have fixed this, Steam won't open on Mac error; you can launch the game you want. But you may also run into the Steam game won't open on Mac problems due to game save file corruption. Then, what should we do? This is the time when EaseUS Online Document Repair shines. 

This tool can repair video game files online and deal with common file corruption online for free. It can also repair corrupted invalid Zip files, game save files, and more damaged files, no matter the reason or the damage level.

FAQs 

In this post, we have looked at four fixes for Steam failing to open on Mac. To know more details, read the FAQs here:

1. How do I fix Steam not opening?

Do as follows:

  • End Steam process through the Task Manager
  • Clear and clean the Steam app cache
  • Reinstall Steam and restart the Steam

2. How do I get Steam to work on my Mac?

You just need to visit store.steampowered.com. and click "Install Steam" at the top of the page. 

3. Is Steam not compatible with Mac?

Sure. Steam does work on Mac besides Windows and Linux. 

Closure

Why doesn't Steam open on Mac? There are chances that the server is overwhelmed by the requests. Corrupted data, wrong date and time, or the most common network issues may also lead to this Steam won't open on Mac error. You can always fix Steam, which won't run on Mac by clearing the cache, adjusting the accessibility, and reinstalling or updating Steam. If your game files get corrupted, use the online file repair tool EaseUS Online Video Repair for help.

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About the Author

author Finley

Finley

Finley is interested in reading and writing articles about technical knowledge. Her articles mainly focus on file repair and data recovery.

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