A possible solution to 'bad interpreter: operation not permitted' error on Mac OS X Lion

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Out of the blue I started having an issue in my Terminal.app on Lion where
downloaded scripts/applications wouldn’t run. I first noticed this when trying
to setup the Android SDK.

The problem looks like this:

$ ./android: /bin/sh: bad interpreter: Operation not permitted

After a bit of Google-fu, and a bunch of Apple Support Community threads that
ended in people arguing about whether or not TextEdit caused this issue, I found
a cause and a solution.

It turns out that for some reason, on Mac OS X Lion 10.7.3 apple is storing a
com.apple.quarantine metadata file, which prevents executable files from being
executed. Why is it doing this? Probably because the executable file was
downloaded from the internet? who knows?

Anyway, there is a solution:

$ xattr -rd com.apple.quarantine [directory containing the executables]

So, for me with the Android SDK, I ran the following:

$ xattr -rd com.apple.quarantine /android-sdk/

This command deletes the com.apple.quarantine metadata files, allowing you to
execute the executables.

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Published May 12, 2012

Generated from the original post:
https://blog.omgmog.net/post/a-possible-solution-to-bad-interpreter-operation-not-permitted-error-on-mac-os-x-lion/


Max Glenister is an interface designer and senior full-stack developer from
Oxfordshire. He writes mostly about front-end development and technology.

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