electron helper

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Level 1

8 points

electron helper

Several weeks ago, my Cricut Design Space app started locking up. When I would force quit and go back in, any project I was working on was corrupted. I finally pinpointed the problem - every time I open Design Space a process named Electron Helper opens. I see Electron Helper (GPU) and Electron Helper (Renderer). I Googled Electron Helper and found CPU-eating issues that go back a number of years. The information says, "Electron Helper is a software application for Mac OSX. It lets you build cross-platform desktop apps using JavaScript, HTML, and CSS." I've tried uninstalling it, but it won't drag to the trash. Can somebody please tell me how I can get it off my MacBook Air?? I'm running Mojave 10.14.5.

Posted on Mar 20, 2020 10:43 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

azrael

Level 1

44 points

Mar 21, 2020 1:53 PM in response to wsdareme

Electron is a framework for developing desktop applications using web technologies such as Node.js. Many applications are built on top of it, including Cricut Design Space. If you remove those Electron apps, I'd expect the software to stop working properly.

You can verify this by holding the control key and clicking on the application icon (or right click) and select Show Package Contents from the menu that pops up. In the new window, look in Contents/Frameworks and you will see both Electron Helper (GPU).app and Electron Helper (Renderer).app.

TL;DR;

Don't delete those applications - maybe look for an update to the design application instead.

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Answer 2

Mar 20, 2020 11:01 PM in response to wsdareme

Hello, wsdareme.

Sorry to hear you'e having this problem with software.

When you try to drag the offender to the trash, are you presented any sort of warning or dialog?

I suggest you first visit the app developer's website for uninstall instructions.

If you find nothing helpful there, then I suggest you give this little utility a try - AppCleaner.

It's one of very few apps that gets recommended regularly here in the Community.

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Answer 3

wsdareme Author

Level 1

8 points

Mar 21, 2020 11:07 AM in response to D.I. Johnson

When I try to drag it to the trash, nothing happens. No dialog, warning or message of any sort.

I haven't been able to find any information on who the developer is.

I have googled instructions for deleting/uninstalling it, and I have followed those instruction by instruction. But they don't work.

I'll try AppCleaner - thanks for the suggestion/1

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Answer 4

wsdareme Author

Level 1

8 points

Mar 23, 2020 10:13 AM in response to azrael

Thanks for the info! And you're right - Design Space does need Electron to run.

I did more research and stumbled across an online article about Design Space locking up if you try to save a project that has too many layers. I had been heeding the advice of the Cricut expert I consulted and not using a tool (Weld) to merge the layers when creating sticker files (every word of text had a layer for each letter). According to the article I needed to use Weld to minimize the number of layers. Eureka! It worked. So now I know.........

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electron helper

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