Safari Extensions folder missing.

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Level 1

14 points

Safari Extensions folder missing.

no such file or directory: ~/Library/Safari/Extensions

I'm looking to restore my Safari extensions since they spontaneously disappeared. Every source I've found says look in ~/Library/Safari/Extensions yet there is no folder "Extensions" in ~/Library/Safari. This is true of my other account on the same machine, yet that account's Safari still has its extensions.

And no, I can't just bite the bullet and go re-download and reconfigure every extension again (why should I have to that?), because the most important extension has been rejected from the App Store (Pinboard Tools) so I can't get that and I use that one every single day.

What I really want to know is why does everyone else apparently have a ~/Library/Safari/Extensions directory and I do not?

I'm using:

Monterey 12.6.2

Safari 16.2

MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019)

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 12.6

Posted on Feb 15, 2023 1:45 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

John Galt

Level 10

142,250 points

Feb 17, 2023 12:58 PM in response to Leif Arthur

That folder is used for what Apple calls "legacy Safari extensions" which will no longer load in recent Safari versions. They may have been removed in Monterey, or perhaps an earlier macOS version.

Although I cannot explain its spontaneous disappearance, you can delete that folder (or leave it deleted) since it is a vestige of that superseded Safari version. Perhaps macOS deleted it if no Extensions remained, or if they had been deactivated, but the deletion of that folder escaped my notice.

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Answer 2

John Galt

Level 10

142,250 points

Feb 16, 2023 6:01 AM in response to Leif Arthur

Leif Arthur wrote:

no such file or directory: ~/Library/Safari/Extensions

It is possible to delete that folder. Lacking any additional information from you it is not possible for anyone to determine whether you or some non-Apple product on your Mac did that either intentionally or unintentionally.

You can just as easily re-create that folder. Given the spontaneous disappearance you describe I suspect there is more to the story though.

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Answer 3

Leif Arthur Author

Level 1

14 points

Feb 17, 2023 10:03 AM in response to John Galt

After two reboots the Pinboard Tools extension reappeared. But, I am curious why ~/Library/Safari/Extensions is missing. I understand that it can be deleted, but there are four user accounts on the machine and it doesn't exist in any of them. If I look into my oldest Time Machine backup, it isn't there either. Yet, the extensions have come back. So I don't see any point in re-creating the folder if it's not being used.

I would like to understand what's going on, so I can fix extension problems in the future. Is there any log file that could provide insight?

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Safari Extensions folder missing.

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