Can't toggle "Disable Extensions" in Develop menu in Safari 11.1

Question

mriOS_ Author

Level 1

8 points

Can't toggle "Disable Extensions" in Develop menu in Safari 11.1

macOS High Sierra - Version 10.13.4

MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015)

Safari Version 11.1 (13605.1.33.1.2)

I'm trying to toggle the "Enable Extensions" option in the Develop menu of Safari.

Things I've Tried:

Clicked the menu item to toggle. Toggle doesn't occur.
Tried quitting Safari and starting.
Tried rebooting computer and starting.
Tried uninstalling the browser extension and the associated application from my computer and reinstalling.

I've tried using Safari Technology Preview in the meantime; however, the extension I would like to add can't be installed. There's another error for that problem but if you think it's related, let me know and I'll share the error here as well.

Not sure what else to try here.

Currently, I'm just opening the application on my computer to work around this extension limitation but it's a lot of additional context-switching that I'd rather not have to do.

Thanks for any help,

Melissa

MacBook Pro with Retina display, macOS High Sierra (10.13.4), Safari 11.1

Posted on Apr 12, 2018 12:01 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

dominic23

Level 10

83,952 points

Apr 12, 2018 2:03 PM in response to mriOS_

Safari 11

1. Delete Caches.db and test.

Close all windows and quit all applications.

Hold "option" key down and click "Go" menu in the Finder menu bar.

Select "Library" from the dropdown.

Library > Caches > com.apple.Safari > Caches.db

Right click the Caches.db file and select "Move To Trash”.

Close windows.

Restart and relaunch Safari.

2. Delete com.apple.Safari.plist file and test.

Empty the Trash.

Quit all applications.

Hold the option key down and click the "Go" menu in the Finder menu bar.

Select "Library" from the drop down.

Library > Preferences > com.apple.Safari.plist

Right click on it and select "Move it to Trash".

Restart and relaunch Safari holding the shift key down.

If this doesn’t help, “Put Back” the com.apple.Safari.plist

Right click on the Trash icon in the Dock and select “Open”.

Right click on the com.apple.Safari.plist and select “Put Back”.

Select ”Replace” from the dialog when it appears.

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Answer 2

dominic23

Level 10

83,952 points

Apr 12, 2018 2:25 PM in response to mriOS_

Safari Technology Preview

To install an extension:

Quit Safari if it is open.

Launch Safari Technology Preview.

Go too the Extension site and download it.

Open the Downloads folder.

Right click on the extension name, choose "Open With" and then "Safari Technology Preview"

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Answer 3

mriOS_ Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 15, 2018 8:31 PM in response to dominic23

For this particular workaround in Safari Technology Preview, I've already tried the specific "Open With" workflow along with the usual methods of installing extensions. I still have the following related error prompt when attempting.

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Answer 4

mriOS_ Author

Level 1

8 points

Oct 15, 2018 5:40 PM in response to mriOS_

Hey everyone,

Just discovered what was causing the issues: While trying to toggle "Disable Extensions" in Safari's Develop menu, I kept an eye on the logs in Console. I saw references to "Local Items keybag" being locked so I checked out Keychain Access and saw that my Local Items keychain was locked, which isn't supposed to happen (I couldn't even turn off Screen Lock even though the toggle was registering after I put in my OS password). Then I followed the steps listed here (after I Googled "locked keychain local items") and rebooted.

After that, I can toggle the "Disable Extensions" in Safari 11.1 and can also install and enable extensions in Safari Technology Preview.

So check out if you're having issues with your Local Items keychain!

Thanks,

Melissa

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Answer 5

Apr 12, 2018 10:21 PM in response to mriOS_

Had the same problem. I was on my MacBook and I had to restart it and when I got back on and opened Safari all the extensions I had installed were gone. And I couldn't uncheck "Disable Extensions" from the Develop menu. I tried everything but couldn't find a solution so I just decided to erase the hard drive and do a reinstall of High Sierra. After the reinstall I noticed that I no longer have the Develop menu though.

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Answer 6

mriOS_ Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 15, 2018 8:29 PM in response to dominic23

Thanks for writing out these two sections of steps. Unfortunately, both did not impact my current inability to toggle "Disable Extensions" nor did extensions show up in Safari after following through the steps.

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Answer 7

mriOS_ Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 15, 2018 8:34 PM in response to Eric Root

Unfortunately, I won't be able to reinstall the OS on this machine. It's an employer-managed computer (however, this situation has been unique to me) so I'll be seeing them tomorrow to figure out if they have any issues impacting my ability to install and enable extensions on Safari.

Thanks for the help.

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Answer 8

LindaSMu

Level 1

22 points

Apr 16, 2018 12:29 PM in response to mriOS_

I can't thank you enough, Melissa! You have done what 10 Apple Advisors were unable to do to help me with this problem. Hours and hours over five days. As of late last night, problem was sent to Apple engineers. I need to cancel that! 😍

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Answer 9

mriOS_ Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 16, 2018 3:05 PM in response to LindaSMu

Glad to have been of help!

I recently had my OS password requested to be changed (since it’s an employer-managed computer) and I can only assume my Local Items keychain was a little messed up from that change.

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