Update on the Grist Desktop App

ferran · March 11, 2025, 1:53pm

I am using grist Desktop and under version I see there is a new release for core, 1.4.2.
Any plans / ETA to release a new Desktop version with the updated core ?
Thanks

paul-grist · March 11, 2025, 4:38pm

Yes. Thanks for asking. We often leave this until someone asks, just to learn about desktop usage

Should happen this week.

ferran · March 12, 2025, 11:13am

Great, appreciate it. Looking forward to the update.

paul-grist · March 14, 2025, 3:40pm

Out now, if you have time to check it.

ferran · March 14, 2025, 7:39pm

Just installed it, thanks!, will let you know how it goes.

George_Sanses · March 16, 2025, 6:59pm

Hello all,
I am new here and started this week with the Grist Desktop 0.3.0. The version 0.3.0 was good but the update 0.3.1 failed, I get messages about ‘Java not find’ and a long list of messages. Grist Desktop 0.3.1 does open but spontaneously closes again. My macbook pro (2015) and mac mini (2014) are both running macOS Montery (12.7.6). Now I am using GD 0.3.0 again and it works fine but I prefer the latest version of GD 0.3.1.

Pierre-Jean_Turpeau · March 18, 2025, 10:40am

Hi,
On my side I also get some running problems with the Windows Desktop App.
The executable bundle does not even start, so I use the zipped version.
Very quickly I have obscure errors that raise when editing tables.

It is true with the latest version but it was the case with all previous versions.

I now use the Linux AppImage version through a technical server which is not very handy when I’m disconnected from the network…

I would like to help investigate the problem, but I don’t know how to proceed.

paul-grist · March 19, 2025, 6:59pm

Sorry it isn’t working for you @George_Sanses. @georgegevoian you have it working on a Mac, what OS version are you on? The “Java” related errors are surprising, Grist itself doesn’t use Java but maybe something in the packaging does?

@Pierre-Jean_Turpeau do you think you could start Grist from a command terminal and see if any useful messages are logged prior to the failure? Yes I think the zipped version was made specifically because the executable would need admin privileges to install itself.

georgegevoian · March 19, 2025, 7:24pm

@George_Sanses, does the error look like a modal with title “A JavaScript error occurred in the main process”? Could you also check if you installed Grist 0.3.1 from grist-desktop-0.3.1-mac-x64.dmg and not grist-desktop-0.3.1-mac-arm64.dmg? (The two can be easy to mix up; the latter only works on Apple Silicon Macs.)

Pierre-Jean_Turpeau · March 20, 2025, 11:06am

@paul-grist I did launch it from the command line, you’ll find the errors outputs attached.

grist_errors.txt (5.5 KB)

paul-grist · March 20, 2025, 12:24pm

Thanks @Pierre-Jean_Turpeau that’s helpful! The error looks to be a dependency of Grist called pidusage, when it tries to measure CPU usage. I see an issue here that flags a change specifically in Windows:

github.com/soyuka/pidusage

WMIC command deprecated in Windows11 24H2

opened 07:48AM - 23 Jan 25 UTC

closed 09:11AM - 03 Feb 25 UTC

huangkairan

**API Platform version(s) affected**: 3.0.2 **Description** The implementation… of Windows in the program uses the wmic command, but Windows 11 removed the wmic command in the 24H2 version, causing an error ![Image](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/46fe16f6-9f71-4dd0-b85d-6a688e687d22) ![Image](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/af51777a-badb-4261-b06f-fe71e056e0ee) **How to reproduce** **Possible Solution** Using PowerShell instead of WMIC **Additional Context** Windows blog of removing WMIC: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/windows-itpro-blog/wmi-command-line-wmic-utility-deprecation-next-steps/4039242

Looks like there has been a fix in pidusage, so it would suffice for someone to update the version used by Grist. I’ll add it to our queue.

George_Sanses · March 20, 2025, 7:18pm

My macbook pro (2015) and mac mini (2014) are both running macOS Montery (12.7.6). This is the message :

Uncaught Exception:
Error: Cannot find module ‘/Applications/Grist Desktop.app/Contents/Resources/app.asar/node_modules/@gristlabs/sqlite3/lib/binding/napi-v6-darwin-unknown-x64/node_sqlite3.node’
Require stack:

/Applications/Grist Desktop.app/Contents/Resources/app.asar/node_modules/@gristlabs/sqlite3/lib/sqlite3-binding.js
/Applications/Grist Desktop.app/Contents/Resources/app.asar/node_modules/@gristlabs/sqlite3/lib/sqlite3.js
/Applications/Grist Desktop.app/Contents/Resources/app.asar/core/_build/app/gen-server/lib/TypeORMPatches.js
/Applications/Grist Desktop.app/Contents/Resources/app.asar/core/_build/app/gen-server/lib/homedb/HomeDBManager.js
/Applications/Grist Desktop.app/Contents/Resources/app.asar/core/_build/app/server/lib/DocApi.js
/Applications/Grist Desktop.app/Contents/Resources/app.asar/core/_build/app/server/lib/ActiveDoc.js
/Applications/Grist Desktop.app/Contents/Resources/app.asar/core/_build/ext/app/electron/GristApp.js
/Applications/Grist Desktop.app/Contents/Resources/app.asar/core/_build/ext/app/electron/main.js

at Module._resolveFilename (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1151:15)
at s._resolveFilename (node:electron/js2c/browser_init:2:120292)
at Module._load (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:992:27)
at c._load (node:electron/js2c/node_init:2:13672)
at Module.require (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1242:19)
at require (node:internal/modules/helpers:176:18)
at Object. (/Applications/Grist Desktop.app/Contents/Resources/app.asar/node_modules/@gristlabs/sqlite3/lib/sqlite3-binding.js:4:17)
at Module._compile (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1391:14)
at Module._extensions…js (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1451:10)
at Module.load (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1214:32)
at Module._load (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1030:12)
at c._load (node:electron/js2c/node_init:2:13672)
at Module.require (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1242:19)
at require (node:internal/modules/helpers:176:18)
at Object. (/Applications/Grist Desktop.app/Contents/Resources/app.asar/node_modules/@gristlabs/sqlite3/lib/sqlite3.js:2:17)
at Module._compile (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1391:14)

The End. When I install the old version 0.3.0 nothing is wrong.

paul-grist · March 20, 2025, 7:48pm

Hmm thanks for that @George_Sanses. If I download https://github.com/gristlabs/grist-desktop/releases/download/v0.3.1/grist-desktop-0.3.1-mac-x64.zip I can see that file present in the app.asar bundle in Grist Desktop.app/Contents/Resources. Can you confirm that you downloaded the mac-x64 version and not the mac-arm64 version?

George_Sanses · March 20, 2025, 8:16pm

Yes Paul, I can confirm that. I tried both the .dmg and the zip (mac-x64) file but both give the same error messages.

paul-grist · March 28, 2025, 9:56pm

@George_Sanses I changed the how the the mac-x64 build is done, could you see if it makes any difference? And @Pierre-Jean_Turpeau I updated a dependency that may be relevant to latest Windows could you see if it makes any difference for you?

George_Sanses · March 28, 2025, 11:12pm

Thanks Paul, it looks like this update is working well. I have Grist Desktop (0.3.2 mac x64) up and running.

Pierre-Jean_Turpeau · March 29, 2025, 11:15pm

Hi @paul-grist
Yes, it seems this new version is fixing my problem under windows 11.
I did quick testing and yes I was unable to reproduce the error.
I’m currently commuting, so I’ll do more extensive testing with a more complex grist document next week.
No news == good news of course
Thank you for the very quick fix.
KR

Angela_Smailes · April 18, 2025, 6:35pm

Hi, I am getting the same error as above -

- after downloading Grist Desktop onto my Macbook Air M1 - Sequoia 15.2. Did I download the right thing - do I need to add something else? I’m not a programmer and need very specific, concrete instructions. Are there any very simple explainer pages or videos I’ve missed? Your videos and tutorials on how to use the program are great, but there seems to be a gap regarding various versions (did go through the list quite a few times on your tutorial page), how they work, and how to download them properly for us non-programmers. Have been trying out the program online and, after two years of looking and trying every app I can find, think it’s really going to work for me - just hope I can get a stable version on my computer! Thank you, Angela

paul-grist · April 30, 2025, 5:03pm

^ any other mac users out there seeing the “spawn UNKNOWN” problem? @Angela_Smailes no you shouldn’t need to do anything else. Sorry for this problem.

Angela_Smailes · May 3, 2025, 5:52pm

Hi - sorry to report I got this message (Disk I/o error) after trying to add a new column in a new table -

. And this message when I tried to get back into my files after shutting down (10:51:11 SQLITE_CANTOPEN: unable to open database file)
. Would appreciate any help to solve this problem so I can start using Grist on my computer! Thank you, Angela