Aperture does not launch because Library is locked

In a certain rare situation, you may see this message when you try to launch Aperture:

"The database for the library ' /Aperture Library.aplibrary' is locked and cannot be used at this time."

If you Get Info on the Aperture Library package, it shows normal read-write permissions, and the Locked box is not selected.

Solution

Follow these steps:

  1. Open the Terminal (located at /Applications/Utilities).
  2. At the prompt, type "cd " (note the space).
  3. Drag the folder that contains your Aperture Library into the Terminal window. After that, the command line will look something like this (but will vary depending on the path to your library): 
    cd /yourusername/Pictures/
  4. Press Return.
  5. Type: cd Aperture\\ Library.aplibrary/Aperture.aplib
  6. Press Return.

    Warning:The next step uses the "rm" command. Misuse of the rm command can result in unintended data loss, up to and including the entire contents of your hard disk. So be sure to type the command as shown.
  7. Type: rm Library.apdb.lock
  8. Press Return.
Published Date: Oct 7, 2016