Extendscript Toolkit debugger fails: Can't start debug session

Question

Not a programming problem per se, but rather a programming environment problem that I have been unable to find a solution to.

The problem relates to Adobe's Extendscript Toolkit (both 3.5 and 4), but so far I haven't been able to solve the problem, so here I am...

The error I get has appeared more or less over night. I didn't experience this problem yesterday, nor this morning. But exactly WHAT has happened is beyond me. I have removed preferences, I have uninstalled, reinstalled, created a new user, restored old preferences from Time Machine and I'm now pretty much lost for options.

Basically, nothing works in ESTK anymore. Just opening ESTK and entering alert('Hello') won't work. Neither will $.writeln(). Everything running from within ESTK seems to give the same error;

Cannot execute script in target engine 'main'

With details:

Cannot execute script in target engine 'main'!

(#1116) Can't start debug session.

Below is a screenshot taken from the new user I created to test, same problem.

The "funny" thing is that all the scripts (InDesign CS5, still hanging on to it for reasons) still work perfectly in the applications' script panels. So there is nothing wrong with the scripts (heck, they haven't changed one bit, and still refuses to run in ESTK).

As mentioned, I've tried installing the ESTK CC (version 4) as well, but the very same problem occurs there. Which leads me to think the problem lies somewhere else, but I do not know where, and why.

So, if anyone can shed any light on this issue, at all, I would be very happy. Debugging is basically the only thing ESTK is good for in my book, but now that even that functionality is gone, I don't know how to efficiently debug the scripts which is kind of hampering the workflow.

For reference, I'm running InDesign CS5 (from the old Creative Suite) on a 2008 Mac Pro with 10.11.6 (El Capitan) installed. Well aware that it's pretty out of date, but that is beside the point here.

Landholder

I've tried in a VM running 10.11 with only ESTK CC installed, and it gives the same error message with alert() with ESTK as target. For clarification, I'm not looking to get the alert() or $.writeln() to work, but they produce the same error as shown in the image above. So, it is mainly for showing the error, which is the same for scripts KNOWN to work in ESTK earlier. – Landholder

Same here. I had a few security Updates and now i've got the message. I can run scripts, but the message is annoying. – Tippler

Also getting the same problem with Photoshop CS5 when trying to use ESTK. Just doing: #target "Photoshop" #targetengine "session" ...switches the engine to "session", but the error still occurs. – Landholder

posted on the adobe forum to enhance visibility forums.adobe.com/message/10761172#10761172 – Tippler

This seems to be the case for all users and computers, regardles of versions! Setting back the computer clock helps. Probably a certificate problem. – Hippocampus

Answer 1

In the above mentioned forum, Adobe has published a stable workaround!You just have to correct a setting inside the estk application:

1. Open the file(Mac): “/Applications/Adobe ExtendScript Toolkit CC/ExtendScript Toolkit.app/Contents/SharedSupport/Required/cdic/11BTBackend.jsx”
2. Search for the value: 604800000 (line reads bt.timeout = 604800000)
3. Replace that value with 604800 and save
4. Quit ExtendScript Toolkit and relaunch.

I can confirm that it works.

Hippocampus

Yes, I can confirm that this fix works in ESTK 3.5 as well, so we're all good to go! – Landholder

This works, and it is ridiculous that this there is no update for this. I get that the ExtendScript Toolkit is kinda dead, but they are lucky the people using it are programmers. Its like you have a programing challenge to be able to use it. – Culottes

Working with AE2020 with ExtrendScriptToolKit 4.0.0.1 - oh my various Gods, thank you! – Hughmanick

Answer 2

From the adobe Forum :
"we have found a first workaround: just change your date to any date before 20-nov-2018"

https://forums.adobe.com/message/10761440#10761440

Seems like a date issue :(

Dichroscope

Answer 3

I just published a quick update about this on the Adobe Tech Blog.

For the time being, if you dismiss the dialog, you can still run your script via ESTK and step through code as usual.

Alternatively, if you really want to avoid the dialogs, and you don’t mind setting your clock back, you can sidestep the issue by setting your system clock back to November 19, 2018 or before. On most systems, changing the system time can have unintended side effects, so this isn’t recommended unless you’re really certain about it.

Unbonnet

As @tristan-g notes above, you should follow this thread on the Adobe forums for updates on the issue: forums.adobe.com/message/10761440 – Unbonnet