Software⏱️ 2 min read📅 2026-05-31

How to Fix: IntelliJ says 'cannot run program '/path/to/tomcat/bin/catalina.sh' error=13 permission denied

IntelliJ permission denied error when running Tomcat. Solution: Run IntelliJ as administrator or change ownership of the Tomcat bin directory.

Quick Answer: Run IntelliJ as administrator or use `sudo` to change ownership of the Tomcat bin directory.

IntelliJ Ultimate users often encounter the 'cannot run program '/path/to/tomcat/bin/catalina.sh' error=13 permission denied' issue when running a bare bone Spring MVC application. This problem occurs due to the lack of permissions for the Tomcat user to execute the catalina.sh script.

🔧 Proven Troubleshooting Steps

Method 1: Changing Tomcat User Permissions

  1. Step 1: Open the Terminal on your Mac and navigate to the Tomcat bin directory where the catalina.sh script is located.

Method 2: Running as Root User

  1. Step 1: Open the Terminal on your Mac and run the following command: `sudo /path/to/tomcat/bin/catalina.sh` (be cautious when running as root user)

🎯 Final Words

To resolve the 'cannot run program '/path/to/tomcat/bin/catalina.sh' error=13 permission denied' issue in IntelliJ Ultimate, try one of the above methods. Remember to always be cautious when running as root user.

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