All libraries missing in Symbol Library Browser after MacOS install

[cth]

Just installed KiCad 5.1.6 on MacOS 10.15. Installer would not let me drag kicad to /Library/Application Support, so I did the copy with finder. No prior installation.

When I open the Symbol Library Browser it is empty, though Preferences > Configure paths indicates symbols are in /Library/Application Support/kicad/library. I removed the Mac quarantine attribute recursively on the kicad directory (which also has all x and r permissions granted), restarted KiCad, and I still have no symbols, though there is plenty in the kicad/library directory.

[pedro]

Read this FAQ.

Library management in KiCad version 5

Disclaimer: screenshots taken in nightly from between version 5.0 and 5.1. Version 5.0.x looks slightly different. Version 5.1.x will look like the screenshots show. This is a detailed lecture. If you want to know how to simply add some assets you downloaded to KiCad then you can read the shorter tutorial https://forum.kicad.info/t/how-to-get-a-downloaded-symbol-footprint-or-full-library-into-kicad/19485/ Summary KiCad does not automatically detect libraries! There is no special library locati…

[cth]

Thanks a lot. Problem solved, by adding a global library (local too) and then following the Using the library manager section of the Library management in KiCad version 5 doc, I was able to select and add everything in the /Library/Application Support/kicad/library directory at once.