Bridge won't open

First, please try the following that costs nothing and takes a few moments of time:

Do you have a test user account on your Mac? If not, it's easy to create; you go into Users in System Preferences and create a new user. I call mine "Testme." and I also use the same Account Password as my regular account (just to make things simple for me and there's nothing to forget). Do not add ANY software to the startup lists; keep this as simple as possible. (Do have your Adobe Account name & PW handy if you need them available in this account.)

Now, start up with this account. Does Bridge work? If not, that means that there is no software conflict. If yes, it means there is something else causing the problem. This can be a challenge to figure out what the issue is.

Other things you can try: Start up your Mac in Safe Mode. (Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support https://support.apple.com › guide › mac-help › mac) This test will also let you rule out some basics.

If you're willing to try one more thing, I'd like to suggest you try [recent release name] Cache Cleaner*. I've been using this for maybe 20-ish years (?) I was having a really bad issue with Acrobat. I tried this, and the problem went away. Recently, I was unable to type an "n" dash (used to place a slightly longer hyphen in between a range, such as I take "110 – 15 steps each hour. I could type hyphens and "m" dashes (—), just not "n" dashes. Apple wanted me to do a whole reinstall of Ventura, something that I really didn't want to do.

So, I stared up ≈CC, ran it, and my "n" dashes came back. The good news is that VCC can be used for ten days before you have to pay for it, so if it doesn't work or you just do not want it. Nothing harmed but a tad of time. Personally, I do not run it all that often, maybe 2–3 times per year. I tend to run it when my computer is acting dumb and needs a dope-slap.

*The name changes as the system changes, so it was once Big Sur Cache Cleaner, Sonoma, Cache Cleaner, etc. 

Here's where to download it: (https://www.northernsoftworks.com/)

There are two, maybe two, tabs I typically use: Maintenance, Cache Cleaning, and sometimes I also do the Optimize.

Click on the Maintenance tab:

I check everything there is (clicking on “All” in the upper right corner does the same thing) and click Run. You may or may not have to restart depending on what it finds and what it does.

Then, if things are acting a bit “off” I might do the Cache Cleaning thing. This is what sold it for me.

I’ve done a Medium Cleaning and clicked all three options. There have been times I did a deep cleaning. I'd do the Medium before the Deep and see if that solves the problem. Depending on what it finds, it may or may not require a restart of the computer. 

Lastly is the Optimize. I can’t say I’ve seen that much difference with this, but it doesn’t seem to hurt. Your mileage, as they say, may vary.

There is a manual if you want to get a more knowledgeable background on what to click on.

If this helps, please let me know. 

I neither work for Adobe nor Northern Software. I do support both because they help me get my work done. 

Maybe the bridge is pinned and runs on a second screen/workspace?

On Windows, Bridge sometimes freezes on startup, creating a background process. Closing all instances in the task manager and starting again helps me.