There must be something deeper going on with your system.
I know it's frustrating so bear with us - we are just users like you and hopefully our experience can help you figure out what is going on and get you back working as quickly as possible.
I hope you can try these things as I've spent considerable time writing and compiling these steps for you and hope something helps.
1. Basic Troubleshooting
Update macOS Sonoma to the latest available version (14.7 or newer if possible), as OS updates often include fixes for compatibility issues.
Reset Preferences
Hold down Cmd + Option + Shift (Mac) while launching InDesign. This will reset preferences to default.
***Tip: Create a backup of existing preferences (found under the ~/Library/Preferences/Adobe InDesign folder) to restore later if needed.
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Disable Problematic Plugins or Apps
Check for third-party plugins and temporarily disable them to see if they’re causing crashes.
Ask if apps like Magnet or Window managers are installed; they can interfere with InDesign on macOS.
***TIP: one way to ensure it's another App is to start your Mac In Safe Mode and only launch InDesign - see if it behaves normally - if it does you will know for sure that's there's another app interfering.
You can reboot back to normal mode once you've completed this test..
If it crashes or behaves oddly even in safe mode you will now it's something with the Adobe App itself.
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Deeper options:
Clear InDesign Cache
Go to: ~/Library/Caches/Adobe InDesign/ and delete the contents.
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File-Specific Issues
Test Multiple Files
Open a new, blank document to check if the crashes are file-specific.
If it’s tied to a file, try exporting the problematic document as an IDML file (File > Save As > InDesign Markup (IDML)) and re-opening it. This can repair corruption.
Check Linked Assets
Ensure all linked images/fonts are accessible and not corrupted or missing.
Replace potentially problematic assets in the file to see if stability improves.
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3. Hardware/Performance
System Specs Check
Would still need to know for sure that your new computer meets InDesign’s recommended requirements. While your Mac is newer, issues could arise from RAM, disk space, or resource limitations.
Please tell us your exact system spec.
Check available disk space on the system drive and ensure at least 20–30% is free.
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Graphics Settings
Go to Preferences > GPU Performance and disable GPU Performance to see if it stabilises InDesign. Sometimes, macOS versions conflict with GPU handling.
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Background Processes
Advise closing unnecessary apps or background processes that may hog memory.
4. Advanced Fixes
Reinstalling rarely fixes everything - you can do a complete reinstall using the
Creative Cloud Cleaner Tool https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/kb/cc-cleaner-tool-installation-problems.html
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Check Fonts
Remove recently installed fonts or verify font integrity using macOS's Font Book app.
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Proactive Tips for the Future
Enable Autosave and Backup:
Go to Preferences > File Handling > Automatically Save Recovery Data Every [X] Minutes. Also, consider manually saving backups frequently.
Hopefully you get it working with one of these tips
I'd seriously consider turning off Automatic Updates in Creative Cloud preferences - and I'd also seriously consider turning off Automatic Updates for the Apple OS.
Once you get it working - I'd only update Apps / OS on a 100% need to basis.
Personally I work on Adobe InDesign 2022 - as no new feature has inticed me to 2025 yet. 2022 is stable, my OS is stable and my workflow is fine.
I never have issues on my Windows laptop - 2025/2024/2023 all work cleanly on Windows 10/11 with no issues for me.
I only get issues on the M3 Laptop with 32gb of RAM - once I have a stable workflow on a Mac I tend to leave it alone.
Hope it helps.
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