How do I fix App Store Unable to Buy Loop in macOS Tahoe 26.2?

Three approaches in order of safety: (1) Kill the Commerce Daemon; (2) Clear App Store Cache. Full Terminal commands and System Settings paths are inside each section.

Is this fix confirmed for macOS Tahoe 26.2?

Yes — verified on macOS Tahoe 26.2. Article is updated when Apple ships a point release that changes the symptom or fix.

How to Fix App Store Unable to Buy Loop in macOS Tahoe 26.2

Symptom: You try to download a free or paid app on macOS Tahoe, and it repeatedly asks for your password or says "Unable to Buy" after a successful touch ID.

TL;DR fix

Start with Fix 1: Kill the Commerce Daemon. If the issue persists after that, try Fix 2: Clear App Store Cache. Full Terminal commands and step-by-step instructions are in each section below.

Why this happens

This is usually caused by a mismatch in the commerce daemon's local receipt cache or a corrupted App Store container directory.

Recommended Troubleshooting Tool

Before proceeding with manual fixes, we recommend using CleanMyMac X. Quickly identify high CPU apps and optimize system memory with one click.

Fix 1: Kill the Commerce Daemon

Open Terminal.
Run:

killall commerce

Fix 2: Clear App Store Cache

In Terminal:

open $TMPDIR../C/com.apple.appstore

rm -rf *

Relaunch the App Store.

Recommended Tool: NordVPN

If the App Store issue is region-related:

- Get NordVPN to ensure your connection is stable and routed correctly, avoiding the "Unable to Buy" errors caused by localized CDN mismatches.

Tested and documented by the MacDebug team — about MacDebug. See also Photoshop & Adobe Apps Crashing on macOS Tahoe, Fix macOS "No AirPlay Found", or browse all guides on macdebug.