TorteShui

Sounds like duplicate of MC-173100 (which shouldn't be resolved as invalid).

Not sure. Moving the .minecraft folder "fixed" it and the launcher also loaded launcher_skins.json. Copying that to the original .minecraft folder and using that again still didn't work. Renaming launcher_profiles.json, so it created a new one, helped, but not sure what was wrong with the old one.

Might work for the reporter and others too, but of course I don't know.

I have the same issue. Launcher updated today, to version 2.1.9616. Trying to start it, it pops up briefly in task manager, but vanishes after one second. No entries in debug.log, no log file created in .minecraft/logs folder.

Windows 7 for me, JRE 1.8.0_51 (in MC's runtime folder). Trying to run MC 1.14.4, but the launcher doesn't even get there.

There was a Windows update as well: KB4525235 and KB4523206, in case that's relevant.

Edit: launcher_log.txt says:

[Info: 2019-11-13 20:50:00.5702178: SkinManager.cpp(188)] Failed to read skins file: C:\Users\hja\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\launcher_skins.json