Permission philosophy
A clipboard utility needs access to sensitive parts of macOS, but that access should never be vague. WhatTheClip requests setup from Settings, explains why it is needed, and avoids treating normal paste attempts as permission prompts.
Grant only the capabilities you want to use. History, global shortcuts, automatic paste, file favorites, and launch at login have different requirements.
On first run, the Mac App Store edition keeps capture, global hotkeys, and automatic paste off. You can enable local clipboard capture after reading the consent screen; hotkeys and automatic paste stay off until you enable them separately. Choosing Keep Off or dismissing the consent screen preserves the off state, and Settings lets you reopen the decision later.
Clipboard access
What it does: Reads content that is already on the macOS clipboard while capture is enabled.
Why it is needed: Clipboard history cannot store text, images, links, or file references that the app cannot read.
What it does not mean: It is not permission to inspect ordinary live typing, browsing history, hidden passwords, screen contents, or data that never reaches the clipboard.
Your control: Keep capture off, enable it from the consent screen or Settings, or pause it whenever you do not want new clipboard items added to history. The menu-bar indicator shows whether capture is off, paused, or on and briefly signals when a clipping is saved.
Accessibility
What it does: Allows WhatTheClip to perform a user-triggered paste action in the app that was active before the overlay opened.
Why it is needed: macOS protects cross-application input automation. Accessibility approval lets WhatTheClip restore the workflow and issue the paste command after you select an item.
What it does not mean: WhatTheClip does not use Accessibility as a general screen-reading or background-app inspection feature.
Your control: Turn off paste automation in WhatTheClip or revoke approval under System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility. Without it, selected content can still be copied for a manual Command-V paste.
Input Monitoring
What it does: Supports global shortcuts and overlay navigation keys while another app is active.
Why it is needed: The overlay needs to respond to its configured shortcut and selection keys even when WhatTheClip is not the frontmost normal window.
What it does not mean: Input Monitoring is not used to save ordinary keystrokes or record what you type into other apps.
Your control: Disable global hotkeys or revoke approval under System Settings → Privacy & Security → Input Monitoring. Shortcut and overlay behavior may be limited afterward.
Files and folders
What it does: Reads a local file when macOS places a file reference on the clipboard or when you explicitly choose a file for a favorite slot. For an explicitly selected file, it can read file size and modification-date metadata locally to load and cache the item.
Why it is needed: WhatTheClip supports file and image payloads, not only plain text.
What it does not mean: The app does not crawl unrelated folders or index your whole disk.
Your control: Choose which files to copy or assign. Remove the history item, favorite, or profile to delete its managed local payload.
Keychain
What it does: Stores the root key used to encrypt managed payload files.
Why it is needed: The app must be able to decrypt saved payloads when you preview, copy, or paste them. The key stays with the local Mac user account rather than syncing as a portable password.
What it does not mean: WhatTheClip does not read your passwords, browser credentials, or unrelated Keychain entries.
Your control: Keychain access is tied to the app identity and local user account.
Login item
What it does: Starts the WhatTheClip helper after you sign in so the utility can be ready from the menu bar.
Why it is needed: It avoids requiring you to open a full app window before the utility becomes available.
What it does not mean: Launch at login does not grant clipboard, Accessibility, or Input Monitoring approval by itself, and it does not bypass the saved capture-consent decision. Capture and shortcuts remain off until their separate controls allow them.
Your control: Disable launch at login in WhatTheClip or in macOS Login Items.
Recommended setup order
- Move WhatTheClip to your Applications folder.
- Read the capture-consent screen and either keep capture off or explicitly enable it.
- Open Settings and enable only the additional features you want.
- Approve Accessibility if you want automatic paste.
- Approve Input Monitoring if global shortcuts or overlay navigation require it.
- Enable launch at login only if you want WhatTheClip ready after sign-in.
- Copy a harmless test phrase, open the overlay, and verify the complete workflow.
Installing the app in its final location before approval helps macOS keep permissions associated with WhatTheClip.
If macOS keeps asking
Repeated prompts can happen when the app is moved, replaced, or reset in System Settings.
Check that you are opening WhatTheClip from Applications. Remove duplicate WhatTheClip entries from the relevant Privacy & Security pane, add the app again, and retry the setup action from WhatTheClip Settings.
If a permission shows as granted but paste still fails, confirm that paste automation is enabled, release the shortcut keys before selecting an item, and test manual Command-V in the destination app.
For help, contact [email protected].