---
title: macOS permissions Pantaray asks for
description: Which permissions Pantaray needs, what each one is used for, and what to do when macOS does not ask.
---

macOS protects the information Pantaray needs, so it has to ask. Here is each permission, what it
is for, and what happens without it.

## The permissions

| Permission | What Pantaray uses it for | Needed? |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Accessibility** | Reading which app and window you are in, and the text on screen | Required. Nothing is recorded without it |
| **Input Monitoring** | Recording what you type | For typing; everything else still works |
| **Automation** (Google Chrome, Safari) | Knowing which page you are on | For browser activity |
| **Screen Recording** | Letting an Action look at your screen | Only for that; recording does not use it |

Pantaray asks for the first three when you start recording. Screen Recording is separate: macOS
asks for it the first time an Action needs to see your screen.

Pantaray does not ask for notification permission. Its suggestions appear in their own panel.

## Granting them

Press **Start recording** and answer the macOS dialogs as they appear. That button is what makes
macOS ask.

If a permission is still missing, Pantaray says so: *Accessibility and related permissions are
required. Allow them in System Settings, then press "Start recording" again.* It also offers
**Open System Settings**, which takes you to the right pane.

## When macOS does not ask

macOS sometimes skips a dialog, particularly for Input Monitoring. In that case:

1. Press **Open System Settings** in Pantaray.
2. In **Privacy & Security → Input Monitoring**, look for **Pantaray** and switch it on. If it is
   not listed, press **+** and choose Pantaray from Applications.
3. Return to Pantaray and press **Start recording** again.

## Allowed but still reported missing

macOS sometimes needs the app to restart before it reports a new permission correctly. Quit
Pantaray, open it again, and press **Start recording** once more.

Go by Pantaray's own report: if it says recording is **Active**, it is recording, even if the
System Settings list looks odd.

## Taking a permission away

Switch Pantaray off in **System Settings → Privacy & Security**, under the permission you want to
remove. Recording stops. What was already recorded expires on its usual 48-hour schedule.

To stop recording without touching macOS settings, use the switch in
**Settings → Computer activity recording**. See
[Stop recording, or limit what is recorded](/privacy/recording-controls).