Accessibility Permissions

AXTerminator uses the macOS Accessibility API to interact with applications. This requires explicit permission from the user.

Granting Permissions

macOS Ventura and later (13+)

1. Open System Settings
2. Navigate to Privacy & Security → Accessibility
3. Click the + button
4. Add your terminal app (Terminal, iTerm2, VS Code, etc.)
5. Toggle the switch to enable

macOS Monterey (12)

1. Open System Preferences
2. Navigate to Security & Privacy → Privacy → Accessibility
3. Click the lock icon and authenticate
4. Click + and add your terminal app
5. Ensure the checkbox is checked

Checking Permission Status

CLI

axterminator check
# Expected: "Accessibility: OK" and version number
# If DISABLED: follow the steps above

Common Issues

"Operation not permitted"

This means accessibility permissions haven't been granted. Follow the steps above.

Permission granted but still not working

Try these steps:

1. Remove and re-add the app in Accessibility settings
2. Restart the terminal/IDE
3. Restart your Mac (if issues persist)

Running in CI/CD

GitHub Actions macOS runners don't have GUI access. Use environment variables to skip integration tests:

env:
  CI: true
  SKIP_INTEGRATION: true

Security Note

Accessibility permissions are powerful - they allow an app to control other applications. Only grant permissions to trusted software.