# Permission Issues

Background monitoring, auto paste, and device discovery depend on OS-level permissions. When a permission is missing or reclaimed by the system, you often see "copies aren't recorded," "won't paste," or "devices can't be discovered." This page lists the permissions to confirm per platform and links to each platform page for granting them.

Not sure this is the right page? Use the minimal test in the [Troubleshooting overview](/advanced/troubleshooting/overview) to find the layer first.

## Who this is for

- Users who suspect a system permission is causing the problem
- Users whose features suddenly stopped working after an OS upgrade or app reinstall

Only enable what you need. For capability boundaries see [Platform Differences](/advanced/platform-differences); for the overview see [Permissions Overview](/advanced/permissions-overview).

## Check by platform

:::tabs
:::tab{label="macOS"}

- **Accessibility / Input Monitoring**: required for auto paste and global input.
- The menu bar app stays running.
- Confirm **local** clip capture works before testing sync.

See [macOS Permissions](/advanced/macos/permissions).

:::
:::tab{label="Android"}

- **Accessibility Service**: enable when background monitoring or Quick Input replacement requires it.
- Disable **battery optimization** for Octoclip to avoid background kills.
- Grant notification / background-run permissions.
- Test with the default keyboard and a plain text field.

See [Android platform overview](/advanced/android/) and [Clipboard background monitoring](/features/source/background-monitoring/).

:::
:::tab{label="Windows"}

- The app runs in the system tray.
- The firewall allows local discovery / transfer.
- Device discovery works out of the box on current builds (v1.9.5+); Bonjour/mDNS is only needed on older versions.
- Global shortcut conflicts are resolved.

See [Windows Features](/advanced/windows/).

:::
:::tab{label="iOS"}

- The OS heavily constrains background clipboard behavior; prefer system share, Shortcuts, and other supported flows.
- Confirm the current app/store version and supported extensions.

See [iOS platform overview](/advanced/ios/) and [iOS Limitations](/advanced/ios/limitations).

:::
:::

> [!WARNING] Permissions can be reclaimed after an upgrade or reinstall
> After an OS upgrade, app reinstall, or clearing the "autostart/background" list, permissions like Accessibility, accessibility service, or local network may be turned off. When features suddenly stop, recheck these toggles first.

## How to verify after fixing

- After re-granting the permission, copy a plain-text string.
- Confirm the local clip history records it.
- Confirm the specific capability that needs that permission (auto paste / background monitoring / device discovery) works again.

## Still not solved

Please include:

- Platform and OS version
- App version
- Affected capability (background monitoring / auto paste / device discovery / other)
- Permissions granted vs denied
- Whether you recently upgraded the OS or reinstalled the app
- Reproduction steps (shortest path)

## Next steps

:::cards{cols=2}
:::card{title="Permissions overview" icon="lucide.key-round" href="/advanced/permissions-overview"}
Learn which permissions each platform needs and where to start.

:::
:::card{title="macOS Permissions" icon="lucide.lock" href="/advanced/macos/permissions"}
Accessibility and Automation permission setup on macOS.

:::
:::card{title="Background monitoring unstable" icon="lucide.activity" href="/advanced/troubleshooting/background-monitoring-unstable"}
Debug background instability when permissions look correct.

:::
:::card{title="Platform differences" icon="lucide.git-compare" href="/advanced/platform-differences"}
Compare capabilities and limits across platforms.
:::
:::