# Recording expectations (background, foreground, mobile)

After you copy, check the **source device’s Octoclip clip history** first. **If the clip never appears there**, troubleshoot **recording/capture** (foreground vs background, OS clipboard rules) **before** you assume **“sync is broken.”** On many phones it feels like “nothing is recorded—and nothing syncs—until I open the app.” If you mostly use desktop, the same idea still explains **why the phone side** can stay empty.

**If you are already stuck**, open **[First-run troubleshooting](/getting-started/first-run-troubleshooting)** and follow the ordered checks and platform sections there. **This page** focuses on what **usually** happens so you can tell recording issues from sync issues.

## What to expect by platform

- **Desktop (Windows / macOS)**: under a normal install and runtime, clipboard capture limits are usually less strict than on phones; still confirm the clip exists in **source history** before blaming sync.  
- **Android**: whether copies reliably land in history **without opening the app** often depends on clipboard background monitoring plus notification/battery policies.  
- **iOS**: the OS **does not** support the same kind of **continuous background clipboard listener** as desktop/Android; common paths include Shortcuts and the share sheet to hand content to the app. See [Clipboard background monitoring](/features/source/background-monitoring/), [iOS overview](/advanced/ios/), and [Platform differences](/advanced/platform-differences).

Octoclip **does not guarantee** that every system copy is written to history immediately on every device/OS combo **without** interacting with the app—platform mechanics and permissions apply.

## A quick self-check

1. On the **source device**, copy a short test string.  
2. Open Octoclip and check **clip history** for the item.  
3. **If it appears**, check the other device for sync/paste; **if it never appears**, troubleshoot **recording** first (see **Where to go next** below), not sync mode.

## Who this is for

- You already have basic copy/paste working and want **expectations** before reading a long mechanics doc  
- You want to tell **sync issues** apart from **“the source device never wrote this copy to history”**

## Where to go next

| Goal | Page |
| --- | --- |
| You want ordered checks by symptom | **[First-run troubleshooting](/getting-started/first-run-troubleshooting)** |
| You want mechanisms, permissions, and toggles | [Clipboard background monitoring](/features/source/background-monitoring/) |
| Shortest path to toggles per platform | [Quick start](/features/source/background-monitoring/quick-start) |
| Intermittent background capture, battery savers, app kills | [Background monitoring unstable](/advanced/troubleshooting/background-monitoring-unstable) |

## Next steps

:::cards{cols=2}
:::card{title="Need help?" icon="lucide.triangle-alert" href="/getting-started/first-run-troubleshooting"}
Symptom routing, ordered checks, and common fixes.

:::
:::card{title="Clipboard background monitoring" icon="lucide.monitor-cog" href="/features/source/background-monitoring/"}
Full mechanics, permissions, and toggles by platform.
:::
:::

## Still stuck?

If the source device still **never** shows the copy in history after the checks above, or **[First-run troubleshooting](/getting-started/first-run-troubleshooting)** does not match what you see, keep going on that same page. For community posts, fill in what the **Still stuck** section there asks for.