User Guide
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Installation & Onboarding

System requirements, installation steps, Accessibility permissions, and first-launch flow.

On this page (4 sections)

Welcome to OpenClip! This guide will walk you through installing OpenClip on macOS, granting required permissions, and configuring your initial setup.

System Requirements#

  • Operating System: macOS 14.0 (Sonoma) or later.
  • Architecture: Universal binary (Apple Silicon M1/M2/M3/M4 & Intel processors).
  • Permissions: Accessibility permission is required for global text selection detection.

The interface follows the macOS system language. English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, French, and Japanese are bundled.

Installation Steps#

  1. Download OpenClip: Download the latest release .dmg or .zip file from the official releases page.
  2. Move to Applications: Drag OpenClip.app into your /Applications folder.
  3. Launch OpenClip: Open OpenClip.app from Finder or Spotlight.

Releases are signed with an Apple Developer ID certificate and notarized by Apple, so OpenClip opens normally. There is no need to right-click to open it, and no need to strip a quarantine attribute with xattr. If macOS says the app "cannot be opened because the developer cannot be verified", the download is not a release build — check where it came from.

To confirm what you have before launching it:

bash
spctl -a -vv -t exec /Applications/OpenClip.app
# accepted
# source=Notarized Developer ID

xcrun stapler validate /Applications/OpenClip.app
# The validate action worked!

Granting Accessibility Permissions#

OpenClip relies on macOS Accessibility APIs (AXUIElement) to detect text selection events and extract selected text directly without polluting your clipboard.

System Settings ---> Privacy & Security ---> Accessibility ---> Enable OpenClip
  1. On first launch, OpenClip will prompt you to grant Accessibility permissions.
  2. Click Open System Settings.
  3. Navigate to Privacy & Security > Accessibility.
  4. Toggle the switch next to OpenClip to On.
  5. Authenticate with your Mac password or Touch ID.

Note

OpenClip reads selected text strictly in real-time when mouse drag or selection events occur. No keystrokes or selection histories are logged or stored locally.

First-Launch Onboarding Workflow#

When launched for the first time, OpenClip presents a 4-step onboarding wizard:

  1. Welcome: Concept overview of turning selected text into instant contextual actions.
  2. Access: Accessibility permission check with 100% on-device privacy guarantee.
  3. Extensions: Recommended essential extensions (translations, word count, speech) with one-click installation.
  4. Try It: Interactive live playground sandbox to test text selection and see the real action bar in action.

Onboarding can be skipped at any step; finishing it starts text-selection monitoring. You can also trigger the popup anytime with the global shortcut (⌥⌘C by default), configure AI providers anytime in Preferences → AI, and customize the popup bar's theme in Preferences → Appearance.

Found a typo or issue? Report on GitHub