The Mac Accessibility permission, explained

What the permission allows

On a Mac, an application is not allowed to touch other applications' windows. It cannot move them, resize them or bring them to the front. That is a good rule, and there is only one door through it: the interface macOS built for assistive technologies such as the VoiceOver screen reader. Apple calls it Accessibility.

That door is wide. An authorised application can read what other applications display, know the titles of their windows, move them, and send clicks or keystrokes. That is why macOS never grants it on its own: you have to give it yourself, in the settings, with your password or Touch ID.

The best-known window managers, Rectangle, Magnet or BetterTouchTool, all ask for it, for the same reason. A Dofus multiboxing tool is no exception: without it, it can see the Dofus windows but can do nothing with them.

What DofusMulti does with it

That a permission allows a lot says nothing about what an application does with it. DofusMulti uses it for three things: finding the windows of the Dofus clients, reading their titles to know which character is logged in, and placing them in one spot while bringing forward the one you ask for. It is the only permission it requests.

• It does not read the game's content and sends no keystroke to the Dofus client. A keystroke goes to one window only, the one you see.
• It touches no game file and opens no connection to Ankama's servers.
• It also uses it for a mouse button set as a shortcut: catching that button in every application goes through the same permission.

The app is signed with an Apple Developer ID and notarised by Apple: macOS checks at every launch that it has not been modified since it was built. The Boundaries section of the home page lists what it does not do, and the guide on Ankama's rules explains why a window manager stays on the right side of them.

Granting it, step by step

1. 1Launch the appOn the first launch, macOS shows a prompt offering to open the settings. If you closed it, DofusMulti reminds you in the menu bar, “Accessibility permission required”, with a button to grant it.
2. 2Open the right settingSystem Settings, Privacy & Security, then Accessibility. The DofusMulti button takes you straight there.
3. 3Turn the switch onFind DofusMulti in the list and turn it on. macOS asks for your password or Touch ID. If the app is not listed, add it with the + button, from the Applications folder.
4. 4Go back to the appDofusMulti checks the permission as soon as you come back to it. Usually, the portrait bar then appears on its own.

When the app does not see it

The most common case: the switch is on, and the app still says the permission is missing. There are two causes, and two fixes.

• macOS does not always pass a new permission on to an application that is already running. Relaunch it. DofusMulti offers a “Relaunch the app” button for that, and it is the fix in most cases.
• macOS ties the permission to the app's signature, not its name. If the entry in the list belongs to another copy, for instance a version installed elsewhere and then deleted, it looks identical but no longer applies. Select DofusMulti in the list, remove it with the − button, then add the copy in Applications again with the + button.

Taking it back

The permission is withdrawn the way it is given: same setting, same switch. DofusMulti then stops arranging windows, and says so in the menu bar. For a complete uninstall, remove the app from the list with the − button, then move it to the Bin.

It is a good habit with every application: read the Accessibility list from time to time, and remove what you no longer use. A permission given to a forgotten tool is still an open door.

Further reading

• Is multi-accounting allowed on Dofus?
• Dofus 3 multiboxing on a Mac
• Playing Dofus full screen on a Mac with several accounts