Permissions and access — Troubleshooting

If your words appear in the Cephable Panel but nothing happens on screen, Cephable heard you and was not allowed to act. That is almost always an operating system setting.

If your words never appear in the Panel, Cephable is not hearing you. Go to Voice recognition problems instead.

Cephable hears me but nothing happens

On a Mac, Cephable needs permission before it can type, click, or move the pointer in other apps. Without it, Cephable usually shows Cephable cannot control this app, with an Open Settings button.

1
Open the setting
Click Open Settings in Cephable's message. If there is no message, open the Apple menu → System Settings → Privacy & Security, and then:
- on macOS 27 and later, choose Device Control and Data Access
- on macOS 26 and earlier, choose Accessibility
They are the same setting. Apple renamed it in macOS 27. To check your version, open the Apple menu → About This Mac.
2
Turn Cephable on
Find Cephable in the list and turn its switch on. macOS asks for your password or Touch ID to confirm.

If Cephable is not in the list, click + below the list, choose Cephable from Applications, and click Open.
3
If it was already on, turn it off and on again
After a macOS update, the switch can stay on while macOS stops honoring it. This is worth doing after upgrading to macOS 27, because the upgrade carries the old Accessibility entry across. Turn Cephable's switch off, then on again, and confirm with your password.
4
Try your command again
Click into the app you want to control, then say the command again.
5
Quit and reopen Cephable
If it still does nothing, quit Cephable fully and open it again.

Other messages that mean the same thing

Each of these needs the same Mac setting, so the steps above fix them too.

Message in Cephable	What stops working
Cephable cannot control this app	Typing, clicking, and moving the pointer
Hold to dictate is waiting for permission	Hold to dictate. This message has no Open Settings button, so open System Settings yourself.
Cephable does not have permission to read this app	Clicking items in an app by name

Microphone and camera access

When Cephable cannot use your microphone or camera, the Panel shows No microphone access or No camera access. The steps to fix each are on its own page:

A workflow says "File access needed"

This appears on a Mac when a workflow needs a file in your Desktop, Documents, or Downloads folder and macOS has not let Cephable in. The message names the folder.

1
Click Open Files & Folders
System Settings opens at Privacy & Security → Files & Folders.
2
Turn on the folder
Click Cephable in the list to expand it, and turn on the folder the message named.

If Cephable is not in the list, go back to Cephable's message and choose Open Full Disk Access instead. Turn Cephable on there. If it is not listed, click + below the list, choose Cephable from Applications, and click Open. Full Disk Access covers every folder at once.
3
Run the workflow again
The workflow stopped rather than carrying on without your files, so start it again. If macOS offered Quit & Reopen when you changed the setting, choose it first.

Not Now closes the message and leaves the workflow stopped.

macOS asks to allow "Cephable Safe Storage"

This is expected. Cephable keeps your AI History encrypted on your Mac, and the key that unlocks it is stored in your keychain as Cephable Safe Storage. It holds only that key, not your conversations, workflows, or tasks. macOS asks the first time Cephable needs your history.

1
Read Cephable's message, then click Continue
Cephable first shows Protect AI History, explaining the prompt that follows. Click Continue.
2
Enter your Mac password
macOS asks for your login keychain password. This is normally the password you use to log in to your Mac.
3
Click Always Allow
Always Allow means you will not be asked again. Allow works too, but macOS may ask again the next time you open Cephable.

If you clicked Deny, only your saved AI History stays locked — everything else in Cephable works. macOS asks again the next time Cephable needs your history; choose Always Allow then.

Windows protects the same key without asking, so this prompt only appears on a Mac.

Everything Cephable may ask for

Permission	Needed for	When Cephable asks	Optional?
Microphone	Voice commands and dictation	On a Mac, when Cephable first opens	Yes — camera and other inputs still work
Device Control and Data Access, or Accessibility (Mac)	Typing, clicking, and moving the pointer in other apps	On a Mac, when Cephable first opens	No — Cephable cannot act without it
Camera	Head and face controls	When you first start the camera	Yes — voice still works
Files & Folders or Full Disk Access (Mac)	Workflows that read or write your files	When a workflow first needs a file	Yes — only for file actions
Keychain (Mac)	Unlocking your encrypted AI History	When Cephable first needs your history	Yes — but saved history stays locked without it

For IT admins

Rolling Cephable out to managed devices? Deploying at scale covers the device policy to check before your pilot, including the permissions you cannot pre-approve and what the macOS 27 rename means for your runbooks.