Screen Recording stopped working after I updated LeafyApp

Happens the first time you open LeafyApp after an update. Grant the permission once more and it's done for good.

Why this happens

An update can change LeafyApp enough that macOS treats it as a new app and forgets the permission.

It still shows as on in System Settings, but scans fail or come back black. The entry is stale, not broken.

How to fix it

  1. Quit LeafyApp from the leaf icon in your menu bar. Closing the window isn't enough. The LeafyApp menu bar dropdown with "Quit LeafyApp" highlighted at the bottom
  2. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen Recording. macOS System Settings open to Privacy & Security → Screen & System Audio Recording
  3. Select LeafyApp and click − below the list to remove it. Switching it off isn't enough: the entry has to go so macOS asks again. The Screen Recording settings list showing LeafyApp with its switch on, next to the remove button
  4. Open LeafyApp again and press ⌥A. macOS asks for permission, and LeafyApp shows this window. LeafyApp's "Enable two permissions" window, with Grant buttons for Screen Recording and Accessibility
  5. Turn the switch on for LeafyApp in Screen Recording, or drag LeafyApp from that window straight into the list.
  6. macOS asks to restart LeafyApp: click Quit & Reopen. The permission only takes effect then. macOS system prompt reading "LeafyApp may not be able to record the contents of your screen until it is quit" with a Quit & Reopen button

This is a one-time thing

Future updates won't ask again.

Still stuck? Email binjto@gmail.com, or ask in the Discord.

Join the Discord

LeafyApp only ever reaches out from binjto@gmail.com, Discord as jtobin0935, or u/Thin-Lawfulness-7861 on Reddit, and nowhere else.