Permissions

Reticle needs two macOS permissions to work. Here's what they are and how to grant them.

🎥

Screen Recording

Required for all capture modes. Without this, Reticle cannot take any screenshots.

  1. 1. Open System Settings (Apple menu → System Settings).
  2. 2. Go to Privacy & Security → Screen Recording.
  3. 3. Find Reticle in the list and toggle it ON.
  4. 4. You may be prompted to enter your Mac password.
  5. 5. Quit and relaunch Reticle.
♿️

Accessibility

Required for scrolling screenshot and global hotkeys. Other capture modes work without it.

  1. 1. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility.
  2. 2. Click the + button and add Reticle, OR toggle it on if it already appears.
  3. 3. Enter your password if prompted.
  4. 4. Quit and relaunch Reticle.

Why these permissions?

macOS requires apps to explicitly request permission before they can read screen content or control system-level input. This is a security feature — without your explicit grant, no app can spy on your screen.

Reticle uses Screen Recording only when you actively trigger a capture. It doesn't record in the background. The Accessibility permission is used only to listen for your configured global hotkeys and to synthesize scroll events for scroll capture.

You can revoke these permissions at any time in System Settings → Privacy & Security.

Permission not showing up?

App doesn't appear in the list
Launch Reticle at least once, then try triggering a capture — macOS registers apps in the permission list on first use.
Toggle is greyed out
Make sure Reticle is running. Some MDM/corporate policies lock this setting — contact your IT admin.
Changes not taking effect
You must quit and fully relaunch Reticle after changing permissions. Cmd+Q from the menu bar, then reopen.