Questions
Why an auto clicker is not working on a Mac, and how to fix it
An auto clicker that does nothing on a Mac is almost always missing the Accessibility permission, and most of the rest of the time the start key never reached the app or the clicks went somewhere you did not expect. The first two fixes below apply to every Mac auto clicker. The rest use InputConfig, the free auto clicker I make, and its built-in Auto Clicker preset, but the reasons behind them apply to any app.
On this page: 8 sections
Steps
- Open System Settings, Privacy & Security, Accessibility, and switch the auto clicker on.
- Quit the auto clicker fully and open it again.
- Activate the preset and close the preset editor before you test.
- On a MacBook keyboard, hold fn while you press F6 or F7.
- Point at something harmless and press the start control once.
- If one app or game ignores the clicks, slow the pace and check that app's rules.
Find your symptom
Match what you see, then go to the rung of the ladder below that fixes it:
- Nothing happens anywhere. Start at the fix ladder, rung 1: the permission.
- The menu bar icon is orange and its menu says Accessibility is off. A running preset needs the permission. Rung 1.
- A controller starts it, but fn F6 does not. The key is not reaching the app. Rungs 5 and 6.
- It clicks, but in the wrong place. The row clicks at a fixed point. Rung 7.
- It clicks everywhere except one game. Rung 8, then if a game ignores the clicks.
- It will not stop. Use the emergency stop, Control Option Command period, then read how to stop an auto clicker.
Climb the fix ladder
Climb this ladder, smallest step first. Stop at the rung that fixes it.
- Grant Accessibility. System Settings, Privacy & Security, Accessibility, and switch the app on. macOS only delivers clicks made by an app that has this permission. In InputConfig, Settings, General shows whether it is on, and the menu bar icon turns orange when a running preset needs it.
- Relaunch after granting. Quit the app fully and open it again. If it still cannot click, select it in the Accessibility list, remove it with the minus button, add it back with the plus button, and relaunch.
- Activate the preset. Right-click the Auto Clicker preset and choose Activate. The menu bar icon turns green while a preset runs.
- Close the editor. Opening the preset editor pauses the running preset and ends any run that was going, so test with the editor closed.
- Hold fn for F6 and F7. On a Mac keyboard the top row sends its printed actions first. F6 is the Focus key on recent MacBooks, which macOS keeps to itself, and F7 is a media key. The preset listens for F6 and F7 themselves, so press fn F6 and fn F7. Or turn on Use F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys in System Settings, Keyboard, Keyboard Shortcuts, Function Keys.
- Prove the key arrives. Open the preset's Live Visualizer and press the key. The Keyboard drawing lights the key that InputConfig receives. If it never lights, the key is not reaching the app, and a different trigger is the fix: a side button, F13 to F19, or a controller button. See auto clicker hotkeys on a Mac.
- Check the fixed point. A row that shows at x, y beside its click moves the pointer there before every click. If that point is on a display that is no longer connected, the click is skipped and the activity log says so (Settings, Advanced, Show the activity log). Choose Where the pointer is, or capture the point again.
- Slow down. InputConfig sends at most one click per poll, so the ceiling is the polling rate in Settings, Advanced: 120 a second on a power adapter and 60 on battery by default. A 10 ms row on battery runs at about 60 a second, not 100. Some apps also skip clicks that come too close together, so try Every at 100 ms.
Most auto clickers that do nothing are fixed by the first two rungs.
InputConfig is free on the Mac App Store. macOS 14 or later, no account, no tracking, open source.
If a game ignores the clicks
InputConfig sends clicks at the same low level of macOS a real mouse uses, so most games see them. When one does not, the reason is usually inside the game:
- The game is not in front. Clicks go to whatever is under the pointer. Click into the game window once before you start a run.
- The game counts a limited pace. Many games read input once per frame or cap how often an action can repeat. A slower Every often counts more clicks than a faster one.
- The game reads the controller too. If you start the run from a controller in a game that supports controllers, each press does two things: the preset's click and the game's own action for that button. Use fn F6 or a side button there instead.
- The game blocks or detects it. Some online games forbid auto clickers in their rules and some detect them. If the rules say no, the fix is not to use one there. See whether an auto clicker is safe and allowed.
I cannot make a game accept clicks it is built to reject, and I would not try.
If it clicks but will not stop
Climb this ladder, smallest step first:
- Press the same control again. With fn held, if it is fn F6.
- Use the emergency stop. It is the emergency stop: Control Option Command period from any app, Back and Start held together for three seconds on a controller (View and Menu on an Xbox pad, Create and Options on a DualSense), or Emergency Stop in the menu bar.
- Lock the Mac. Every run stops and does not start again after you log back in.
Then set Stop after on that row, so the next run ends by itself. The full list is on the emergency stop page.
What InputConfig cannot change
- A managed Mac. On a work or school Mac, the administrator may control the Accessibility list, and no app can switch itself on.
- Keys macOS keeps. Mission Control, Launchpad, Spotlight, Dictation and Focus on the top row never reach any app. With fn held they are plain F3 to F6.
- A key's normal job. InputConfig listens to the keyboard and does not block or remap the key itself, so a start key still does what it always did. Every keyboard reports as one synthetic device id.
- A game's rules. Whether auto clicking is allowed is up to the game, and some detect it.
The short version
- Permission first. Accessibility on, then relaunch.
- Test it right. Preset active, editor closed, fn held for F6.
- Then the details. The Live Visualizer for keys, Where the pointer is for a lost fixed point, a slower Every for a fussy app.
Check the permission, close the editor, hold fn: that covers nearly every case I see.
To start over from a setup that is known to work, activate the built-in Auto Clicker preset, or follow the auto clicker guide from Step 1.
Questions
Why is my auto clicker not clicking on a Mac?
Usually because the app does not have the Accessibility permission. Switch it on in System Settings, Privacy & Security, Accessibility, then quit the app and open it again.
Why does F6 not start my auto clicker on a MacBook?
On recent MacBooks the F6 key is the Focus key, which macOS keeps to itself. Hold fn while you press F6, or turn on Use F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys in System Settings, Keyboard.
Does an auto clicker need Input Monitoring on a Mac?
InputConfig does not; it needs only Accessibility. Some other auto clickers ask for Input Monitoring as well, so they can read a stop key while you use other apps.
Why does my auto clicker work in the Finder but not in a game?
The game may count only a limited pace, may read your controller as well, or may block auto clicking on purpose. Try a slower pace, start it from a key instead of the controller, and check the game's rules.
Why is my auto clicker clicking in the wrong place?
The row is set to click at a fixed point. In InputConfig, open the menu beside the click and choose Where the pointer is, or capture the point again.
Related
Free. macOS 14 or later. No account, nothing leaves your Mac. Open source on GitHub.