Symptoms
FocusDragon keeps prompting you to grant Screen Recording permission, or AI Focus says "Screen Recording is off", even though the toggle in System Settings looks On.
Likely cause
This is a long-standing macOS bug, especially common after a point-release update. The TCC database holds a stale entry that points at an older version of the bundle. Toggling the switch doesn't fix it — you have to fully remove and re-add the entry.
Step-by-step fix
- 1. Quit FocusDragon (FocusDragon → Quit, or Cmd-Q).
- 2. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen Recording.
- 3. Find FocusDragon in the list. Click the minus (−) button to remove it entirely. macOS may prompt for your password.
- 4. Relaunch FocusDragon and open AI Focus in the sidebar. In the checklist, press Allow next to Screen Recording.
- 5. FocusDragon explains what macOS is about to ask, then opens System Settings with FocusDragon in the list. Switch it on, and if macOS offers Quit & Reopen, click it.
- 6. Quit FocusDragon one more time and relaunch. The permission should now stick.
At your first check, macOS also says FocusDragon is "requesting to bypass the system's private window picker and record your screen directly". That's expected: AI Focus checks your whole screen, not one window you pick. Click Allow. macOS may show it again now and then; it's the same check.
Without Screen Recording, AI Focus can't check your screen and a block can't start. Rule-based blocking still works fine without it.
Still stuck? Contact support at focusdragon.app/contact and mention your macOS version.