Macpass: Autotype doesn't work in macOS 10.15 Beta (Catalina)

[darnel]

Describe the bug
Autotype doesn't work in macOS 10.15 Beta (19A487m) because of MacPass doesn't see other window titles.

To Reproduce
Steps to reproduce the behavior:

1. Open login page in browser
2. Press Autotype hotkey.
3. "No match for (null)!" error message appears.

Expected behavior
Password will be filled according to URL or window title

Desktop (please complete the following information):

• macOS: 10.15 Beta (19A487m)
• Version 0.7.9 (21570)

Additional context
I fully understand that macOS beta version may not be supported. I just only want to report this behavior.

I believe that problem is caused by OS is denying MacPass to see other window titles. If I list window titles in Autotype tab of particular record only MacPass window is listed.

[mstarke]

Thank you. This is due to tightened security in 10.15 for screen recording. The window name is not visible for other processes. Could you try to allow MacPass to record the screen and see if this makes any difference? I would suspect there's not dialog popping up for a request and the access is denied silently.

[darnel]

Thanks, how can I invoke screen recording request? My "Screen recording" section is empty, but I don't know how to add application manually. I have MacPass in "Accessibility" section.

[mstarke]

There seems to be no setting to add an app to the screen capture settings but instead a request will only be presented by the os when an app tries to capture the screen.

I'm pondering about adding a "autotype doctor" to check for various things and fold the accessibilty check into this setup. This might be a better place for users to find out what's wrong and get hints on what to fix those.

[mstarke]

The upcomming continous release does include an Autotype Doctor. This should allow you to enable screen recording for MacPass under 10.15. If you find time to test this out I'd love to hear some feedback.

[darnel]

When I opened Autotype Doctor request for Screen recording popped up automatically, so I check it.
Accessibility permission was indicated as not given however it was checked previously in System settings. Autotype functionality shows AUTOTYPE_PERMISSION_NOT_GIVEN (or something similar :) I unchecked and re-checked Accessibility permission and then it's working!

I guess Accessibility permission was given to previous version of MacPass.

Thanks!

[ddzieduch]

Hi @mstarke

In my case clicking "Open Screen Recording Preferences ..." opens first options in Security & Privacy - Location Services.

In Screen Recording I have message "Apps that have requested access to record the contents of your screen will appear here."

After pressing Autotype hotkey I get "MacPass does not have all necessary permissions to perform Autotype."

macOS: 10.15 Beta (19A546d)
Version 0.7.9 (22660)

[mstarke]

The deep-link to open the screen recording preferences wasn't set since I did not know it but this is included in the current master. I did switch the detection algorithm to not capture a screenshot but this had the unforseen downside that MacPass now does not gain access to screen recording since there seems to be no way to manually add an app via the system preferences.

I will add a button to fix the screen recording permission by requesting a screenshot as it was done before. I hope this then fixes the issue on 10.15.

[mstarke]

The upcoming continuous release will include both the deep link fix as well as a way to request for screen recording permissions. If you have time to test this out it would be highly appreciated

[ddzieduch]

Now I see new button "Request Permisions...". I don't see change after clicking.

[alphaman64]

I'm seeing the same issue -- my Privacy > Screen Recording pane is blank. Autotype Doctor does indeed show the "Request Permission..." button, but pressing that does nothing but activate the button.
Presuming a bad setting got stored at some point, would reseting TCC using tccutil? What bundle should I spec? Would that even help?

Running 0.7.9 (20190910120914-continuous)

[mstarke]

Normally calling the screen recording APIs should yield the permissions dialog. The Button simply tries to take a screenshot. I will investigate if this is not working as advertised. Resetting with tccutil might be a good idea. The bundle-id is com.hicknhacksoftware.MacPass

[mstarke]

Well. Turns out™ I did not wire up the action to the button so clicking it didn't do a thing. It's fixed with f134290c27fef656e16f18488b2694433ff3dddd and will be included in todays continous release. This should not take that long. I would really love if you have the time to test the new build and check if the permissions are now requested correctly.

[mstarke]

Continous is up to date so you might want to give it a try.

[alphaman64]

Tested -- button works perfectly, as expected.
Only problem now is that I get a popup upon launch saying that AutotypeURL.mpplugin can't be opened because it can't be scanned for malicious code.

[mstarke]

I need to dig into this. Might be due to notarization restrictions

[alphaman64]

I got around it by turning on both "Load unsecure Plugins" and "Force loading of incompatible Plugins".
All features now working as expected in Catalina, tyvm.

[ddzieduch]

Now works perfectly. Thanks @mstarke

[ddzieduch]

I found strange behaviour. For example when we open System Preferences > Network > Advanced tab and then try to use Autotype, app will not have access to these settings.
Even if we close this tab app will not perform Autotype until restart.

Maybe it is OS issue.

[fgross95]

Just downloaded the official release version of macOS Catalina and having the same issues. I downloaded the continuous version, but the autotype doctor somehow doesn't do anything for me if I press it

[mstarke]

Can you specify what you mean by pressing the Autotype doctor?

[fgross95]

After pressing my autotype shortcut, it says that MacPass doesn't have all necessary permissions. If I press on this notification, it says "show autotype doctor", but this only leads me to macpass or doesn't do anything.

[Neo23x0]

I've just updated to 10.15 Catalina.
It would be nice to get this fix into the stable & published release so that users that rely on Auto-Type don't have to use the unsigned & buggy continuous build.

[Neo23x0]

For me, clicking the button "Request Permission" has no effect.

[fgross95]

Okay nevermind, I assumed the autotype doctor would open automatically. After I found it in the menubar it worked perfectly!

[mstarke]

The notification might be broken since i‘m Using private APIs to display buttons. Also it’s using deprecated NSUserNotification which might have broken in 10.15

[georgesnow]

so I updated 2 Macs. One of them no issue with continuous build and running my plugins. Autotype doctor worked when it brought me to the window. I toggled the permission. It quit MacPass. I re-opened and it works. My other Mac all the permissions are good (like the first Mac that does work the "Run Autotype Doctor" button doesn't appear after clicking it and allowing the proper permissions), but when you trigger GAutoType. it just unhides and activates MacPass. so I am thinking maybe I should just uninstall MacPass and reinstall the continuous build. anyone else have this inconsistent behavior or tried MacPass on Catalina (Public Release) on more than one Mac?

[tramir]

I updated 2 MacBook Pros. On both I gave MacPass permissions in Accessibility and in Screen Recording. On both when I activate Global Autotype I get the notification "MacPass does not have all necessary permissions to perform Autotype." Autotype doctor reports permissions only in Accessibility, not in Screen Recording. On checking again, both permissions are set in System Preferences.
Interestingly, if I try to perform Autotype in a window for which there is no Autotype setup in MacPass, I get the notification "No match for [window title]". So it seems that MacPass can get the window title but somehow cannot perform Autotype.

[georgesnow]

so I don't think this is just MacPass. I just installed a fresh copy of Alfred. All the permission shortcuts it offers work except Full disk permissions. It opens system preferences, but I had to manually add it. Not exactly 1 for 1, but it seems Screen Recording and full disk permissions have different exceptions compared to Automation permissions etc...

[Neo23x0]

Ha, strange things happen. I unlocked my mac from standby later today. MacPass App was completely closed, although I didn't quit it before the standby. After I started the App I reopened "Autotype Doctor" and gave it a try and the dialogue appeared.

[Shuyinsama]

So I tried MacPass after I saw the reference @michaelblyons made in the bug I opened for this on KeePassXC (see reference above here)

I installed the continuous version of MacPass (commit f134290)
I made a copy of my original .kdbx file (just in case) and opened it up with MacPass after I allowed the app to run due to it not being signed.

Went to Window -> Autotype doctor.
The buttons in this window seem to add an entry for MacPass in their respectful permission list but linking to the actual setting does not seem to work. No problem I know what I am looking for.
I gave both accessibility and screen recording permissions to MacPass.app.

My autotype doctor shows 2 green dots for the permissions.

The things i've noticed"

• Setting up a global shortcut for autotype does not seem to work for me.
• When I select the correct entry in MacPass while having the website or application open and press CMD+T the autotype does seem to work.

[georgesnow]

When I select the correct entry in MacPass while having the website or application open and press CMD+T the autotype does seem to work.

I notice this as well on my one Mac that it just actives/unhides macpass when using the hot key for global auto type

[georgesnow]

so good news and bad news. Good news I got mine working...bad news I doubt this will fix it for anyone else. I had an old version macpassHTTP that I had modified and I forgot about...🤦‍♂️ which was causing issue with MacPass. I removed the plugin restarted macPass and Global Autotype works.

[emikaadeo-git]

Hi, just tried Continuous 2019-09-17 version.
I gave both - accessibility and screen recording permissions to MacPass.
Autotype doctor shows 2 green dots for the permissions.

• Global autotype works perfectly.

• Autotype when selecting the correct entry in MacPass while having the website open and press CMD+T also works as expected.

[georgesnow]

I noticed the permissions for screen recording don’t seem to persist. And seems to be an OS (that’s speculation) because in privacy settings everything looks good. But global auto type doesn’t always work. Wondering if it is timing thing

[emikaadeo-git]

But global auto type doesn’t always work. Wondering if it is timing thing

Yeah, I noticed this on my MBP as well. I also noticed, that if I change shortcut for global autotype in MacPass, it starts working again.

[Shuyinsama]

Just tried changing the global autotype shortcut but that did not seem to do anything for me immediately but after I restarted MacPass it did start to work. (I guess this has to do with the fact that my browser/application needs to be started before MacPass?)

I am using Chrome

[Neo23x0]

A few days after I reported this issue as fixed for me, it stopped working reporting that

The state of Autotype Doctor and the Security Settings look like this.

I restarted MacPass but it didn't fix the issue. Clicking the "Request Permissions ..." button does nothing.

[emikaadeo-git]

A few days after I reported this issue as fixed for me, it stopped working reporting that

The state of Autotype Doctor and the Security Settings look like this.

I restarted MacPass but it didn't fix the issue. Clicking the "Request Permissions ..." button does nothing.

This was my step-by-step installation:

• Remove completely MacPass 0.7.9 version (with AppCleaner if that matters)

• Check in System Preferences -> Security & Privacy -> Privacy if there are some MacPass leftovers. If so, remove them manually.

• Install MacPass Continuous 2019-09-17 version.

• Run Autotype Doctor.

• Gave both - Accessibility and Screen recording permissions to MacPass.

• Autotype doctor shows 2 green dots for the permissions.

• Change global Autotype shortcut to Option+Command+L (if that matters)

Since then, MacPass global Autotype works every time for me.

[mstarke]

Running multiple versions of MacPass is problematic. MacOS seems to not work well when permissions are granted to multiple versions. I run into this all the time when developing MacPass and my dev-build will always re-request permissions. If then given, the release version will act up. I suspect that the reported effects are somewhat related to this. Regarding the Autotype global hotkey not registering, I have no idea why this happens but I will investigate once my dev setup is on 10.15 which might take some time given the drawbacks.

[RicardoCapricciosa]

This was my step-by-step installation:

* Remove completely MacPass 0.7.9 version (with AppCleaner if that matters)

* Check in System Preferences -> Security & Privacy -> Privacy if there are some MacPass leftovers. If so, remove them manually.

* Install MacPass Continuous 2019-09-17 version.

* Run Autotype Doctor.

* Gave both - Accessibility and Screen recording permissions to MacPass.

* Autotype doctor shows 2 green dots for the permissions.

* Change global Autotype shortcut to Option+Command+L (if that matters)

Since then, MacPass global Autotype works every time for me.

I can confirm that this has worked for me. I followed the steps exactly (including the use of Appcleaner). I also had to reenable global Autotype checkbox in the preferences again and used a different shortcut (SHIFT+CTRL+A)

[georgesnow]

I discovered that just changing the auto type hotkey seems to fix it. I like @mstarke have more than 1 build loaded, which when I made a new build I noticed this issue got significantly worse.

[mbrucco]

Hi, I'm becoming crazy... I uninstalled. Installed again, but I don't find AutoType doctor... how to run it?
Thanks in advance

[mstarke]

it's only present in the continuous build.

[georgesnow]

@mbrucco on the continuous if it stops working. I found just changing the hotkey to something else then back to what you had before seems to fix it.

[mbrucco]

Have you link to download it?

Inviato da iPhone

Il giorno 16 ott 2019, alle ore 15:21, Michael Starke [e-mail] ha scritto:


it's only present in the continuous build.

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[mstarke]

Its in the releases on GitHub.

[JamsheedMistri]

Any ETA when the fix for this (in the continuous build) will be put into an official release? I can tolerate copy/pasting passwords while I wait for the next release, but if it takes too long I might as well install the continuous build now.

[gagarine]

@JamsheedMistri you can download the continuous build only to run the autotype doctor and then trash it (from your download folder). Stable MacPass will then works.

[rogierg]

Autotype is not working always for me, let me try to explain.

I'm on Version 0.7.9 (20190917110936-continuous) (Removed all previous versions)
Ran the autotype doctor so both settings (accessibility/screen recording) are green
After sleeping sometimes MacPass autotypes no longer functions
Running the autotype doctor screen recording is then red, however the MacPass application still has the permission if I check it in preferences

At this point I quit and restart MacPass and try autotype: Macpass complains about missing permissions (screen recording) but if I check the setting in preferences they are still there.

I've tried the tip of @emikaadeo-git but that didn't work

Let me know if I can provide you with more information

[rogierg]

@JamsheedMistri you can download the continuous build only to run the autotype doctor and then trash it (from your download folder). Stable MacPass will then works.

Are you sure? I thought the permission specifically targets the version of the program set.

[georgesnow]

It seems related to bundle id. Also I noticed after sleep the screen recording permissions seem to stop working. Maybe is assumed if the machine is asleep kill the recording permission? I found toggling the auto type to different hotkey then back and the. off and on. Fixes it and o noticed the permissions for screen recording still show a red dot. But auto type works

[georgesnow]

I am thinking the permissions need to be re-requested after sleep.

Maybe using this:
https://developer.apple.com/documentation/appkit/nsworkspacedidwakenotification?language=objc

[tramir]

I can also confirm:
(1) assigning a different shortcut makes global autotype work (and it keeps working after reverting to the default shortcut)
(2) permissions are lost after wake-up from sleep so (1) above needs to be repeated

If global autotype is activated before (1), then several application restarts and Autotype Doctor runs are needed to get it to work again -- I couldn't figure out yet the "correct" sequence.

[valueff]

Please tell me in the continuous version auto-type works? Thanks

I uninstall previous version. Then install 0.7.9 (20190917110936-continuous).
Now my MacPass looks like this

When I press Command + T, a system notification appears. It suggests opening the Autotype helper. I clamp.

In the pictures I tried to demonstrate the settings of the Autotype assistant.

Is it possible to customize the work of Autotype? If so, how to do it?

Thank.

[mstarke]

As stated above before, assisitve access is sometimes broken when using a different build. Please remove MacPass from both the screen recording and the Assistive settings (remove the app, not just uncheck it if possible) and run the Autotype doctor again. This might alleviate the problem for you.

[mstarke]

About the issue on the hotkey not being present after waking from sleep: I need to investigate this. It might also stem from having a low deployment target of 10.10. My work setup prevents me from upgrading to 10.15 for now so this might take a bit longer than usual. I am sorry for the delay but all the changes in 10.15 make MacPass rather fragile in the Autotype department.

[georgesnow]

I will add so since my last post auto type hasn’t broken on either of my 2 macs that have Catalina. And they have been asleep and rebooted. I have used other user accounts. So This really seems like a an OS.

[valueff]

Removed Macpass from Accessibility, then added it again. Earned)
Thank you very much.

[emikaadeo-git]

Works great so far with latest 0.7.10 stable version.
Before install 0.7.10 -> uninstall Continuous 2019-09-17 version and remove all previously granted permissions.

[georgesnow]

so cause I have had multiple copies of MacPass it messes up Autotype. however, this workaround seems to work every time.

Successful work around:
Quit MacPass
Open terminal run following commands:

tccutil reset ScreenCapture com.hicknhacksoftware.MacPass
tccutil reset Automation com.hicknhacksoftware.MacPass

Reopen MacPass => Preferences=>Intergration
Run Doctor to get permissions set again
Quit MacPass
Reopen MacPass => Preferences=>Intergration
Change the hotkey for Global Autotype to anything else
Disable Autotype
Renable Autotype
Re-assign back to hotkey you wanted

yay auto type works again...or at least it should ....hopefully...

[jmcollin78]

be carefull, you must REMOVE all granted permission and not only uncheck it to make it work. So carefully uninstall MacPass (application/send to trash/empty trash). Remove all granted permission remaining. Install 0.7.10. MacPass/Preferences/Integration -> must be good this time.

[Neo23x0]

Side note: it sometimes still reports "does not have the necessary permissions" but only after resume from standby AND with opened settings window. Restart of MacPass or the browser doesn't help. Only closing the settings window does.

[mstarke]

@Neo23x0 this is a known issue #993 and already fixed. Will be released with 0.7.11.

[Jan-Ko]

Hi, I have the same issue, that Autotype is not working. I recognized that I need to minimize or hide "Brackets" to resolve this "necessary permission" issue.

[mstarke]

As stated in https://github.com/MacPass/MacPass/issues/948#issuecomment-552335453 this issue is known and already fixes for the upcomming release

[StephenKing]

@mstarke thanks a lot for all your work on MacPass, I love it!
It took me a longer while to really understand that the most current latest release (.10), which I get via Homebrew, isn't working fine.
I would appreciate the .11 release that includes the fix ❤️

[woalk]

Is it really necessary to give the screen recording permission for just the regular Auto-Type for a manually selected entry? I don't use Global Auto-Type and don't want to give applications Screen Recording permissions if they don't need them. I'd like if you disabled looking at window titles in Preferences, that it would no longer bug you to need the Screen Recording permission whenever you press Cmd+T.

[mstarke]

@woalk Valid point. I tend not to be this pessimistic about the users consent. For auto-type no screen recording permission is needed.

[woalk]

@mstarke Features should always work with the minimum amount of permissions, in my opinion. Apple also seems to agree, especially considering that they're locking more and more system features behind increasingly fine-grained permissions. This makes an app much more trustworthy for the average user who cannot check the source code for what an app actually does with a permission. It also can reduce potential attack vectors if less programs are granted very intrusive permissions like screen recording.

[mstarke]

I'll try to reduce the amount of permissions needed in a future update since I do agree with your reasoning.

[mstarke]

Created issue #1091

[mstarke]

Is it really necessary to give the screen recording permission for just the regular Auto-Type for a manually selected entry? I don't use Global Auto-Type and don't want to give applications Screen Recording permissions if they don't need them. I'd like if you disabled looking at window titles in Preferences, that it would no longer bug you to need the Screen Recording permission whenever you press Cmd+T.

I was just about to implement the reduced permissions when it dawned on me that even auto-type requires the window title since it will try to match window titles on the selected entry. So there is no way to reduce the required permissions for auto-type since both do require all permissions.