Setup stays in the app: Compass, Cursor, Shortcuts, then Permissions. This page is the tutorial and FAQ the Store app opens from About › Guide — or when you choose Try the interactive guide.
First launch is a chooser, not a permission wall. You pick how Compass & Clipboard looks and how you type; macOS asks for permissions last. Settings › Set up again runs the same journey.
1
Setup Compass
The live disc from Settings, with the clipboard that pairs with the look. Original plus the bundled Looks sit beside it. Save as, Rename, Delete and Back stay in Settings after you start using the app.
Settings › Compass & Clipboard › Compass
2
Setup Cursor
Highlight, ring styles side by side, and trail. Spotlight stays off until you want it from the clipboard. Replacing the Mac’s own cursor is not part of the Store edition. Ring Physics lives here and next to ring style in Settings.
Settings › Mouse › Pointer
3
Setup Shortcuts
The live editor and the keyboard picture. On the Mac App Store edition, open the Compass with the middle mouse button or the menu bar — keyboard chords are not armed in other apps. Ring 1 lists every tile for reference. Use canonical map restores the preset.
Settings › Shortcuts › Keyboard shortcuts
4
Permissions
Real macOS Allow dialogs, last in the order: Input Monitoring, Screen Recording, Microphone, Speech Recognition, and Automation for Apple Shortcuts. Continue stays off until every required grant is on. There is no Continue without these. Compass & Clipboard never writes System Settings for you.
Then finish setup to start using the app.
This website does not open itself just because the app launched. After setup, use About › Guide, or the interactive desk when you want to practise in the browser — it does not read your screen or clipboard.
Open the Compass
The menu opens where the press began. A short click is left alone. Pause in games, or Stay out of the apps you list, when it should keep quiet.
Keyboard
Store default open is the middle mouse button (or menu bar). The picture may still show the old fn Space map for reference; it is not armed in other apps on Store.
Mouse
Click the scroll wheel and hold or drag. No wheel to click? Use the keyboard shortcut.
Hold the scroll wheel
What you will actually use
Once setup is done, these sit on the Compass and the clipboard home. The interactive desk on the Features page is the same idea, in the browser.
Capture
Region, window-under-pointer, or full screen. Remember captures keeps stills in local clipboard history. Settings › Capture chooses folders and formats. macOS calls screenshot permission Screen Recording even for a still.
Clipboard
History stays on your Mac. Drag a card out, paste the stack, or send a selection. Turn memory off in Settings if you do not want it. The browser demo never reads your clipboard.
Clipboard
Select items in Clipboard to copy, drag, or share. The Mac App Store edition does not include Send to AI.
Arrange
Halves, quarters and the other display through the Mouse Tools Window Mover Shortcut. If it is missing, Compass & Clipboard offers to install it. Full-screen windows may need to leave full screen first.
FAQ
The same answers as the FAQ tab on the site, with first-launch questions first. Search filters every question and answer.
First launch
How do I open this guide from the app?
In Compass & Clipboard, About › Guide opens this page. Complete the four setup steps to start using the app. The app does not open a website merely because it launched — choose Try the interactive guide or Guide when you want this tutorial.
What is first-run setup?
Setup Compass, Setup Cursor, Setup Shortcuts, then Permissions. Looks, pointer highlight, ring, trail and shortcut rebinding happen before macOS asks for access. Settings › Set up again repeats the chooser.
Do I have to allow every permission?
Continue stays off until every required grant is on. There is no Continue without these. After launch you can still review rows in Settings › General › Basics. Compass & Clipboard never writes System Settings for you.
Why does it want Screen Recording for a screenshot?
macOS uses the Screen Recording permission for still captures as well as video. Check access in Settings if a capture does not work. Recording itself is a separate Capture setting.
Can I practise without touching my Mac?
Yes. Try the interactive guide on the Compass & Clipboard page. It runs in your browser and does not read your screen or clipboard. It is a demonstration, not a trial installation.
Buying
What does it cost?
The Mac App Store price is €9.99: one-time purchase, no subscription.
Do I need to choose an edition?
No. Compass & Clipboard is one Mac App Store product. There is no second Store SKU.
Can I try it first?
Try the interactive desktop. It runs in your browser and does not touch your Mac or your clipboard.
Can I get a refund?
App Store purchases are handled by Apple. See Apple’s refund instructions for how to submit a request and check eligibility.
Where will I buy it?
On the Mac App Store when the listing is available. There is no separate checkout on this website.
Do updates cost extra?
This is a one-time purchase, not a subscription. Updates are delivered through the Mac App Store.
Using it
How do I open the menu?
Click the scroll wheel (middle button); the Compass opens where the press began. A short click is left alone. You can also choose Open Compass from the menu bar. The Mac App Store edition does not arm keyboard open chords in other apps.
My mouse has no scroll wheel to click.
Use a keyboard shortcut instead. Check or change yours in Settings › Shortcuts › Keyboard shortcuts. The picture above shows the default, not a custom binding.
Can I change what is on the menu?
Use Settings › Compass & Clipboard › Compass to adjust the supported menu controls and restore the defaults.
Where do my screenshots go?
When Remember captures is on, screenshots can remain in the local clipboard history. Choose the Screenshots folder under Settings › Capture › Save to.
How are screenshots different from recordings?
A screenshot is a still image; a recording is separate video output. Settings › Capture lets you choose image and video formats, video codec, scale and frame rate, with separate folders for Screenshots and Videos. The browser demo stores nothing.
Can I arrange a window on another screen?
Yes. Choose the destination display and placement in Arrange. Some windows, including those in macOS full-screen mode, may need to leave full screen before they can be moved or resized.
What is Arrange?
Arrange uses the Mouse Tools Window Mover Shortcut in Apple Shortcuts. Choose a window, destination display and placement; if the Shortcut is missing, Compass & Clipboard offers to install it.
How do I show the pointer’s coordinates?
Turn on Show coordinates in Settings › General › Drawing, or from the menu bar icon, the clipboard home or the Capture pill. A small plate follows the pointer with x and y, counted from the bottom-left corner of the screen it is on, and your drawings get the same numbers.
Does a screen recording or a share show the ring, the trail and my drawings?
In Settings › Mouse › Pointer, Effects in recordings and screen shares includes the ring, trail, spotlight, drawings and Compass; Clipboard in recordings and screen shares controls the clipboard bubble. The Capture or On Air surface stays out of the capture.
How do I cancel a running action?
Press Escape to cancel active Compass or tool interactions. A companion Apple Shortcut may still be running separately; check Apple Shortcuts if it needs to be stopped.
It gets in the way of my game.
Use Settings › General › Basics › Stay out of these apps or Pause in games.
Apple Shortcuts
How do I install the companion Shortcut?
Open Settings › Shortcuts. Under Companion Shortcuts, choose Install Macro Shortcut… for saved-macro replay. macOS opens Apple Shortcuts; import the companion and try the action again.
Can I replay a saved macro?
Yes, through the optional Macro Shortcut. The Mac App Store version can replay saved sequences of single left clicks, keys and waits; it does not record new macros. Install it once in Settings › Shortcuts, then choose Replay again.
What happens if the Shortcut fails?
If the companion is missing, Compass & Clipboard opens the import flow. If it fails or times out, the app shows the status; check Apple Shortcuts before retrying.
Permissions and privacy
How do I set up permissions?
First launch asks for the permissions this copy uses, through the usual macOS Allow dialogs. Continue stays off until every required grant is on — there is no Continue without these. After launch, review the rows in Settings › General › Basics. Set up again runs the same chooser. After a reinstall whose signature changed, leftover privacy rows for the old app are cleared and macOS asks again. Compass & Clipboard never writes System Settings for you.
Why does it want Screen Recording?
Compass & Clipboard needs access to your screen to take screenshots. macOS calls this permission Screen Recording even for a still image. Check access in Settings if a capture does not work.
Does anything leave my Mac?
Compass & Clipboard does not send clipboard or capture content just because it is running. Network-facing actions are explicit: for example opening help, Share, or Report a Problem. Updates for this copy come through the Mac App Store. This copy does not send to an AI provider. Privacy in full.
Does it read my clipboard?
When clipboard memory is enabled, the app keeps a local clipboard history. You can turn clipboard memory and the Paste stack off in Settings. The browser demo never reads your clipboard.
Do my settings stay saved?
The app reloads saved preferences for hotkeys, capture folders and formats, clipboard memory, pointer effects and themes. If something looks reset, open Settings and check the current state on your Mac.
Trouble
Why don’t I see a cursor skin?
The Mac App Store version uses highlight, ring, trail and spotlight controls instead of a separate cursor skin. Find them in Settings › Mouse › Pointer.
Nothing happens when I click the wheel.
Open Settings › General › Basics and check the permission rows. Compass & Clipboard uses macOS Input Monitoring for events from other apps; use Open Settings… or Set up again, then relaunch Compass & Clipboard if macOS still shows a stale grant.
Middle click does nothing.
Input Monitoring has to be on so Compass & Clipboard can hear the scroll-wheel button in other apps. Check that Compass & Clipboard is not paused or staying out of the front app, and try Open Compass from the menu bar.
How do I troubleshoot a failed Shortcut?
Read the status message in Compass & Clipboard, then open Apple Shortcuts and check for an import, permission or prompt. For macro replay, check that a saved macro exists. Include the status text in a support request.
Found a bug?
Report a Problem… is in the menu bar and Settings. It prepares a report with the version, macOS, Mac model and permission state; if no mail app answers, the report is placed on your clipboard instead. This website prepares an email draft only—nothing is sent until you send it.
Other
Which Macs?
Apple silicon Macs running macOS 14 Sonoma or later. Screen recording needs macOS 15 Sequoia.
MouseTools