Accessibility is on, but Flick shows no windows

macOS can keep showing Flick as allowed after the permission has stopped applying to the copy you're running, usually after Flick was replaced with a different copy. Remove Flick from the Accessibility list with −, add it back with +, and turn it on.

Updated Flick 1.1macOS 14 or later

Remove Flick and add it back

  1. Open the Accessibility list

    Choose Apple menu › System Settings, click Privacy & Security in the sidebar, then click Accessibility. You may need to scroll down.

  2. Remove Flick

    Select Flick in the list and click the Remove button (−) below it. macOS may ask for your password or Touch ID.

  3. Add it back

    Click the Add button (+), choose Flick in your Applications folder, and click Open.

  4. Turn it on

    Turn on the switch next to Flick. There's no need to restart anything: Flick checks for the permission every second while it's missing, so press ⌥Tab after a moment and your windows are there.

These are the same controls you used to allow Accessibility the first time, and the installation guide shows where they are.

Why this happens

macOS doesn't keep the permission for an app's name. It keeps it for the app it was given to, recognized by that app's code signature. When the Flick on your Mac is replaced with a copy macOS doesn't match with the entry, the switch can stay on while the permission no longer applies. Removing the entry and adding Flick again makes macOS record the copy you have now.

You'll know this is the cause when the switch is on and yet Flick behaves as if it isn't:

  • ⌥Tab shows “Flick needs accessibility permissions to track your windows.” instead of your windows.
  • Flick's menu bar menu still shows Accessibility permission needed at the top.
  • The welcome window opens every time you start Flick.

Updates you install with Install Update normally keep the permission, your settings and your license. If Flick asks for Accessibility again after an update and turning it on doesn't take, remove Flick and add it back as above.

Reset the permission from Terminal

If removing and adding Flick doesn't help, clear macOS's record of Flick's Accessibility permission with tccutil, the command-line tool macOS includes for its privacy settings. Given an app's identifier, it resets that app's decision only, so every other app keeps its permissions.

  1. Open Terminal

    It's in the Utilities folder inside your Applications folder.

  2. Run the reset

    Paste this command and press Return. com.flicknav.flick is Flick's identifier.

    tccutil reset Accessibility com.flicknav.flick

  3. Allow Flick again

    In System Settings › Privacy & Security › Accessibility, click + if Flick isn't listed, choose it in Applications, and turn on its switch.

More about what the command does, and when it helps other apps too: resetting privacy permissions with tccutil.

Keep the identifierWithout com.flicknav.flick at the end, the command resets Accessibility for every app on your Mac, and each one would have to be allowed again.

Still no windows

  • The panel shows “Indexing desktop”. Flick's first scan of your windows is still running. Give it a moment.
  • Only some windows are missing. Check Settings › Exceptions for ignored apps, and Show only the active Space and Show minimized windows in Settings › General. The free version lists your 5 most recent windows. Find a missing window
  • An app such as Slack or VS Code shows one row, or none. Some apps report their windows only when asked. Bring one of the app's windows onto your current Space, then open Flick again. Windows from Electron apps
  • Nothing helps. Choose Report a Problem… in Flick's menu bar menu. It drafts an email to support with Flick's version, your macOS version and your Mac's chip, never your license key, and nothing is sent until you send it.

Questions

Will removing Flick from the list reset my settings or license?

No. Your settings and your license are stored separately from the permission and stay as they are, and so does the license's seat.

Do I need to restart Flick or my Mac?

No. Flick checks for the permission every second while it's missing and starts listing windows as soon as it's back.

Is the tccutil command safe to run?

It changes one thing: the Accessibility decision for the app you name, here Flick. Other apps and other permissions aren't touched. Afterwards Flick simply needs to be allowed again.

Still stuck?Email [email protected] with your macOS version, your Mac and what you've tried, or visit the Support page.

Sources

Checked on .

A window is missing

The settings and app quirks that keep one window out of the list.

Find it

Reset a permission with tccutil

What the command clears, and how to use it for one app at a time.

Read the post

Every window, one list

What Flick lists once it can see your windows, and what it leaves out on purpose.

See the feature

Back to every window.

Once Flick can see them, every open window is one ⌥Tab away.

Download Flick See pricing

The free version never expires and switches between your 5 most recent windows. A one-time license, from $9.49, unlocks every window and browser tabs.