How-to · Tools and permissions

Turn on computer use

Let sessions look at this computer's screen and click and type in other apps, and grant the permissions it needs.

You want a session to work an app that has no other way in, by looking at the screen and clicking and typing.

Open Settings and the General tab.
In the This machine group, switch Computer use on. It is off until you do, and it applies to every session on this computer.
On a Mac, grant the two permissions that appear under the switch. Windows and Linux have none to grant.
Ask a session to work an app, such as opening Notepad and typing a line into it.

While a session drives, a bar at the top centre of the screen names it. Press Stop in the bar to end that session's turn, or Open to bring the session up in Turret. On Linux under Wayland there is no bar; see Linux.

Grant the permissions on macOS

macOS keeps two permissions apart. Accessibility lets Turret click and type. Screen Recording lets it take screenshots. Each has its own line under the switch, reading Granted or Not granted.

On a line that reads Not granted, press Open System Settings. System Settings opens the matching pane under Privacy & Security.
Switch Turret on in that pane.
Return to Turret. The line reads again when the window regains focus, and Check again reads it on demand.
After granting Screen Recording, quit Turret and open it again. macOS applies that permission to a running app only after a relaunch.

macOS keeps the grant for /Applications/Turret.app only. A copy of Turret anywhere else does not hold it.

A line can stay Not granted while Turret is listed and switched on in the pane. Remove the Turret rows from the pane, add /Applications/Turret.app again, and relaunch Turret.

Windows needs no permission

Windows asks for no permission, so the switch is the whole setup. The Administrator apps row reads Not driven.

Windows drops input sent to an app that runs as administrator, so a session cannot click or type in such an app. The session is told the app runs as administrator.

Linux

Computer use on Linux works on GNOME under Wayland, which is Ubuntu's default, and on any desktop running an X11 session. Nothing needs granting. A Desktop row under the switch names the desktop in use, such as GNOME on Wayland.

Other Wayland desktops, such as KDE Plasma or Sway, are not supported yet. There the Computer use helper row reads Not supported, and sessions are told the desktop does not allow it.

On GNOME:

The top bar shows GNOME's screen-sharing indicator while a session can see the screen. It goes a minute after the last action.
There is no driving bar. The sidebar row and the session's header say which session drives, with Stop beside them. The stop button in GNOME's screen-sharing indicator stops every driving session too.
A session can type only the characters your keyboard layout has keys for. On a US layout that leaves out accented letters such as é, and the session is told so.
Screenshots need GStreamer's PipeWire plugin, which Ubuntu installs. Without it the helper row reads Failed to start and names the package to install, gstreamer1.0-pipewire on Debian and Ubuntu.

When the screen is locked

A session cannot see or drive a locked screen. While the screen is locked, a Screen row under the switch reads Locked. That includes a Windows screen left locked when a Remote Desktop connection ends.

The session is told the screen is locked and to tell you. Sign in to the computer again, then ask the session to continue.

When Turret is in front

A session never clicks or types into Turret itself. When a Turret window is in front, or a click would land inside a Turret window, the action is refused.

The session is told to bring the other app forward. Pressing Open in the driving bar brings Turret forward, which pauses every driving session until each brings its app back. On a Mac, pressing Stop does the same. On Linux, clicking in Turret's window does the same, since that brings Turret forward.

See Settings for the Computer use field and the rows under it.