Cursor Crane
Overview

Setting Up Cursor Crane

Grant Accessibility permission#

Cursor Crane reads the interface through the macOS Accessibility API. Without this permission it cannot see elements or move the cursor, so this step is required.

Click Grant Permissions in the setup flow to jump straight to the right settings pane. Later you can use Check Permissions in Settings to verify status.

To enable it by hand:

  1. Open System Settings (System Preferences on older macOS).
  2. Go to Privacy & Security → Accessibility.
  3. Find Cursor Crane in the list.
  4. Toggle the checkbox next to it.
  5. If the list is locked, click the lock icon and enter your password.

Grant Screen Recording permission for Find Mode#

Find Mode captures the current window and runs OCR on it, which macOS treats as screen recording. The rest of the app does not need this permission, so grant it only if you plan to search visible text.

  1. Open System Settings.
  2. Go to Privacy & Security → Screen & System Audio Recording.
  3. Turn on permission for Cursor Crane.
  4. Restart the app if macOS asks you to.

See Permissions for what each permission is used for.

Set an activation shortcut#

Pick the shortcut that starts the claw machine. Control + Space is a common choice because it is easy to hold. You can add shortcuts for individual commands and modes later in Settings, and those work even when the claw machine is not running.

How you press this shortcut determines your workflow, so read Choosing a Usage Style before you settle in.

Choose your keyboard layout#

Select the physical layout you type on: QWERTY, Colemak, Colemak-DH, Dvorak, or Workman. Cursor Crane uses this to resolve readable key values and to generate a starting Mouse Control key layout.

You can adjust that layout later in Settings or by editing mouseControlKeyLayout.toml, described in Configuration.

Review settings and start#

The app stores settings in TOML files and exposes most of them in the Settings UI. Before daily use, look over the generated Mouse Control layout and confirm the usage style you chose.

Now press your activation shortcut. The claw machine opens in Command Mode. Type c to click an element, or i to enter Input Mode. To leave, press Control + Esc; see Exit and Temporary Exit.

Next#

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