Fix a problem

Choose the symptom below. If input is going somewhere unexpected, press Control-Option-Command-Escape on the system you are at before investigating.

Systems keep looking

1. Check: Both systems show that sharing is on. If either says Not Sharing, click Start Sharing there.
2. Try: On one system, click + beside Peers, enter the other’s local name or IP address, then Connect. Find its IP address in that system’s network settings. The attempt starts immediately; leave existing sharing running.
3. Expect: A new peer asks for its pairing code; a paired peer connects without one. The title becomes Connected.

If the address fails, continue with An address cannot be reached. A successful address connection does not establish why automatic discovery failed; networks can restrict Bonjour even when direct TCP works.

An address cannot be reached

1. Check: The address belongs to the peer’s active network connection, the peer is awake and sharing, and both systems can reach each other. Guest or isolated networks may prevent this.
2. Try: Correct the saved address with + and Connect. If you administer the network, check that firewall policy allows TCP port 24850, or the custom port you configured.
3. Expect: Daisy reaches the peer and either connects or asks for pairing. An initial failed address attempt reports its error; submit the corrected address to try again.

A .local name can follow address changes where local name resolution works. If it does not resolve on your network, use the current IP address.

Permissions remain denied

1. Check: Open Advanced… → Permissions in Daisy. Identify the missing grant: Accessibility or Input Monitoring.
2. Try: Click Set Up… beside it and follow the walkthrough. Enable Daisy.app in the System Settings pane it opens. Click Reopen Daisy if prompted.
3. Expect: Both permissions show as allowed in Daisy, and sharing can start.

If System Settings already shows a grant enabled but Daisy still reports it missing, use Reset… beside the permissions, then grant access again. This clears Daisy’s permission entries. Granting access only to Terminal does not grant it to Daisy.

A new peer is refused

1. Check: A member that already has peers normally accepts new systems only during an invitation.
2. Try: Click Start Sharing on the newcomer. On a group member, choose Add a System from the menu-bar flower and enter the newcomer’s code there.
3. Expect: The newcomer joins every member. The invitation closes after success or after 30 seconds; use Try Again if it expires.

After a failed or cancelled code prompt, Daisy waits 15 seconds before opening another. See pairing limits. If Daisy reports incompatible versions, update the system it identifies.

A connection keeps dropping

1. Check: The peer is awake, still sharing and on a reachable network. Look for an error about expired trust, changed identity or incompatible protocol before treating it as a network failure.
2. Try: Restore the network connection. If its IP changed, submit its current address. For expired trust, pair again; for a protocol mismatch, update Daisy.
3. Expect: A previously connected, still-trusted peer reconnects without another code after network recovery. For identity errors, use the checks below rather than repeatedly reconnecting.

If Daisy reports a changed identity: confirm the address belongs to the intended system and whether its owner deliberately replaced its Daisy identity. If the change was expected, forget the old peer entry, then invite and pair the replacement. Forgetting removes the old peer and its introduced systems from the whole group; they need new pairing to rejoin.

If the change was unexpected or cannot be explained, keep the connection closed and report it privately. Do not reset identity or approve new pairing just to clear the error.

Daisy ends a silent connection after three seconds to release remote input. Repeated reconnecting is a symptom, not proof of a particular network fault.

Repeated “Pasting from…” banners

macOS Universal Clipboard can fetch an image while Daisy reads the clipboard, producing repeated banners, especially with a screenshot on the source clipboard.

1. Check: Whether Handoff is enabled on the systems sharing the clipboard.
2. Try: On each system, open System Settings → General → AirDrop & Handoff and turn off Allow Handoff. This also disables Universal Clipboard; AirDrop file transfers are separate.
3. Expect: Daisy can still share the clipboard when control moves, without Universal Clipboard fetching from another system.

To replace the image already on a clipboard, copy plain text. To empty it, run this on the system holding it:

pbcopy </dev/null

If input also competes with another sharing path, turn off Universal Control in System Settings → Displays → Advanced…, using the option that lets your pointer and keyboard move between nearby devices.

Input goes to the wrong place

1. Recover: Press Control-Option-Command-Escape on the system you are at. Its pointer returns to the main display and remote held input is released.
2. Check: The shared arrangement matches your desk. Control cannot cross while a mouse button is held or onto a locked peer. Keyboard combinations follow the pointer.
3. Try: Correct the arrangement. If behavior is still wrong, choose Stop Sharing to keep input local and report the problem.

Control can cross nearby edges and corners, not just the path between the first two displays. See crossing rules.

A peer’s display is locked

Unlock it on that system; Daisy never unlocks a peer or sends input onto a locked display.

While connected, new physical input on the system in control refreshes unlocked members’ display idle timers. When input stops, normal display sleep and lock settings apply. If a display sleeps or locks during active use, check that its link is still Connected, then report the behavior. See display activity for the mechanism.

Report a problem

Include:

• Daisy version from About Daisy on each system, plus each macOS version.
• What you did, the expected result and the actual result.
• Which system you were using at each step, and whether the peer showed Connected, Locked or an error.
• Whether you used automatic discovery or an address, and whether the connection ever succeeded.

Open a bug report. Send suspected vulnerabilities through private security reporting, rather than a public issue. For debug output, see command-line diagnostics.