# Set up ChainYourMac

A few macOS settings decide whether every feature works, above all the trackpad swipe. About five minutes, once. (For ChainYourMac 2.0.4, September 2026. In 2.0.4+, the in-app Mac Setup screen checks every setting below for you. HTML version: https://chainyourmac.com/setup)

## 1. Check the requirements

- Mac with Apple silicon (M1 or later). Intel Macs are not supported.
- macOS 13 Ventura or later.
- Only the Accessibility permission. No Screen Recording, no Input Monitoring, no SIP changes.
- For the swipe: a built-in trackpad or a Magic Trackpad. Mice don't send multi-finger swipes.

Licenses can't be refunded (https://chainyourmac.com/terms#refunds), so check these before buying.

## 2. Install and update

1. Drag ChainYourMac from the .dmg into Applications and run it from there. macOS ties the Accessibility permission to that location.
2. Enter the license key from your Gumroad email.
3. Menu bar icon → Check for Updates… and install anything offered.

On an older version? Update. Swipes work properly from 2.0.4; earlier versions could barely move the strip and snap back once macOS's desktop swipe was turned off.

## 3. Allow Accessibility

System Settings › Privacy & Security › Accessibility → turn ChainYourMac on, then click Start in the menu bar menu (it should say Running). If the switch is on but the app still says it has no permission (after moving or replacing the app), remove it with –, add it again with +, then click Restart.

## 4. Free up a swipe for the strip (most important)

The strip scrolls with a left/right swipe of 4 fingers (default) or 3. macOS sends every swipe to the system and to ChainYourMac, and ChainYourMac can't stop macOS from acting on it. If macOS uses the same swipe to switch desktops, both happen at once. On many Macs, macOS switches desktops with four fingers as well as three, even when System Settings shows "three fingers".

Pick one of these two setups:

- **Recommended: 4 fingers.** System Settings › Trackpad › More Gestures → Swipe between full-screen applications: Off. In ChainYourMac, keep Swipe to Scroll the Strip on 4 Fingers. Switch desktops with ⌃← / ⌃→ or with Mission Control.
- **Keep desktop swipes: 3 fingers.** Set Swipe between full-screen applications to four fingers and Swipe between pages to "Scroll left or right with two fingers". In ChainYourMac, set Swipe to Scroll the Strip to 3 Fingers. This only works if Three Finger Drag is off.

Also check:

- Swipe between pages: two fingers. With "three fingers", a 3-finger swipe would also go back a page in browsers.
- Three Finger Drag (Accessibility › Pointer Control › Trackpad Options): if you use it, keep the strip on 4 fingers.
- Mission Control / App Exposé are up and down swipes and can stay on.
- If macOS still switches desktops after the change, log out and back in.

## 5. Mission Control settings

System Settings › Desktop & Dock › Mission Control:

- Automatically rearrange Spaces based on most recent use: Off.
- Displays have separate Spaces: On (after you log out, each display gets its own strip).
- Stage Manager: Off. It moves and resizes windows too.

## 6. Turn off macOS window tiling (macOS 15 and later)

System Settings › Desktop & Dock › Windows: turn off "Drag windows to screen edges to tile", "Drag windows to menu bar to fill screen" and "Hold ⌥ key while dragging windows to tile" (⌥ is ChainYourMac's shortcut key).

## 7. Arrange multiple displays (optional)

System Settings › Displays › Arrange…: put the second display above or below the main one. Side by side works too, but toward the other display a window can only slide halfway off before it hides. Any further and macOS would move it onto that display.

## 8. Find the app's settings

Menu bar icon → Open ChainYourMac, or click the app's Dock icon. **Configuration** has the swipe fingers and direction, gaps, the Dock setting, focus border, drag to reorder and window rules. **Shortcuts** has every binding; the defaults use ⌥, so remap any that clash with accented letters. "Open Configuration" in the menu bar menu only shows the raw settings file in Finder.

## Troubleshooting

- Swiping does nothing or snaps back → update to 2.0.4+, check the swipe setting isn't Off, check the app says Running, use a trackpad.
- Swiping switches desktops → step 4.
- 3-finger swipe goes back a page → Swipe between pages: two fingers.
- Nothing moves / Accessibility needed → step 3.
- Windows come back shorter than the screen → update to 2.0.3.
- Can't find the settings → menu bar icon → Open ChainYourMac.
- Still stuck → email adgan.business@gmail.com with your macOS version, ChainYourMac version and the engine log (Help › Reveal Engine Log).