(i can't test it myself due to experiencing this bug: https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/708050)

it seems deleting everything in the xcode Derived Data folder, and deleting my app from system preferences → security & privacy → privacy → accessibility, and then re-adding has fixed it (i had two apps with the same name so perhaps that caused it to bug-out) EDIT: with further testing it seems now occasionally i need to remove the app from system preferences → security & privacy → privacy → accessibility to get it to work

Even setting the pasteboard fails: class AppDelegate: NSObject, NSApplicationDelegate { func applicationDidFinishLaunching(_ aNotification: Notification) { let prevClipboard: String = NSPasteboard.general.string(forType: .string) ?? "" print("prev: \(prevClipboard)") // returns "string 1" // modify clipboard from "string 1" to "string 2" NSPasteboard.general.setString("string 2", forType: .string) let newClipboard: String = NSPasteboard.general.string(forType: .string) ?? "" print("prev: \(newClipboard)") // returns "string 1" (not "string 2" as it should, thus it shows i am unable to modify the clipboard) } }

yeah i was so surprised they had the 'focus' feature but not a way to actually block apps instead of just hiding them. in this day and age with everyone being addicted to their phones/computers we really need a way to fight against it; especially now that a lot of people have to work from home making it even harder to fight the distractions. as they say, modern problems require modern solutions