> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.openwhispr.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# The text doesn't paste

> Transcription works but nothing appears in the app you're typing into — permissions, paste tools, and the clipboard fallback.

Your words were transcribed — you can see them in the app — but nothing landed
where you were typing.

**Your text isn't lost.** OpenWhispr puts it on the clipboard, so
<kbd>Cmd</kbd>+<kbd>V</kbd> or <kbd>Ctrl</kbd>+<kbd>V</kbd> pastes it right now
while you work out the rest.

## The fix, by operating system

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="macOS">
    Automatic pasting needs the **Accessibility** permission. Without it,
    OpenWhispr can transcribe but can't type into another application.

    <Steps>
      <Step title="Check it in the app">
        **Settings** → **Privacy & Data** under **System** → **Permissions**.
        The **Accessibility** card shows whether it's granted, and offers
        **Grant Access** if not.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Grant it in System Settings">
        **System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility**, then switch on
        **OpenWhispr**.
      </Step>

      <Step title="If it's already listed and still doesn't work, reset it">
        This is the common case after an update or reinstall: macOS keeps a stale
        entry that no longer matches the app. In the same **Permissions**
        section, open **Troubleshooting** and use **Reset accessibility
        permissions** — it removes OpenWhispr from the list so you can add it
        back cleanly. Then grant it again in System Settings.
      </Step>
    </Steps>
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Windows">
    Windows needs no special permission for automatic pasting — the app says so
    itself when you check permissions.

    If text isn't pasting on Windows:

    * Check **Automatic pasting** is on: **Settings** → **Preferences** under
      **App** → **Clipboard**.
    * Try pasting into a plain text field, like Notepad. Some applications —
      particularly ones running as administrator, remote desktop sessions, and
      games — refuse simulated input from a normal-privilege app.
    * If it works in Notepad but not in your target app, that app is the
      constraint, and the clipboard is your route into it.
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Linux">
    OpenWhispr ships a native paste helper and tries it first — on X11 that's
    the normal case and needs nothing installed. It falls back to an external
    tool only where the helper can't be used (mainly Wayland, which needs
    `/dev/uinput` access the helper may not have):

    * **X11** — falls back to `xdotool` if the helper isn't available.
    * **Wayland** — `wtype` on Sway and Hyprland, or `xdotool`/`ydotool`
      (with the `ydotoold` daemon running) on GNOME, KDE and other sessions.
    * **KDE Wayland** — also install `xclip` or `xsel`.

    The app checks what's available at runtime, so a restart usually isn't
    needed after installing a tool — **Settings** → **Preferences** under
    **App**, in the Wayland paste section, shows what it found. One exception:
    if you install `ydotool` after a first failed paste, restart OpenWhispr
    once — it caches how it talks to `ydotool` for the rest of the session.

    On some Wayland sessions automatic pasting isn't available at all. OpenWhispr
    tells you this directly — *"Clipboard Mode on Wayland"* — and copies your
    text to the clipboard instead. That's the expected behaviour, not a failure.

    Clipboard trouble specifically is covered in
    [Clipboard and system audio on Linux](/help/fix/linux-clipboard-and-audio).
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

## If you'd rather paste manually

Turn **Automatic pasting** off and keep the text on the clipboard instead:
**Settings** → **Preferences** under **App** → **Clipboard**. Switch on **Keep
transcription in clipboard** so your dictated text stays there until you paste
it.

This is also the workaround if you're hitting
[text pasted twice](/help/fix/text-pasted-twice).

## FAQ

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="It pastes into some apps but not others.">
    That's the target application refusing simulated input rather than a problem
    with OpenWhispr. Elevated applications, remote desktop clients and some
    games all do this. Use the clipboard for those.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="It says 'Clipboard Paste Failed'.">
    Paste manually with <kbd>Cmd</kbd>+<kbd>V</kbd> or
    <kbd>Ctrl</kbd>+<kbd>V</kbd> — the text is on the clipboard. Then work
    through the permission steps above for your operating system.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="It overwrites whatever I had copied.">
    Turn off **Keep transcription in clipboard** and OpenWhispr restores your
    previous clipboard contents after pasting.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

<Snippet file="still-need-help.mdx" />

## Related

* [Dictating into other apps](/platform/dictating-into-other-apps)
* [Editors, IDEs and terminals](/platform/editors-and-terminals)
* [My text is pasted twice](/help/fix/text-pasted-twice)
* [Clipboard and system audio on Linux](/help/fix/linux-clipboard-and-audio)
* [Updates and reinstalling](/help/fix/updates-and-reinstalling)