Start with the thing Capper can verify.

Setup downloads stopped

Check your internet connection and retry setup. You can cancel and retry downloads; verified completed downloads are retained. Capper checks and prepares installed tools without unnecessary redownloads.

Writing works, but dictation does not

Microphone access is optional. To dictate, enable Capper in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone. You can keep using writing features without microphone access.

The response is empty

Capper retries an empty or whitespace-only response once with thinking off, using the same processing provider. A second empty result shows a plain message and keeps your input so you can try again. Local requests do not fall back to Cloud.

Think appears only when the loaded model supports it. It starts off and remembers your choice per model. If it is absent, there is nothing to turn off.

The local trial has ended

The 14-day trial starts with the first local request after setup. Reinstalling or reopening onboarding does not restart it. Expiry stops new requests, not work already in progress. Activate your paid license to continue; existing buyers retain full local access. Purchased licenses use cached validation with existing grace behavior, not permanently offline licensing.

Accessibility looks enabled, but Capper disagrees

Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility. Remove the stale Capper entry, add the exact app you now use, and enable it again. A rebuilt or newly signed copy can have a different macOS identity.

An Advanced external provider is unreachable

Confirm the model host is open, its API server is running, and a chat model is advertised. Return to Capper Settings, select the matching preset, and choose Refresh Models or Apply & Refresh after editing a custom URL.

Capper Cloud does not show credits

Confirm the License section identifies the plan as Capper Cloud, then choose Refresh Account. If the key was just purchased, wait for Polar to finish granting its benefits and choose Validate Now before testing the Cloud connection again.

The global trigger does nothing

Check Accessibility first. If another app has enabled Secure Event Input, use the menu-bar fallback and try again after leaving that secure field. You can also switch to Option–Space in Settings.

The license cannot be replaced

Capper requires explicit deactivation before another key can be entered. Use Deactivate This Mac and allow its retryable cleanup to finish. This protects the Polar activation slot from being orphaned.

Launch at login is unavailable

Quit any copy running from the DMG, drag Capper into Applications, and open that installed copy. Then enable launch at login in Settings and approve it under System Settings → General → Login Items if macOS asks.