What these notices are
During an AI Focus block, FocusDragon looks out for anything that stops it checking your screen properly. When it finds something, it shows a notice on the block screen, and a macOS notification if notifications are on for FocusDragon, saying what it found and how to fix it. Most notices clear by themselves once the problem is fixed.
False alarms happen. A macOS update can switch a permission off by itself, and work or school networks sometimes block FocusDragon's server. A notice just says what FocusDragon saw.
“Screen Recording is off”
FocusDragon can't see your screen, so AI Focus has stopped checking. A macOS update can switch this off by itself.
Fix: press Open Settings on the notice, or turn Screen Recording back on for FocusDragon in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen Recording.
“Screen capture was refused”
“Don't Allow” was chosen when macOS asked about screen capture, so AI Focus can't check your screen.
On macOS 27, just before your first screenshot, macOS shows its own prompt saying FocusDragon is “requesting to bypass the system's private window picker and record your screen directly”. That's expected, not a sign anything is wrong: AI Focus checks your whole screen on its own, so it needs full Screen Recording access rather than you picking a window each time.
Fix: press Open Settings on the notice and allow FocusDragon to capture your screen. You can also turn Screen Recording back on for FocusDragon any time in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen Recording.
“FocusDragon's extension is off in Chrome” (or another browser)
The FocusDragon extension is off, missing or not fully set up in the browser the notice names.
Fix: press Set up on the notice, or turn the extension back on in that browser's extensions page with the same access as before, so AI Focus keeps working there. Setup guides: focusdragon.app/docs/safari-extension and focusdragon.app/docs/chrome-extension
“FocusDragon was stopped”
FocusDragon was quit or stopped during your AI Focus block, so the dragon stopped watching. You'll see this when FocusDragon opens again.
Fix: keep FocusDragon open until a block ends. If it crashed or your Mac restarted, start the block again.
“FocusDragon's helper stopped”
FocusDragon's background helper stopped during the block.
Fix: quit and reopen FocusDragon to start it again. If it won't start: focusdragon.app/docs/daemon-wont-start
“Your Mac's clock was changed”
The date or time changed during the block. Changing it doesn't end a cooldown early: AI Focus measures cooldowns by the time that has actually passed.
Fix: press Open Date & Time on the notice, or set the date and time back to automatic in System Settings → General → Date & Time.
“FocusDragon's server is blocked on this Mac”
Your Mac's hosts file (/etc/hosts) sends FocusDragon's server nowhere, so AI Focus can't check your screen.
Fix: remove any line in /etc/hosts that mentions focusdragon.app or api.focusdragon.app. This command lists them:
grep -n "focusdragon.app" /etc/hosts
# Each line it prints sends FocusDragon's server somewhere else.FocusDragon's own website blocking also uses this file, so leave its other lines alone.
“Can't reach FocusDragon's server”
Other sites work but FocusDragon's server doesn't answer, so AI Focus can't check your screen. Work and school networks sometimes block it.
Fix: try another network, or turn off whatever is blocking FocusDragon, such as a VPN, firewall or content filter.
“Switched to another user”
This Mac switched to another user account during your AI Focus block. AI Focus only checks your own account. The login window on its own counts as a locked screen, not another user.
Fix: switch back to your account to carry on with the block. The notice lifts when you're back.
Other messages
- “You're offline”: AI Focus is using its offline rules until you're back online. focusdragon.app/docs/ai-focus-offline
- “AI blocking is paused” and other reasons checks stop: focusdragon.app/docs/ai-checks-paused