Safety Guide
Wardlume locks your Mac's input at a low level, so it's worth knowing how to get out and what it does (and doesn't) protect against.
Ways out, always
| Way out | How |
|---|---|
| Apple Watch | Tap any key or the trackpad → double-press your watch's side button (when watch unlock is set up) |
| Touch ID | Press your unlock shortcut (⌘⇧U by default) → finger on the sensor |
| Password | Press your unlock shortcut → Use Password… |
| Force Quit | ⌘⌥Esc → select Wardlume → Force Quit. macOS reserves this shortcut, so no app can block it. Quitting Wardlume ends the ward. |
| Sleep | Closing the lid (or any system sleep) ends the ward. Wardlume never lets a lock survive sleep. |
| Emergency exit (optional) | Enable it in Settings → Advanced. Your chosen shortcut drops the ward with no authentication, so anyone at the keyboard can use it. Leave it off unless you want a guaranteed escape. |
Touch ID always works, even if you mis-configure a custom shortcut.
What the ward blocks
- Keyboard, mouse, trackpad, scrolling, and stylus input on every monitor, whichever app has focus. Only your unlock shortcut (and the emergency exit, if enabled) is recognized.
- Trackpad gestures: Mission Control, Spaces, Launchpad, and similar swipes.
- Media and brightness keys.
- The menu bar: the Apple menu (Restart, Shut Down, Log Out), Control Center, and other apps' menu-bar icons.
- Wardlume's own Settings: hidden while warded and not clickable through the glass.
What it can't block (by design)
These are protected by macOS itself and are deliberately left as ways out:
- ⌘⌥Esc (Force Quit)
- The power button
- The Touch ID sensor (it's how you unlock)
Good to know
- Your screen stays visible. That's the point, so anyone can watch your agent work. Choose Settings → Displays & gestures → Other monitors → Black out if you'd rather other monitors go dark.
- Unplugging a monitor never unlocks. The ward moves to a remaining display, usually your laptop screen, and input stays locked.
- Your Mac stays awake while warded (Settings → Automation), so the display's sleep timer doesn't end the ward. Closing the lid still does.
- Auto-ward always shows a 10-second countdown first. Moving the mouse or pressing a key cancels it. It never triggers while a video or presentation keeps the screen awake, or when the screen is locked.
- Apple Watch requests are rate-limited, and a touch only ever asks your watch, never Touch ID or the password, so a stranger can't use up your Touch ID attempts. If you're nearby when someone touches your Mac, your watch buzzes; only your wrist can approve.
- Wardlume never unlocks just because your watch or phone is nearby. You always approve deliberately.
Known limitations
- While warded, clicking items in Wardlume's menu-bar dropdown doesn't run them. Use your unlock shortcut or Apple Watch instead.
- Only the current macOS Space is shown behind the glass. Other Spaces can't be displayed by any app.