iTerm2/Q/What does the Secure Keyboard Entry indicator mean

• In iTerm2, what does the indicator "Secure Keyboard Entry is enabled because another app has turned it on" mean?

  • Context

    • The iTerm2 indicator says: "Secure Keyboard Entry is enabled because another app has turned it on."
    • I want to understand what behavior changes when this is active, and whether I should disable it.

  • AI/Response

    • What it means

      • This indicates macOS Secure Keyboard Entry (Secure Input) is currently active at the OS level, and the app that enabled it was not the current iTerm2 session.
      • In practice: keystroke interception by other apps is blocked while it is active.

    • Why this exists

      • Per Apple Terminal docs, secure keyboard entry prevents other apps (or the network) from detecting what you type in terminal contexts.
      • iTerm2 also documents that Secure Keyboard Entry can block other programs from seeing typed input and may disable some global hotkeys.

    • Should I disable it?

      • If you are entering secrets (passwords, tokens), leaving it enabled is a reasonable security default.
      • If your workflow depends on global key listeners (autocomplete tools, text expanders, global hotkeys), disable it when needed.
      • If iTerm2 cannot uncheck Secure Keyboard Entry, another app likely enabled it and still holds it.

    • How to troubleshoot when another app enabled it

      • Check iTerm2 > Secure Keyboard Entry first.
      • If it cannot be unchecked, identify the owning process and restart/quit that app.
      • Useful command to identify owner process:
        • bash

          ioreg -l -w 0 | tr ',' '\n' 2>/dev/null | grep kCGSSessionSecureInputPID | cut -f 2 -d = | uniq | xargs ps -o command= -p

      • Common culprits reported in docs: terminal apps and sometimes password managers if they fail to release Secure Input.

  • Sources

    • Apple: Use secure keyboard entry in Terminal on Mac
    • iTerm2 docs: Menu Items > Secure Keyboard Entry
    • Fig docs: Secure Keyboard Input troubleshooting and owner-process command