1Password dialog steals focus

[peterp]

When 1Password is asking for a password it steals input focus and cmdcmd doesn't respond.

[peterp]

Root cause

macOS Secure Event Input. When 1Password (or any password field) activates secure input, the OS routes key events directly to that field and suppresses delivery to:

• NSEvent.addGlobalMonitorForEvents — used in HotkeyMonitor.swift:13 and CmdChord.swift:19,26
• CGEventTap at .cgSessionEventTap with .listenOnly — used in CmdChord.swift:62-68

So cmdcmd literally cannot see the cmd-cmd chord (or any custom trigger) while the password prompt holds focus. IsSecureEventInputEnabled() (Carbon) returns true in exactly this state, which makes it easy to confirm and to detect at runtime.

Options

1. Detect and surface it. Poll IsSecureEventInputEnabled() or observe com.apple.HIToolbox.SecureEventInputEnabledNotification on NSDistributedNotificationCenter. When active, log it and optionally show a brief menu-bar / overlay hint so the failure isn't silent. Doesn't fix the trigger, but the user understands why nothing happens.
2. Register a Carbon hotkey via RegisterEventHotKey. Keeps firing during secure input. Works for HotkeyMonitor's fixed modifier+key shortcuts — not for the cmd-cmd chord, which needs flag-transition detection that Carbon hotkeys don't model.
3. Move the event tap to .cghidEventTap. Historically saw events through secure input, but Apple has tightened this; on recent macOS it may no longer bypass secure input. Worth empirically testing before committing.

Suggested approach

Combine 1 + 2: keep cmd-cmd behaviour unchanged but warn when secure input swallows it, and let users on a custom hotkey trigger get a Carbon-backed path that survives 1Password prompts.