The keyboard shortcut isn't working
When ⌃⌥⌘B, ⌃⌥⌘V, or ⌃⌥⌘X don't respond — here's how to find out why.
First: is BlurBox running?
Look for the BlurBox icon in your menu bar (top-right of your screen). If it's not there, BlurBox isn't running and shortcuts can't fire.
- Open BlurBox from Applications
- Confirm the menu bar icon appears
- Try the shortcut again
Most common cause: shortcut conflict
Other utility apps register similar global shortcuts. BlurBox uses the relatively unusual ⌃ ⌥ ⌘combo specifically to avoid conflicts, but it's not bulletproof. Common offenders:
- Raycast / Alfred — they often capture ⌘ combos system-wide.
- Rectangle / Magnet / BetterSnapTool — window managers that bind shortcuts to window arrangement.
- Karabiner-Elements — a system-wide key remapper.
- Apple's built-in shortcuts — System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts has its own bindings.
How to identify the culprit
- Quit one utility app at a timeTry the BlurBox shortcut after each.
- Or: open System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard ShortcutsBrowse the categories for any binding using the same key combo.
- Reassign or disable the conflicting shortcutClick on the conflicting binding and either remove it or change it to something else.
If there's no conflict
Check Input Monitoring permission
BlurBox uses Carbon's RegisterEventHotKeyAPI which doesn't require Input Monitoring permission, but if your macOS has been hardened with extra restrictions or enterprise-managed profiles, this could matter.
- System Settings → Privacy & Security → Input Monitoring.
- If BlurBox is in the list, make sure it's toggled on.
Restart BlurBox
Sometimes the hotkey registration gets into a bad state. Quit BlurBox from the menu bar, then reopen it from Applications. Hotkeys are re-registered fresh on every launch.
Restart macOS
Last resort, but it does fix obscure event-routing issues. After a reboot, open BlurBox and try the shortcut again before opening anything else.