Monterey Terminal.app Version 2.12 (443)

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Monterey Terminal.app Version 2.12 (443)

Hi - I noticed that with macOS Monterey 12.0.1 and the new Terminal.app that is included in the OS that if you launch Terminal and then launch another application, Terminal stays on top and then I have to CMD+TAB to get to the new application I just launched. I am also a developer, so, when I launch an app from terminal it also comes up, but in the background. This is completely new behavior and different from the prior major version of MacOS. In fact, I have not seen this behavior in the past 12 years. I looked to see if there were any new settings that would allow me to toggle this behavior on or off, but could not see anything different. Any ideas? Was this a deliberate change or a regression in build 443 of Terminal.app 2.12 over 2.11 in Big Sur?

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 11.4

Posted on Nov 8, 2021 7:16 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

RenaissanceNomad Author

Level 1

8 points

Nov 11, 2021 7:15 PM in response to RenaissanceNomad

I figured it out. It is definitely a bug in the latest version of Terminal.app that comes with Monterey. The bug is with "Secure Keyboard Entry". I removed my com.apple.Terminal.plist from ~/Library/Applications/Preferences. Then I launched Terminal.app which forced it to create a new .plist file. This stopped new apps from going into the background behind the terminal window and rendered them normally (in the foreground, and in the order they are launched they get focus). Then I chose the Terminal menu and selected "Secure Keyboard Entry" and from that point on apps began going into the background again behind the terminal window with the terminal window staying in focus. It was not, as I had originally suspected, a change to the .plist format between 2.11 and 2.12 but is actually something that has been introduced in the way that Secure Keyboard Entry now works.

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Answer 2

Nov 11, 2021 7:15 PM in response to VikingOSX

I figured it out. It is definitely a bug in the latest version of Terminal.app that comes with Monterey. The bug is with "Secure Keyboard Entry". I removed my com.apple.Terminal.plist from ~/Library/Applications/Preferences. Then I launched Terminal.app which forced it to create a new .plist file. This stopped new apps from going into the background behind the terminal window and rendered them normally (in the foreground, and in the order they are launched they get focus). Then I chose the Terminal menu and selected "Secure Keyboard Entry" and from that point on apps began going into the background again behind the terminal window with the terminal window staying in focus. It was not, as I had originally suspected, a change to the .plist format between 2.11 and 2.12 but is actually something that has been introduced in the way that Secure Keyboard Entry now works.

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Answer 3

etresoft

Level 9

56,698 points

Nov 9, 2021 9:25 AM in response to RenaissanceNomad

I suggest you review what 3rd party system modifications you have installed.

Another possibility could be some shell customization. That would explain why you and VikingOSX are seeing it in Terminal.

Lastly, it could be some other bug in Monterey. It is definitely not an inherent behaviour in Terminal. But some other innocent change to System Preferences could be causing it. One problem I have noticed in Monterey is that my mouse pointer has a mind of its own. Clearly Apple has screwed up something in the event processing pipeline. That could be what is causing Terminal to stay activated for you.

Maybe try to create a new user account on your machine and see if Terminal behaves the same way there.

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Answer 4

Old Toad

Level 10

215,784 points

Nov 9, 2021 9:42 AM in response to RenaissanceNomad

That's not happening for me. Once Terminal is open any new app launched opens on top of Terminal.

Boot into Safe Mode according to How to use safe mode on your Mac and test to see if the problem persists. Reboot normally and test again.

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Answer 5

VikingOSX

Level 10

123,470 points

Nov 9, 2021 8:26 AM in response to RenaissanceNomad

On Monterey 12.0.1, I can confirm that once Terminal is launched, all other applications launched (e.g. Mail, Music, Contacts, Pages, other Apple apps) submerge under Terminal, but Sublime Text 4 (Build 4121) opens over Terminal. I see no means to override Terminal behavior within the application preferences.

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Answer 6

Nov 9, 2021 9:02 AM in response to RenaissanceNomad

I tried again with many apps (Apple and third party – launched directly in Terminal, through Spotlight, through Alfred or by clicking on Dock) and all opened in foreground.

I honestly don't know why it behaves differently on your side or on VikingOSX's side.

Have you tried to save somewhere a copy of Terminal preferences, delete the original one and check if it behaves differently?

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Answer 7

VikingOSX

Level 10

123,470 points

Nov 9, 2021 9:53 AM in response to etresoft

I renamed my ~/.zshrc, ~/.zprofile, and ~/.zshenv files and then formally quit Terminal, and a new Terminal launch behaved the same way, always staying frontmost with other launched applications submerged under it. Rebooted the M1 Pro, and nothing changed in Terminal behavior. Does not appear to be a Zsh initiated problem.

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Answer 8

etresoft

Level 9

56,698 points

Nov 9, 2021 10:44 AM in response to VikingOSX

VikingOSX wrote:

I renamed my ~/.zshrc, ~/.zprofile, and ~/.zshenv files and then formally quit Terminal, and a new Terminal launch behaved the same way, always staying frontmost with other launched applications submerged under it. Rebooted the M1 Pro, and nothing changed in Terminal behavior. Does not appear to be a Zsh initiated problem.

Do you use any of the normal Terminal problem-makers, such as Homebrew?

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Answer 9

Nov 9, 2021 9:57 AM in response to VikingOSX

Does the same happen in Safe Mode?

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Answer 10

Nov 9, 2021 10:50 AM in response to VikingOSX

OK - I tried Safe Mode and still same behavior on all three of my Macbooks that were recently upgraded to Monterey 12.0.1 fro the latest Big Sur. Using Terminal.App 2.12 (443), any applications launched when Terminal is on screen go behind the Terminal Window instead of launching to the foreground.

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Answer 11

etresoft

Level 9

56,698 points

Nov 9, 2021 8:10 AM in response to RenaissanceNomad

What is that other app you are launching after Terminal? More and more apps these days are cross-platform Electron/Qt-junk. They can exhibit strange behaviour.

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Answer 12

Nov 9, 2021 7:55 AM in response to Marco Klobas

That's interesting as I am getting the exact opposite of that behavior on 3 completely separate Macbooks when running Monterey 12.0.1 and Terminal.app 2.12 (443). I tried the same command sequence you issued and when terminal is up on the screen, all applications subsequently launched have their windows show up behind the terminal.

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Answer 13

Nov 9, 2021 8:36 AM in response to etresoft

System Preferences, Safari, really anything...If Terminal.app is up on the screen, and I click any other icon on the Dock, it comes up, but it comes up behind terminal and I have to CMD+TAB to bring it to the front.

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Answer 14

Nov 9, 2021 8:54 AM in response to RenaissanceNomad

I do NOT see this behavior, in any way that I launch an application. I have Terminal running, launch, say, Music - from Spotlight, the Dock, by typing "open -a Music" in Terminal itself, and Music launches in the foreground. I tried this a large number of times, and could reproduce the problem.

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Answer 15

VikingOSX

Level 10

123,470 points

Nov 9, 2021 8:55 AM in response to RenaissanceNomad

I find clicking on the exposed portion of the submerged application to make it frontmost is easier than the cmd+tab approach.

One has to wonder how this Terminal behavior made it all the way through the beta releases and was not caught — or Apple knows about it and deprioritized a fix to post 12.0.1 point release.

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Monterey Terminal.app Version 2.12 (443)

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