Fix 22 audited bugs: stop hangs/crashes/text-corruption; auto-install model

Stability (the "super buggy" feel):
- Move the Accessibility-tree traversal OFF the main thread with a per-message
  timeout, so a busy/wedged target app can't beachball or hang GrammaGem.
- Replace every unchecked `as! AXUIElement` force-cast with a CFTypeID-checked
  safe cast (AXSupport), eliminating crashes from misbehaving AX servers.
- Never scan GrammaGem's own windows (self-PID exclusion).
- Generation tokens + in-flight guard so superseded scans/downloads can't clobber state.

Text safety:
- Live fixes now read the element's CURRENT value before writing (and only apply a
  span edit when the field still matches the snapshot), so edits made since the last
  scan are never overwritten. Cap per-field check length.
- Stable per-field identity (AX id / position) so the Live Check list no longer churns.
- Include focus + identity in change-detection so tabbing updates the focused field.

Other audited fixes:
- Page blocker: conservative skip when a browser's URL can't be read.
- Model download: validate on-disk size (reject HTML/truncated 200s), clean up
  partials on cancel/failure, handle URLError.cancelled.
- Licensing: clear a server-confirmed-invalid license instead of honoring grace;
  show the real device limit instead of "0 Macs".
- Hotkey re-register falls back to the default if a chosen combo is taken.
- Daily free-tier counter tracks the live timezone.
- "Fix focused field" ignores non-text controls.

Feature: auto-install the on-device model in the background on first launch.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

Sources/GrammaGem/AI/ModelManager.swift

@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ final class ModelManager: ObservableObject {
     @Published var selectedRepo: String = AppConfig.Model.defaultRepo
 
     private var task: Task<Void, Never>?
+    private var generation = 0
 
     init() {
         if isModelPresent(repo: selectedRepo) { state = .ready }
@@ -40,25 +41,28 @@ final class ModelManager: ObservableObject {
     func startDownload(repo: String? = nil) {
         let target = repo ?? selectedRepo
         selectedRepo = target
+        if isModelPresent(repo: target) { state = .ready; return }
         task?.cancel()
-        task = Task { await self.run(repo: target) }
+        generation += 1
+        let gen = generation
+        task = Task { await self.run(repo: target, generation: gen) }
     }
 
     func cancel() {
         task?.cancel()
         task = nil
+        generation += 1 // invalidate any in-flight run's state writes
         statusText = ""
         state = isModelPresent(repo: selectedRepo) ? .ready : .notDownloaded
     }
 
     // MARK: - Download
 
-    private func run(repo: String) async {
+    private func run(repo: String, generation gen: Int) async {
-        if isModelPresent(repo: repo) { state = .ready; return }
+        if isModelPresent(repo: repo) { set(gen, .ready, ""); return }
 
         let dir = modelDir(repo)
-        state = .downloading(progress: 0)
+        set(gen, .downloading(progress: 0), "Preparing…")
-        statusText = "Preparing…"
         do {
             try FileManager.default.createDirectory(at: dir, withIntermediateDirectories: true)
             let files = try await fetchFileList(repo: repo)
@@ -68,7 +72,8 @@ final class ModelManager: ObservableObject {
 
             for file in files {
                 try Task.checkCancellation()
-                statusText = "Downloading \(file.path) (\(byteString(file.size)))…"
+                set(gen, .downloading(progress: min(1, Double(done) / Double(total))),
+                    "Downloading \(file.path) (\(byteString(file.size)))…")
                 let url = URL(string: "\(AppConfig.Model.huggingFaceBase)/\(repo)/resolve/main/\(file.path)")!
                 let (tmp, response) = try await URLSession.shared.download(from: url)
                 if let http = response as? HTTPURLResponse, http.statusCode != 200 {
@@ -81,24 +86,48 @@ final class ModelManager: ObservableObject {
                     try FileManager.default.removeItem(at: dest)
                 }
                 try FileManager.default.moveItem(at: tmp, to: dest)
+
+                // Reject a wrong/truncated body (e.g. an HTML interstitial served
+                // with HTTP 200) by checking the on-disk size against the expected.
+                if file.size > 0 {
+                    let actual = (try? FileManager.default.attributesOfItem(atPath: dest.path)[.size] as? Int64) ?? nil
+                    if let actual, actual != file.size {
+                        throw ModelError.corrupt(file.path)
+                    }
+                }
                 done += file.size
-                state = .downloading(progress: min(1, Double(done) / Double(total)))
+                set(gen, .downloading(progress: min(1, Double(done) / Double(total))), nil)
             }
 
             try Data().write(to: dir.appendingPathComponent(".complete"))
-            statusText = ""
+            set(gen, .ready, "")
-            state = .ready
             Log.ai.info("Model downloaded: \(repo, privacy: .public)")
         } catch is CancellationError {
-            statusText = ""
+            cleanupPartial(repo: repo)
-            state = isModelPresent(repo: repo) ? .ready : .notDownloaded
+            set(gen, isModelPresent(repo: repo) ? .ready : .notDownloaded, "")
+        } catch let urlError as URLError where urlError.code == .cancelled {
+            cleanupPartial(repo: repo)
+            set(gen, isModelPresent(repo: repo) ? .ready : .notDownloaded, "")
         } catch {
-            statusText = ""
+            cleanupPartial(repo: repo)
-            state = .failed(error.localizedDescription)
+            set(gen, .failed(error.localizedDescription), "")
             Log.ai.error("Model download failed: \(error.localizedDescription, privacy: .public)")
         }
     }
 
+    /// Apply a state/status update only if this run hasn't been superseded.
+    private func set(_ gen: Int, _ newState: State, _ status: String?) {
+        guard gen == generation else { return }
+        state = newState
+        if let status { statusText = status }
+    }
+
+    /// Remove an incomplete model directory so partial files don't linger.
+    private func cleanupPartial(repo: String) {
+        guard !isModelPresent(repo: repo) else { return }
+        try? FileManager.default.removeItem(at: modelDir(repo))
+    }
+
     /// List the repo's files (+ sizes) from the Hugging Face tree API.
     private func fetchFileList(repo: String) async throws -> [(path: String, size: Int64)] {
         let url = URL(string: "\(AppConfig.Model.huggingFaceBase)/api/models/\(repo)/tree/main?recursive=1")!
@@ -118,10 +147,12 @@ final class ModelManager: ObservableObject {
     enum ModelError: LocalizedError {
         case empty
         case http(Int, String)
+        case corrupt(String)
         var errorDescription: String? {
             switch self {
             case .empty: return "No model files were found for this repository."
             case .http(let code, let what): return "Download failed (\(code)) while fetching \(what)."
+            case .corrupt(let what): return "Downloaded file looked wrong (\(what)); please retry."
             }
         }
     }

Sources/GrammaGem/App/AppState.swift

@@ -93,6 +93,13 @@ final class AppState: ObservableObject {
             .sink { [weak self] on in self?.liveMonitor.setEnabled(on) }
             .store(in: &cancellables)
 
+        // Auto-install the on-device AI model in the background on first use, so
+        // the AI features are ready without the user hunting for a button. The
+        // download is resumable/cancelable from the AI Model screen.
+        if !model.isModelPresent(repo: model.selectedRepo) {
+            model.startDownload()
+        }
+
         permissions.refresh()
         appAwareEnabled = gate.appAwareEnabled
         syncIgnoreList()
@@ -110,10 +117,20 @@ final class AppState: ObservableObject {
     /// (Re)register the global hotkeys from the current preferences.
     func reregisterHotkeys() {
         hotkeys.unregisterAll()
-        hotkeys.register(id: 1, keyCode: preferences.fixHotkey.keyCode,
+        if !hotkeys.register(id: 1, keyCode: preferences.fixHotkey.keyCode,
-                         modifiers: preferences.fixHotkey.carbonModifiers, action: .fix)
+                             modifiers: preferences.fixHotkey.carbonModifiers, action: .fix) {
-        hotkeys.register(id: 2, keyCode: preferences.askHotkey.keyCode,
+            // The chosen combo was rejected (already claimed) — keep a working
-                         modifiers: preferences.askHotkey.carbonModifiers, action: .ask)
+            // shortcut by falling back to the default rather than leaving none.
+            hotkeys.register(id: 1, keyCode: AppConfig.Hotkey.defaultKeyCode,
+                             modifiers: AppConfig.Hotkey.defaultModifiers, action: .fix)
+            lastStatus = "That Fix shortcut is already in use — kept the default (⌘;)."
+        }
+        if !hotkeys.register(id: 2, keyCode: preferences.askHotkey.keyCode,
+                             modifiers: preferences.askHotkey.carbonModifiers, action: .ask) {
+            hotkeys.register(id: 2, keyCode: AppConfig.Hotkey.askKeyCode,
+                             modifiers: AppConfig.Hotkey.askModifiers, action: .ask)
+            lastStatus = "That Ask shortcut is already in use — kept the default (⌘')."
+        }
     }
 
     func handle(_ action: HotkeyManager.Action) async {

Sources/GrammaGem/App/OnboardingView.swift

@@ -110,8 +110,8 @@ struct ModelDownloadControls: View {
         switch model.state {
         case .notDownloaded:
             VStack(alignment: .leading, spacing: 4) {
-                Button("Download model") { model.startDownload() }
+                Button("Download model now") { model.startDownload() }
-                Text("Downloads the model files from Hugging Face (about 1–2 GB). One time, then offline.")
+                Text("Installs automatically in the background on first launch (about 1–2 GB from Hugging Face). One time, then fully offline.")
                     .font(.caption).foregroundStyle(.secondary)
             }
         case .downloading(let progress):

Sources/GrammaGem/Entitlements/FeatureGate.swift

@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ final class DailyCounter {
         let f = DateFormatter()
         f.dateFormat = "yyyy-MM-dd"
         f.locale = Locale(identifier: "en_US_POSIX")
-        f.timeZone = .current // local midnight reset
+        f.timeZone = .autoupdatingCurrent // tracks the live local zone (travel/TZ change)
         return f
     }()
 

Sources/GrammaGem/Licensing/LemonSqueezyClient.swift

@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ final class LemonSqueezyClient {
             "licenses/activate",
             params: ["license_key": key, "instance_name": instanceName])
 
-        if let err = res.error { throw mapServerError(err) }
+        if let err = res.error { throw mapServerError(err, limit: res.license_key?.activation_limit) }
         guard res.activated, let instance = res.instance else {
             throw LicenseError.serverMessage("Activation failed.")
         }
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ final class LemonSqueezyClient {
         if let instanceID { params["instance_id"] = instanceID }
         let res: LSValidateResponse = try await post("licenses/validate", params: params)
 
-        if let err = res.error { throw mapServerError(err) }
+        if let err = res.error { throw mapServerError(err, limit: res.license_key?.activation_limit) }
         let tier = try verifyAndResolveTier(meta: res.meta, licenseKey: res.license_key)
         return ValidationResult(
             valid: res.valid, tier: tier,
@@ -84,10 +84,10 @@ final class LemonSqueezyClient {
         }
     }
 
-    private func mapServerError(_ message: String) -> LicenseError {
+    private func mapServerError(_ message: String, limit: Int? = nil) -> LicenseError {
         let m = message.lowercased()
         if m.contains("activation limit") {
-            return .activationLimitReached(0)
+            return .activationLimitReached(limit ?? 0)
         }
         if m.contains("not found") || m.contains("invalid") {
             return .invalidKey

Sources/GrammaGem/Licensing/LicenseManager.swift

@@ -78,12 +78,30 @@ final class LicenseManager: ObservableObject {
                 Log.licensing.notice("License reported invalid by server; clearing.")
                 clearLocal()
             }
+        } catch let e as LicenseError where Self.isServerConfirmedInvalid(e) {
+            // The server actively rejected the key (refunded/disabled/wrong product)
+            // — drop it now rather than honoring it for the 30-day grace window.
+            Log.licensing.notice("License rejected by server; clearing.")
+            clearLocal()
         } catch {
             // Offline / transient: keep the cached license under the grace window.
             Log.licensing.notice("Validation deferred (offline). Cached license stands under grace.")
         }
     }
 
+    /// Distinguish a server-confirmed-invalid license from a transient/offline failure.
+    private static func isServerConfirmedInvalid(_ error: LicenseError) -> Bool {
+        switch error {
+        case .invalidKey, .wrongProduct:
+            return true
+        case .serverMessage(let m):
+            let s = m.lowercased()
+            return ["disabled", "expired", "inactive", "revoked", "refund"].contains { s.contains($0) }
+        case .network, .activationLimitReached:
+            return false
+        }
+    }
+
     /// Free a device slot so the license can move to another Mac.
     func deactivateThisDevice() async {
         guard let rec = record else { return }

Sources/GrammaGem/System/AXSupport.swift

@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+import Foundation
+import ApplicationServices
+
+/// Safe Accessibility helpers shared across the System layer.
+///
+/// `AXUIElementCopyAttributeValue` returning `.success` only guarantees a
+/// non-null `CFTypeRef` — NOT that it is an `AXUIElement`. A misbehaving AX
+/// server (Electron/Java/custom) can return a different CF type, and a forced
+/// `as!` cast then traps and crashes the whole app. These helpers cast safely.
+enum AX {
+    /// Safely bridge a CFTypeRef to AXUIElement, returning nil on type mismatch.
+    static func element(_ ref: CFTypeRef?) -> AXUIElement? {
+        guard let ref, CFGetTypeID(ref) == AXUIElementGetTypeID() else { return nil }
+        return (ref as! AXUIElement) // safe: type id verified above
+    }
+
+    /// Copy an attribute as an `AXUIElement` (nil on failure/type mismatch).
+    static func copyElement(_ element: AXUIElement, _ attribute: String) -> AXUIElement? {
+        var ref: CFTypeRef?
+        guard AXUIElementCopyAttributeValue(element, attribute as CFString, &ref) == .success else {
+            return nil
+        }
+        return AX.element(ref)
+    }
+
+    /// Copy an attribute as a `String` (nil on failure/wrong type).
+    static func copyString(_ element: AXUIElement, _ attribute: String) -> String? {
+        var ref: CFTypeRef?
+        guard AXUIElementCopyAttributeValue(element, attribute as CFString, &ref) == .success else {
+            return nil
+        }
+        return ref as? String
+    }
+
+    /// Bound each cross-process AX message so a wedged target app can't hang us.
+    static func setMessagingTimeout(_ element: AXUIElement, _ seconds: Float) {
+        AXUIElementSetMessagingTimeout(element, seconds)
+    }
+}

Sources/GrammaGem/System/AppDetector.swift

@@ -32,20 +32,25 @@ final class AppDetector {
         guard AXIsProcessTrusted(),
               let app = NSWorkspace.shared.frontmostApplication else { return nil }
         let axApp = AXUIElementCreateApplication(app.processIdentifier)
-        var winRef: CFTypeRef?
+        AX.setMessagingTimeout(axApp, 0.3)
-        guard AXUIElementCopyAttributeValue(
+        guard let window = AX.copyElement(axApp, kAXFocusedWindowAttribute) else { return nil }
-            axApp, kAXFocusedWindowAttribute as CFString, &winRef) == .success,
+        if let urlString = AX.copyString(window, kAXDocumentAttribute),
-            let winRef
-        else { return nil }
-        let window = winRef as! AXUIElement
-
-        var docRef: CFTypeRef?
-        if AXUIElementCopyAttributeValue(
-            window, kAXDocumentAttribute as CFString, &docRef) == .success,
-            let urlString = docRef as? String,
            let host = URL(string: urlString)?.host {
             return host
         }
         return nil
     }
+
+    /// Known web browsers, where a nil domain means "URL undeterminable" (so the
+    /// page blocker should be conservative) rather than "not a web page".
+    private static let browserBundleIDs: Set<String> = [
+        "com.apple.Safari", "com.google.Chrome", "com.google.Chrome.canary",
+        "company.thebrowser.Browser", "com.microsoft.edgemac", "com.brave.Browser",
+        "org.mozilla.firefox", "com.operasoftware.Opera", "com.vivaldi.Vivaldi",
+    ]
+
+    func isBrowser(_ bundleID: String?) -> Bool {
+        guard let bundleID else { return false }
+        return Self.browserBundleIDs.contains(bundleID)
+    }
 }

Sources/GrammaGem/System/Exclusions.swift

@@ -27,6 +27,10 @@ final class Exclusions: ObservableObject {
         blockedDomains = d.stringArray(forKey: domainsKey) ?? []
     }
 
+    /// True if the user has any domain rules (so we should be conservative when
+    /// a browser's URL can't be read).
+    var hasDomainRules: Bool { !blockedDomains.isEmpty }
+
     /// Whether GrammaGem should be suppressed for this frontmost context.
     func isBlocked(bundleID: String?, domain: String?) -> Bool {
         if let bundleID, blockedApps.contains(bundleID) { return true }

Sources/GrammaGem/System/HotkeyManager.swift

@@ -34,7 +34,8 @@ final class HotkeyManager {
                  modifiers: AppConfig.Hotkey.askModifiers, action: .ask)
     }
 
-    func register(id: UInt32, keyCode: UInt32, modifiers: UInt32, action: Action) {
+    @discardableResult
+    func register(id: UInt32, keyCode: UInt32, modifiers: UInt32, action: Action) -> Bool {
         idToAction[id] = action
         let hotKeyID = EventHotKeyID(signature: OSType(0x47474D31), id: id) // 'GGM1'
         var ref: EventHotKeyRef?
@@ -43,9 +44,10 @@ final class HotkeyManager {
             GetEventDispatcherTarget(), 0, &ref)
         if status == noErr {
             refs.append(ref)
-        } else {
+            return true
-            Log.system.error("RegisterEventHotKey failed: \(status)")
         }
+        Log.system.error("RegisterEventHotKey failed: \(status)")
+        return false
     }
 
     func unregisterAll() {

Sources/GrammaGem/System/LiveMonitor.swift

@@ -13,11 +13,14 @@ struct DetectedField: Identifiable {
     let isFocused: Bool
 }
 
-/// The always-on, menu-bar–resident monitor. While enabled, it periodically
+/// The always-on, menu-bar–resident monitor. While enabled it periodically scans
-/// scans **every** text area in the frontmost window (Accessibility API), runs
+/// **every** text area in the frontmost window and publishes the ones with issues.
-/// the offline grammar engine on each, and publishes the ones with issues — so
+///
-/// GrammaGem reflects problems across the whole screen, not just the focused
+/// Performance & safety: the Accessibility-tree traversal (the part that can hang
-/// field. It stays out of excluded apps/domains and never sends text anywhere.
+/// on a busy/wedged app) runs OFF the main thread with a per-message timeout; only
+/// the bounded spell/grammar pass and publish happen on the main actor. It never
+/// scans GrammaGem itself, respects the page blocker, and applies fixes against the
+/// element's *live* value so it can't overwrite text typed since the last scan.
 @MainActor
 final class LiveMonitor: ObservableObject {
     @Published private(set) var fields: [DetectedField] = []
@@ -36,8 +39,12 @@ final class LiveMonitor: ObservableObject {
     private var timer: Timer?
     private var enabled = false
     private var paused = false
+    private var scanning = false
     private var lastHash = 0
-    private let interval: TimeInterval = 1.4
+    private var scanGeneration = 0
+    private let interval: TimeInterval = 1.6
+    private let maxCheckChars = 4000
+    private let ownPID = ProcessInfo.processInfo.processIdentifier
 
     init(grammar: GrammarEngine, detector: AppDetector, exclusions: Exclusions, capture: TextCapture) {
         self.grammar = grammar
@@ -49,10 +56,10 @@ final class LiveMonitor: ObservableObject {
     func setEnabled(_ on: Bool) { enabled = on; reconcile() }
     func setPaused(_ p: Bool) { paused = p; reconcile() }
 
-    /// Re-scan now (e.g. after applying a fix).
+    /// Re-scan now (e.g. after applying a fix), superseding any in-flight scan.
-    func refreshSoon() { lastHash = 0; tick() }
+    func refreshSoon() { lastHash = 0; tick(force: true) }
 
-    // MARK: - Applying fixes
+    // MARK: - Applying fixes (always against the element's LIVE value)
 
     @discardableResult
     func fixAll() -> Int {
@@ -69,16 +76,24 @@ final class LiveMonitor: ObservableObject {
     }
 
     func apply(_ suggestion: Suggestion, in field: DetectedField) {
-        let ns = NSMutableString(string: field.text)
+        // Only apply a span edit if the field still matches the snapshot the
+        // suggestion offsets were computed against; otherwise re-scan instead of
+        // corrupting text the user has since changed.
+        guard let live = capture.currentValue(of: field.element) else { return }
+        guard live == field.text else { refreshSoon(); return }
+        let ns = NSMutableString(string: live)
         guard suggestion.location + suggestion.length <= ns.length else { return }
         ns.replaceCharacters(in: suggestion.range, with: suggestion.replacement)
         setValue(ns as String, on: field.element)
         refreshSoon()
     }
 
+    /// Correct the element's *current* value (never a stale snapshot), so any
+    /// keystrokes entered since the scan are preserved.
     private func applyCorrection(to field: DetectedField) -> Int {
-        let corrected = grammar.correct(field.text)
+        guard let live = capture.currentValue(of: field.element) else { return 0 }
-        guard corrected != field.text else { return 0 }
+        let corrected = grammar.correct(live)
+        guard corrected != live else { return 0 }
         setValue(corrected, on: field.element)
         return field.suggestions.count
     }
@@ -107,49 +122,68 @@ final class LiveMonitor: ObservableObject {
         }
     }
 
-    private func tick() {
+    private func tick(force: Bool = false) {
         guard enabled, !paused, AXIsProcessTrusted() else { clear(); return }
+        if scanning && !force { return } // don't pile up scans
         guard let app = NSWorkspace.shared.frontmostApplication else { clear(); return }
+
+        // Never scan GrammaGem's own windows.
+        if app.processIdentifier == ownPID { clear(); return }
         activeAppName = app.localizedName ?? ""
 
-        if exclusions.isBlocked(bundleID: app.bundleIdentifier, domain: detector.frontmostDomain()) {
+        let bundleID = app.bundleIdentifier
-            clear()
+        let domain = detector.frontmostDomain()
-            return
+        if exclusions.isBlocked(bundleID: bundleID, domain: domain) { clear(); return }
+        // Conservative: a blocked-domain user in a browser whose URL we can't read
+        // should not be monitored rather than risk leaking a sensitive page.
+        if domain == nil, detector.isBrowser(bundleID), exclusions.hasDomainRules { clear(); return }
+
+        let pid = app.processIdentifier
+        scanGeneration += 1
+        let generation = scanGeneration
+        scanning = true
+
+        // Heavy AX traversal off the main thread.
+        Task.detached(priority: .utility) {
+            let focused = LiveMonitor.systemFocusedElement()
+            let scanned = TextFieldScanner.scan(pid: pid, focused: focused)
+            await MainActor.run { self.ingest(scanned, generation: generation) }
+        }
     }
 
-        let focused = systemFocusedElement()
+    private func ingest(_ scanned: [ScannedField], generation: Int) {
-        let scanned = TextFieldScanner.scan(pid: app.processIdentifier, focused: focused)
+        scanning = false
+        guard generation == scanGeneration else { return } // superseded by a newer scan
         guard !scanned.isEmpty else { clear(); return }
 
-        // Skip re-checking if nothing on screen changed.
+        // Change detection includes focus + element identity so tabbing between
+        // same-text fields still updates the focused indicator.
         var hasher = Hasher()
-        hasher.combine(app.bundleIdentifier ?? "")
+        for f in scanned {
-        for f in scanned { hasher.combine(f.text) }
+            hasher.combine(f.text)
+            hasher.combine(f.isFocused)
+            hasher.combine(f.stableID)
+        }
         let h = hasher.finalize()
         if h == lastHash { return }
         lastHash = h
 
         scannedCount = scanned.count
         var detected: [DetectedField] = []
-        for (i, f) in scanned.enumerated() {
+        for f in scanned {
-            let suggestions = grammar.check(f.text)
+            let text = f.text.count > maxCheckChars ? String(f.text.prefix(maxCheckChars)) : f.text
+            let suggestions = grammar.check(text)
             guard !suggestions.isEmpty else { continue }
             detected.append(DetectedField(
-                id: "\(f.roleName)#\(i)", label: f.label, roleName: f.roleName,
+                id: f.stableID, label: f.label, roleName: f.roleName,
                 text: f.text, suggestions: suggestions, element: f.element, isFocused: f.isFocused))
         }
-        // Focused field first.
         detected.sort { ($0.isFocused ? 0 : 1) < ($1.isFocused ? 0 : 1) }
         fields = detected
     }
 
-    private func systemFocusedElement() -> AXUIElement? {
+    private nonisolated static func systemFocusedElement() -> AXUIElement? {
-        let system = AXUIElementCreateSystemWide()
+        AX.copyElement(AXUIElementCreateSystemWide(), kAXFocusedUIElementAttribute)
-        var ref: CFTypeRef?
-        guard AXUIElementCopyAttributeValue(
-            system, kAXFocusedUIElementAttribute as CFString, &ref) == .success, let ref
-        else { return nil }
-        return (ref as! AXUIElement)
     }
 
     private func clear() {

Sources/GrammaGem/System/TextCapture.swift

@@ -55,13 +55,7 @@ final class TextCapture {
         guard AXIsProcessTrusted() else { return nil }
         let systemWide = AXUIElementCreateSystemWide()
 
-        var focusedRef: CFTypeRef?
+        guard let focused = AX.copyElement(systemWide, kAXFocusedUIElementAttribute) else { return nil }
-        guard AXUIElementCopyAttributeValue(
-            systemWide, kAXFocusedUIElementAttribute as CFString, &focusedRef) == .success,
-            let focusedRef
-        else { return nil }
-        // Force-cast through CFTypeRef to AXUIElement (same CF type).
-        let focused = focusedRef as! AXUIElement
 
         var valueRef: CFTypeRef?
         guard AXUIElementCopyAttributeValue(
@@ -100,21 +94,25 @@ final class TextCapture {
     func focusedFieldText() -> (text: String, element: AXUIElement)? {
         guard AXIsProcessTrusted() else { return nil }
         let systemWide = AXUIElementCreateSystemWide()
-        var focusedRef: CFTypeRef?
+        guard let focused = AX.copyElement(systemWide, kAXFocusedUIElementAttribute) else { return nil }
-        guard AXUIElementCopyAttributeValue(
-            systemWide, kAXFocusedUIElementAttribute as CFString, &focusedRef) == .success,
-            let focusedRef
-        else { return nil }
-        let focused = focusedRef as! AXUIElement
 
-        var valueRef: CFTypeRef?
+        // Only treat genuine editable text roles as fixable, so we don't report
-        guard AXUIElementCopyAttributeValue(
+        // "nothing selected" failures on sliders/steppers/custom controls.
-            focused, kAXValueAttribute as CFString, &valueRef) == .success,
+        let role = AX.copyString(focused, kAXRoleAttribute)
-            let text = valueRef as? String
+        guard role == kAXTextFieldRole as String
+            || role == kAXTextAreaRole as String
+            || role == kAXComboBoxRole as String
         else { return nil }
+
+        guard let text = AX.copyString(focused, kAXValueAttribute) else { return nil }
         return (text, focused)
     }
 
+    /// Re-read an element's current value (used to avoid writing stale text).
+    func currentValue(of element: AXUIElement) -> String? {
+        AX.copyString(element, kAXValueAttribute)
+    }
+
     @discardableResult
     func setFocusedField(_ text: String, element: AXUIElement) -> Bool {
         AXUIElementSetAttributeValue(element, kAXValueAttribute as CFString, text as CFTypeRef) == .success

Sources/GrammaGem/System/TextFieldScanner.swift

@@ -9,19 +9,26 @@ struct ScannedField {
     let label: String
     let text: String
     let isFocused: Bool
+    /// Stable-ish identity for SwiftUI: AX identifier if present, else role+label+position.
+    let stableID: String
 }
 
 /// Walks the Accessibility tree of the frontmost window and collects every
 /// editable text element (text fields, text areas, combo/search boxes) with
 /// content — so GrammaGem can check *all* the text on screen, not just the one
-/// the cursor is in. Bounded so huge web/Electron trees can't stall the app.
+/// the cursor is in. Bounded so huge web/Electron trees can't stall the app, and
+/// every cross-process message has a timeout so a wedged app can't hang the scan.
+///
+/// Safe to call off the main thread (AXUIElement APIs are thread-safe).
 enum TextFieldScanner {
     static func scan(
         pid: pid_t, focused: AXUIElement?,
-        maxFields: Int = 30, maxVisited: Int = 4000
+        maxFields: Int = 30, maxVisited: Int = 3000
     ) -> [ScannedField] {
         let axApp = AXUIElementCreateApplication(pid)
-        guard let root = window(of: axApp) ?? optional(axApp) else { return [] }
+        AX.setMessagingTimeout(axApp, 0.3)
+        guard let root = AX.copyElement(axApp, kAXFocusedWindowAttribute)
+            ?? AX.copyElement(axApp, kAXMainWindowAttribute) else { return [] }
         var out: [ScannedField] = []
         var visited = 0
         walk(root, focused: focused, depth: 0, out: &out, visited: &visited,
@@ -29,17 +36,6 @@ enum TextFieldScanner {
         return out
     }
 
-    private static func optional(_ el: AXUIElement) -> AXUIElement? { el }
-
-    private static func window(of axApp: AXUIElement) -> AXUIElement? {
-        for attr in [kAXFocusedWindowAttribute, kAXMainWindowAttribute] {
-            var ref: CFTypeRef?
-            if AXUIElementCopyAttributeValue(axApp, attr as CFString, &ref) == .success,
-               let ref { return (ref as! AXUIElement) }
-        }
-        return nil
-    }
-
     private static func walk(
         _ el: AXUIElement, focused: AXUIElement?, depth: Int,
         out: inout [ScannedField], visited: inout Int, maxFields: Int, maxVisited: Int
@@ -47,20 +43,21 @@ enum TextFieldScanner {
         if out.count >= maxFields || visited >= maxVisited || depth > 70 { return }
         visited += 1
 
-        let role = string(el, kAXRoleAttribute) ?? ""
+        let role = AX.copyString(el, kAXRoleAttribute) ?? ""
         if role == kAXTextFieldRole as String
             || role == kAXTextAreaRole as String
             || role == kAXComboBoxRole as String {
-            if let value = string(el, kAXValueAttribute),
+            if let value = AX.copyString(el, kAXValueAttribute),
                value.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespacesAndNewlines).count >= 3 {
-                let label = string(el, kAXTitleAttribute)
+                let label = AX.copyString(el, kAXTitleAttribute)
-                    ?? string(el, kAXDescriptionAttribute)
+                    ?? AX.copyString(el, kAXDescriptionAttribute)
-                    ?? string(el, kAXPlaceholderValueAttribute)
+                    ?? AX.copyString(el, kAXPlaceholderValueAttribute)
                     ?? roleLabel(role)
                 let isFocused = focused != nil && CFEqual(el, focused!)
                 out.append(ScannedField(
                     element: el, roleName: roleLabel(role),
-                    label: label, text: value, isFocused: isFocused))
+                    label: label, text: value, isFocused: isFocused,
+                    stableID: identity(of: el, role: role, label: label)))
             }
         }
 
@@ -75,10 +72,21 @@ enum TextFieldScanner {
         }
     }
 
-    private static func string(_ el: AXUIElement, _ attr: String) -> String? {
+    /// A SwiftUI-stable identity that survives re-scans and text edits: prefer the
-        var ref: CFTypeRef?
+    /// AX identifier, else fall back to role + label + on-screen position.
-        guard AXUIElementCopyAttributeValue(el, attr as CFString, &ref) == .success else { return nil }
+    private static func identity(of el: AXUIElement, role: String, label: String) -> String {
-        return ref as? String
+        if let axID = AX.copyString(el, kAXIdentifierAttribute), !axID.isEmpty {
+            return "id:\(axID)"
+        }
+        var posRef: CFTypeRef?
+        if AXUIElementCopyAttributeValue(el, kAXPositionAttribute as CFString, &posRef) == .success,
+           let posRef, CFGetTypeID(posRef) == AXValueGetTypeID() {
+            var point = CGPoint.zero
+            if AXValueGetValue(posRef as! AXValue, .cgPoint, &point) {
+                return "pos:\(role)|\(label)|\(Int(point.x)),\(Int(point.y))"
+            }
+        }
+        return "rl:\(role)|\(label)"
     }
 
     private static func roleLabel(_ role: String) -> String {