Autocorrect Not Working on macOS Ventura: How to Fix It
Autocorrect not working on macOS Ventura is usually one of four things: the System Settings toggle is off, a macOS update reset your preferences, you're writing in an Electron app like Slack or VS Code that blocks system autocorrect entirely, or your personal dictionary has conflicting entries. Each cause has a different fix. This guide covers all four, plus what to do when macOS autocorrect is too limited for your needs.
How do you turn autocorrect on in macOS Ventura?
The most common cause of autocorrect not working on Ventura is that the setting is off - either because you or another user disabled it, or because a macOS update reset it. This is the first thing to check and takes about 30 seconds to verify.
The exact path in macOS Ventura:
- Click the Apple menu and open System Settings
- In the left sidebar, click Keyboard
- On the right side, in the Text Input section, click Edit... next to Input Sources
- Look for the checkbox labelled "Correct Spelling Automatically"
- Make sure it is checked
If it appears to be on but autocorrect still is not working: toggle it off, click Done, then go back and re-enable it. This resets the feature at the system level. After re-enabling, quit and reopen any app where correction was failing.
Note that macOS Ventura renamed System Preferences to System Settings and reorganised the layout. If you are used to finding autocorrect in an older macOS version, the Keyboard path changed with Ventura and may be why you cannot find it.
Why does autocorrect still fail in Slack and VS Code on Ventura?
This is the most important distinction to understand, because no System Settings change will fix it.
Slack, VS Code, Discord, Notion, Obsidian, and dozens of other popular Mac apps are built with Electron. Electron is a framework that runs web technology inside a desktop window. These apps do not use macOS's text processing stack - specifically, they bypass NSSpellChecker, the API that autocorrect depends on.
The result: macOS autocorrect physically cannot reach text in Electron apps. It does not matter whether the setting is on or off. This is true on Ventura, Sonoma, and Sequoia alike.
This is why autocorrect works in Apple Notes and Mail but not in Slack or VS Code. The difference is not a bug - it is an architectural consequence of how these apps are built. 73% of top Mac productivity apps use Electron. The majority of where professionals write every day is in the uncorrected zone.
The fix for Electron apps is Charm. Charm uses macOS's Accessibility API rather than NSSpellChecker. The Accessibility API operates at a different layer and reaches inside Electron apps, allowing Charm to monitor and correct text in Slack, VS Code, Notion, Discord, and every other Electron app. Note that Charm requires macOS 14 Sonoma or later - Ventura users will need to upgrade to use Charm.
How to reset autocorrect in macOS Ventura
If autocorrect is behaving erratically - correcting words it should not, or not correcting words it should - the issue may be a corrupted personal dictionary rather than the toggle setting.
To reset your personal dictionary in Ventura:
- Open Finder
- Press Cmd+Shift+G to open Go to Folder
- Type ~/Library/Spelling and press Enter
- Find the file called LocalDictionary
- Move it to the Trash (do not empty yet - you can restore it if needed)
- Restart any app where autocorrect was misbehaving
macOS will create a new empty LocalDictionary automatically. This removes all custom words you have added over time - words you trained autocorrect to leave alone. You may need to retrain it for technical terms, proper nouns, or abbreviations specific to your work.
macOS Ventura updates, particularly point releases, sometimes reset keyboard preferences. If autocorrect worked before an update and stopped afterward, check the System Settings toggle first before attempting a dictionary reset.
When macOS Ventura autocorrect isn't the problem - it's just not enough
Sometimes autocorrect is technically on and working correctly in native apps - but it still fails in the apps you actually use. This is the Electron problem described above, and it is not fixable within Ventura itself.
For Ventura users who need comprehensive correction - in Slack, VS Code, Notion, and everywhere else - the best path forward is upgrading to macOS 14 Sonoma (a free upgrade) and installing Charm. Sonoma and later is required for Charm, and the upgrade itself introduces no meaningful writing regressions while opening up access to significantly better correction tools.
If upgrading macOS is not currently possible, the workaround for Slack specifically is to copy important messages into Apple Notes, proofread there, then paste back. This is slow but catches errors that the Slack text field will not. For VS Code, the built-in spell check extension in VS Code provides some coverage for documentation and comments.
Frequently asked questions
How do I turn on autocorrect on macOS Ventura?
Open System Settings, go to Keyboard, then click Text Input and select Edit next to Input Sources. Enable the checkbox labelled "Correct Spelling Automatically". If it was already on, toggle it off and back on to reset it. Test in Apple Notes with a deliberate misspelling to confirm it is active.
Why doesn't autocorrect work in Slack on Ventura?
Slack is an Electron app and does not use macOS's NSSpellChecker API that autocorrect depends on. This is an architectural limitation, not a bug - and it exists on Ventura, Sonoma, and Sequoia. Charm uses the Accessibility API and corrects text in Slack, but requires macOS 14 Sonoma or later.
Did a macOS update turn off autocorrect?
Yes, this happens. macOS Ventura point updates sometimes reset keyboard preferences. If autocorrect stopped working after an update, go to System Settings > Keyboard > Text Input > Edit and verify "Correct Spelling Automatically" is still enabled. Toggle it off and back on if needed.
How do I reset autocorrect settings in Ventura?
Toggle the autocorrect setting off and back on in System Settings > Keyboard > Text Input > Edit. To also reset your personal dictionary, delete ~/Library/Spelling/LocalDictionary via Finder (Cmd+Shift+G to navigate there). macOS recreates it automatically. This removes custom words you have trained autocorrect to accept.
What is the best autocorrect for Ventura?
Charm is the most capable correction tool for Mac, but it requires macOS 14 Sonoma or later. For Ventura users who want the best experience, upgrading to Sonoma (free) and installing Charm ($9.99 once) is the recommended path. Together they provide real-time correction in every Mac app including Electron apps.
Autocorrect that works in every Ventura app.
Charm requires macOS 14 Sonoma - a free upgrade that unlocks real-time spelling, grammar, and word prediction in Slack, VS Code, and every other Mac app. $9.99 once.