Requirements
- macOS 12 (Monterey) or later
- Apple Silicon (arm64) or Intel (x64)
Permissions
macOS requires explicit permission grants. OpenWhispr requests these during onboarding.
| Permission | Required for | Where to enable |
|---|
| Microphone | Voice recording | System Settings > Privacy > Microphone |
| Accessibility | Auto-paste text at cursor | System Settings > Privacy > Accessibility |
| Screen recording | Meeting audio capture | System Settings > Privacy > Screen Recording |
If auto-paste stops working, go to System Settings > Privacy > Accessibility, remove OpenWhispr, and re-add it.
Globe key
On macOS, you can use the Globe/Fn key as your dictation hotkey. This requires the Xcode Command Line Tools:
The Globe key listener is a Swift binary compiled at build time. No Input Monitoring permission is needed.
Installation
Download the .dmg from the releases page. Drag OpenWhispr to your Applications folder.
On first launch, macOS may show a security warning for unsigned builds. Right-click the app and select Open to bypass this.
Uninstalling
- Drag OpenWhispr from Applications to Trash
- Optionally remove cached models:
rm -rf ~/.cache/openwhispr/
- Optionally remove app data:
rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/OpenWhispr/
