Help & Documentation

Wispert lives in your menu bar and turns speech into text — then types it into any app. Here's how to get set up:

1. Grant permissions — Wispert needs Microphone access (to hear you) and Accessibility access (to insert text and register hotkeys). Grant these in System Settings > Privacy & Security.
2. Choose a backend — Pick Parakeet (default, on-device), Whisper Local (on-device), or OpenAI / Groq (cloud) in Settings > Transcription.
3. Hold your hotkey — By default, hold Right Option to record. Release to transcribe and insert text at the cursor.

Wispert requires two macOS permissions to function:

• MIC Microphone — Required to capture audio for transcription. Without this, Wispert cannot hear you.
• A11Y Accessibility — Required to insert transcribed text into other apps and to register global hotkeys. Without this, text cannot be typed into other applications.

Grant these in System Settings > Privacy & Security. Wispert will guide you through this during onboarding.

Choose from four transcription engines. All auto-detect the spoken language.

Whisper models and Parakeet use CoreML for on-device processing. No API key is needed for local engines.

Wispert understands coding. Over 40 spoken phrases convert to symbols and formatting automatically:

Smart Syntax mode (OpenAI GPT models) handles inline code symbol conversion with context awareness for Swift, JavaScript, TypeScript, and shell commands.

Wispert automatically switches profiles when you change apps. Built-in profiles include:

Each profile has tailored insertion methods and processing settings. You can customize or create your own profiles.

Search your transcription history with full-text search. Each record includes metadata:

• Transcription engine and model used
• Recording duration
• Target application context
• Timestamp

Export to Text, CSV, or PDF. History is encrypted at rest with AES-256-GCM and protected by biometric authentication.

History is automatically deleted after 30 days (configurable). Secure erasure is used when deleting records.

Configure your recording trigger:

• Keyboard shortcuts
• Modifier keys (e.g., Right Option — the default)
• Mouse buttons

Configure hotkeys in Settings > Hotkeys. You can set different hotkeys for different recording modes.

Create custom spoken-word replacements for technical terms, product names, or formatting shortcuts. Import and export your dictionary to share across setups.

Configure in Settings > Dictionary.

Enable Privacy Mode for zero data retention: automatic memory clearing, no history saved. When disabled, standard encrypted storage applies.

Toggle in Settings > Privacy & Security.

Need help? Contact us: