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WHISPR Desk
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Getting started with WhisprDesk

Applies to WhisprDesk 1.7.3 · Updated 2026-10-25

WhisprDesk is a dictation app for Macs with Apple Silicon (M1 and later) running macOS 14 Sonoma or later. You press a hotkey, speak, and the text is typed into whatever app you are using. Setup takes a few minutes: install the app, allow the microphone, and choose how your voice is transcribed.

What you need

  • A Mac with Apple Silicon (M1 or later). Intel Macs are not supported.
  • macOS 14 Sonoma or later.
  • For local transcription: room for one model download. NVIDIA Parakeet is about 680 MB.
  • For cloud transcription: an API key from OpenAI, Groq, or Mistral, or your own endpoint.

Where things are in WhisprDesk

WhisprDesk lives in the menu bar at the top right of your screen. Everything is set up in the WhisprDesk app window.

Open the WhisprDesk app: click its icon in the Dock, or open it from your Applications folder. The WhisprDesk window opens with Home / History selected in the sidebar. If WhisprDesk is running but you don't see its window, click the WhisprDesk icon in the menu bar at the top right of your screen and open the window from its menu.

The WhisprDesk window has a sidebar on the left with Home / History, Notes, Upload, Dictionary, and Integrations, and Settings at the bottom. Click Settings to see its sections: Preferences, Hotkeys, Transcription, Intelligence, Agent Mode, Privacy & Data, System, License, and Legal.

Transcription models (Whisper, NVIDIA Parakeet, and cloud providers) are set up in Settings > Transcription. AI text cleanup models are set up in Settings > Intelligence. The app does not have a separate "model setup" screen.

Step 1: Install the app

Where: your Mac's Applications folder

  1. Download WhisprDesk from whisprdesk.com.
  2. Open the downloaded file and drag WhisprDesk into your Applications folder.
  3. Open your Applications folder and double-click WhisprDesk.
  4. Read and accept the Terms, Privacy Policy, Acceptable Use Policy, and Disclaimer. You do this once, and again only if a document changes.

Step 2: Start your trial or activate

Where: the activation screen that appears after you accept the documents

  1. On the activation screen, click Start 7-day free trial. No credit card is required.
  2. If you already bought a license, paste your license key and click Activate, or click Import license file.

More detail: Free trial and Activate your license.

Step 3: Choose how your voice is transcribed

Where: the first setup screen, Transcription Setup (later: WhisprDesk > Settings > Transcription)

Choose local transcription and your voice never leaves your Mac. Prefer a cloud model? Bring your own key. Your choice.

The first time you open WhisprDesk, a short setup guide walks you through three screens: Setup, Permissions, and Activation. The first screen, Transcription Setup, shows two tabs: Cloud and Local. It starts on Cloud with OpenAI selected.

To set up local transcription (recommended):

  1. On the Transcription Setup screen, click the Local tab.
  2. Click the NVIDIA Parakeet tab.
  3. Find Parakeet TDT 0.6B and click Download. It is about 680 MB and can take a few minutes depending on your internet connection.
  4. When the download finishes, click the model. It shows In Use, which means it is now your active model.
  5. Click Next.

To set up cloud transcription instead:

  1. On the Transcription Setup screen, click the Cloud tab.
  2. Choose a provider tab: OpenAI, Groq, or Mistral.
  3. Paste your key into API Key. If you do not have a key, click Get key. It opens the provider's website, where you can sign in and create one.
  4. Click a model to make it active.
  5. Click Next.

You can continue once you have downloaded a local model or entered a cloud key.

To change this later:

  1. Open the WhisprDesk app: click its icon in the Dock (or open it from your Applications folder).
  2. Click Settings at the bottom of the sidebar.
  3. Click Transcription. You will see the same Cloud and Local tabs.

Full walkthrough: Choosing a transcription engine.

Step 4: Allow permissions

Where: the second setup screen, Permissions (later: WhisprDesk > Settings > Privacy & Data > Permissions)

  1. On the Permissions screen, click Grant next to Microphone and allow access in the macOS prompt.
  2. Click Test & Grant next to Accessibility. System Settings opens. Turn on WhisprDesk in the list.
  3. System Audio is optional. Skip it unless you plan to record inside a note.
  4. Click Next.
Permission Why Required
Microphone Records your voice Yes
Accessibility Lets WhisprDesk paste the text into the app you are typing in Recommended. Without it, the text is copied and you paste it yourself with Cmd+V.
System Audio (Screen Recording) Only used by recording inside a note, which uses OpenAI's cloud Optional. WhisprDesk never records your screen.

Step 5: Choose your hotkey

Where: the third setup screen, Activation Setup (later: WhisprDesk > Settings > Hotkeys)

This screen is about the key you press to dictate. It is not about your license.

  1. On the Activation Setup screen, check the Hotkey. The default is the Globe key (the fn key on some keyboards). To use a different key, click the hotkey field and press the key you want.
  2. Under Mode, choose Tap (press to start, press again to stop) or Hold (hold while speaking).
  3. Click Complete.

Step 6: Your first dictation

Where: any app on your Mac

  1. Click into any text field, such as a note, an email, or a chat box.
  2. Press the Globe key once and start speaking.
  3. Press it again to stop.
  4. The text appears where your cursor was.

If pressing Globe opens the emoji picker instead:

  1. Open System Settings on your Mac and click Keyboard.
  2. Set Press 🌐 key to to Do Nothing.

Or pick a different key in WhisprDesk (see the next section).

Change the hotkey or how it works

Where: WhisprDesk > Settings > Hotkeys

  1. Open the WhisprDesk app: click its icon in the Dock (or open it from your Applications folder).
  2. Click Settings at the bottom of the sidebar.
  3. Click Hotkeys.
  4. Under Dictation Hotkey, click the key field and press the key or key combination you want. To go back to the default Globe key, click the Reset to button below the field.
  5. Under Activation Mode, choose Tap (press once to start, again to stop) or Hold (hold the key while you speak, release to stop). Tap is the default.

Find your dictations later

Where: WhisprDesk > Home / History

  1. Open the WhisprDesk app: click its icon in the Dock (or open it from your Applications folder).
  2. Click Home / History at the top of the sidebar.
  3. Hover over a dictation and click Copy text to copy it again, for example if a paste did not land where you expected.

More: Audio and history.

Next steps