Skip to main content
WHISPR Desk
Download free

Notes

Applies to WhisprDesk 1.7.3 · Updated 2026-10-25

Notes is a simple notes app inside WhisprDesk. You can write notes, transcribe audio files into notes, record into a note, and run AI Actions such as Generate Notes. Notes are stored on your Mac and are not affected by the Data Retention setting.

Before you start

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 sidebar on the left has Home / History, Notes, Upload, Dictionary, and Integrations, with Settings at the bottom.

Folders

Where: WhisprDesk > Notes

Click Notes in the sidebar to see your folders and notes. Notes start with a Personal folder, where uploaded transcripts are saved. You can create, rename, and delete folders, and move a note with Move to folder.

Writing notes

Where: WhisprDesk > Notes

  1. Open the WhisprDesk app: click its icon in the Dock (or open it from your Applications folder).
  2. Click Notes in the sidebar.
  3. Click New note (the plus button).
  4. Type a title and start writing.

Notes show a word count and save automatically as you type.

Transcribe an audio file

Where: WhisprDesk > Upload

Use this to transcribe your own recordings, such as MP3 or WAV files from a voice recorder or your phone.

  1. Open the WhisprDesk app: click its icon in the Dock (or open it from your Applications folder).
  2. Click Upload in the sidebar.
  3. Drop an audio file onto the window, or click the drop area to browse for a file (MP3, WAV, and the other formats below).
  4. Click Transcribe. WhisprDesk uses your current transcription setting; the screen shows which model it is using.
  5. When it finishes you will see Saved to Notes. Click Open Note to go straight to it. It is saved in the Personal folder.
  6. To transcribe another file, click Upload Another.

If no engine is set up yet, the screen says so and offers Open Transcription Settings.

Supported formats: MP3, WAV, M4A, WebM, OGG, FLAC, AAC, MP4, WMA, and Opus.

Where the audio goes:

  • Local mode: transcribed on your Mac with your downloaded Whisper or Parakeet model. The file does not leave your Mac.
  • Cloud mode: the file is sent directly to your chosen provider. Cloud uploads are limited to 25 MB per file.

From the result screen you can also Copy the text or Save As a Markdown (.md) file in a folder you choose. If AI cleanup is on, the note gets an AI-generated title. Otherwise the first few words become the title.

Record into a note

Where: WhisprDesk > Notes > open a note > microphone button

  1. Open the WhisprDesk app: click its icon in the Dock (or open it from your Applications folder).
  2. Click Notes in the sidebar and open a note.
  3. Click the microphone button (labelled Transcribe) and start speaking.
  4. Click Stop when you are done.

This is a cloud feature. It always uses OpenAI's realtime service, even when WhisprDesk is set to Local. It needs:

  • Your OpenAI API key.
  • The macOS Screen Recording permission, shown in WhisprDesk as System Audio. This lets it capture other apps' audio together with your microphone. Your screen is not recorded.

Your microphone and your Mac's other audio are sent to OpenAI using your key. If WhisprDesk cannot capture system audio, recording stops and tells you how to allow it.

For on-device transcription, use regular dictation or Upload in Local mode instead.

AI Actions

Where: WhisprDesk > Notes > open a note > actions menu

AI Actions run on a note using your AI cleanup model.

  • Generate Notes cleans up, structures, and enhances a note.
  • To create your own action: open the WhisprDesk app, click Notes in the sidebar, open a note, open its actions menu and choose Manage Actions..., then New Action. Give it a name and a prompt, and click Save.
  • A note can show its Raw and Enhanced versions.

You need a cleanup model selected in Settings > Intelligence, which means turning on text cleanup. A cloud model receives the note text; a local model runs on your Mac. See AI cleanup.

Export

Where: WhisprDesk > Notes > open a note > Export

  1. Open the WhisprDesk app: click its icon in the Dock (or open it from your Applications folder).
  2. Click Notes in the sidebar and open the note.
  3. Click Export.
  4. Choose As Markdown or As Plain Text.

Where: anywhere in the WhisprDesk window

With the WhisprDesk window open, press Cmd+K to search your note titles and contents, along with your 50 most recent dictations in History. Note search works best with English letters and numbers; searching notes for other scripts or accented letters may not find matches yet.

Delete a note

Where: WhisprDesk > Notes > the note's ... menu

  1. Open the WhisprDesk app: click its icon in the Dock (or open it from your Applications folder).
  2. Click Notes in the sidebar.
  3. Open the note's ... menu in the list.
  4. Choose Delete.

Current limits

  • Recording into a note is cloud only. There is no on-device option for it yet.
  • Export is Markdown or plain text only.
  • Notes are stored on your Mac. There is no sync or sharing between devices.
  • Notes are always saved, whatever the Data Retention setting. Delete them yourself when you no longer need them.