Get started with ThinkScribe on Mac

By the end of this guide ThinkScribe will be installed on your Mac, it will have the permissions it needs, and you will have done the three things the app is for: typed a sentence with your voice into another app, recorded and transcribed something, and imported a file.

There is no account to create. Transcription runs on your Mac and works offline, and your recordings and transcripts are never sent to us.

How to get started with ThinkScribe on Mac

1. Install ThinkScribe from the Mac App Store and open it. It needs a Mac with Apple silicon and macOS 26 or later.
2. Go through the welcome: Welcome, then Every word, then the point.
3. On the Permissions step, allow Microphone and System Audio (details below).
4. When the welcome invites you to try it, say a few words and watch them become text.
5. On Type With Your Voice, check the voice typing shortcut, the menu bar item, the optional floating mic button and whether ThinkScribe opens at login.
6. Finish the welcome. The two shortcuts you will use most are Command-R to record and Command-I to import.

If you already use ThinkScribe on an iPhone or iPad, one Pro subscription covers your Mac too.

The permissions ThinkScribe asks for

The welcome asks for two permissions on the Permissions step:

1. Microphone: used to record your voice for transcription and voice typing. Allow it in the macOS prompt.
2. System Audio: used to capture the sound coming out of other apps, so a Zoom, Teams or FaceTime call can be recorded with both sides. This is a standard macOS permission; there is no audio driver to install.

Your first voice typing

1. Open any app with a text field: Mail, Notes, Slack, a browser.
2. Click into the field so the cursor is blinking there.
3. Press Option-Space. The voice typing indicator appears (a Floating Bar or the Menu Bar Icon, whichever you chose).
4. Say a sentence, then press Option-Space again, or simply pause: voice typing stops after a short silence (3 seconds by default).
5. With Accessibility granted, the text lands at your cursor. Without it, press Command-V to paste.

To cancel instead of inserting, press Escape while it is listening. The welcome's voice typing page turns the Option-Space shortcut on for new installs. If Option-Space does nothing (for example after an update from an older version), check that Enable Global Hotkey is on in Settings > Voice Typing. The voice typing guide covers changing the shortcut and the indicator.

Your first recording

1. In ThinkScribe's main window, look at the record bar. It has a Microphone toggle and a System audio toggle next to the record button.
2. Leave Microphone on and start a recording, or press Command-R.
3. Talk for twenty seconds, then stop with the button or Command-period.
4. The transcript appears in your library. Click a line to play the audio from that moment.

To record a call, turn on System audio as well before you start. The meeting recording guide walks through that, including Notify when call starts in Settings > Recording. No meeting bot joins the call.

Your first file import

1. Choose Transcription > Import File... from the menu bar, or press Command-I.
2. Pick one or more audio or video files. MP3, M4A, WAV, AIFF, FLAC, MP4, MOV, OGG, Opus and AAC all work, and so do WMA, WebM, MKV, AVI, AMR and more.
3. You can also drag files onto the ThinkScribe window; it shows "Drop to import".

Several files at once are fine. They are transcribed one after another.

What to do with a transcript

A transcript opens in the Workspace with five tabs: Transcript, Summary, Action Items, Chat and Mind Map.

• Summary writes a summary, meeting minutes or an executive brief (View > Summarize, Shift-Command-S). See meeting minutes from a recording.
• Chat answers questions about this one recording (Option-Command-C), with sources you can click to jump to the moment.
• ThinkScribe also has a general assistant for questions and writing help, separate from asking about a recording.
• When a transcript shows Speaker 1 and Speaker 2, use Rename Speaker... on the speaker badge to name them, and ThinkScribe recognizes that voice in new recordings. See teach ThinkScribe who is speaking.

The AI engine is set under Settings > AI & Models: Apple Intelligence (provided by Apple, on Macs that support it) or ThinkScribe AI, a one-time download that runs on your Mac.

Where to go next

• Settings opens with Command-comma. Sections you will visit early include Voice Typing, Vocabulary, Recording, AI & Models and Permissions.
• To keep transcripts in step with your iPhone and iPad, turn on Sync Across Devices under iCloud Sync. It is off by default. The sync guide explains what moves.
• For every way to turn speech into text across your devices, read the complete voice to text guide.

Frequently asked questions

Does transcription on a Mac need an internet connection?

No. Transcription, speaker labels and voice typing run on your Mac and work offline. A connection is used only for optional one-time downloads, such as ThinkScribe AI or the better speaker model.

Do I need an account?

No. There is nothing to sign up for and no login. Your recordings and transcripts are never sent to us. If you turn on iCloud sync, it uses your own iCloud account.

How do I back up my library?

Use Settings > Backup & Restore > Export Library... to save a copy of your whole library. You can also export single transcripts as Plain Text, SRT, VTT, JSON, Markdown, PDF, Word Document or CSV.

Does voice typing on Mac use the Fn key?

No. The default shortcut is Option-Space, pressed once to start and again to stop. You can change it in Settings > Voice Typing > Global Hotkey, and a single function key works too.