Your first dictation
Complete initial setup and wait for the model to become ready. It downloads during preparation and may take a few minutes depending on your connection and chosen model.
Allow the microphone. To use the shortcut in other apps and insert text, complete the permissions shown in Settings → Permissions. Open a text field, hold your chosen shortcut, speak and release. If macOS asks to reopen the app after a permission change, complete that step.
If there is no audio, check the input device and whether it is muted. Try the dictation button to separate shortcut problems from audio problems.
Connect Claude Desktop
In Spokeleaf, open AI Assistants and choose Claude Desktop. Click Connect and complete extension installation in Claude itself. If Claude was already running, quit normally with ⌘Q and reopen it to load the connection.
Enable assistant reading in Spokeleaf and share one test meeting. In Claude, start a new chat, check that Spokeleaf tools are available and ask: “Which meetings are available in Spokeleaf?”. Approve the tool when asked.
Then request the test meeting's transcript. Setup is confirmed only after a query returns. If you see a plan limit or sign-in error, resolve it in Claude and try again.
Connect local Codex
In AI Assistants, select the compatible local client shown by Spokeleaf and complete guided setup in the folder requested by macOS. Other connections are preserved. Reopen the client to load the connection and start a new session.
Enable reading and share a test meeting in Spokeleaf. Ask Codex to list available meetings and then read the transcript. The tool result should match the content you shared.
An ordinary ChatGPT browser conversation does not automatically use a local Mac process. Compatibility depends on the client and version; a saved configuration alone does not confirm a working connection.
Other clients and Grok
A client must support local stdio MCP to start the server bundled with Spokeleaf. Advanced setup provides the command for compatible clients. Grok Build and the normal Grok website have different capabilities; the website must not be treated as a local connection. Check the documentation for your version before configuring it.
Turning reading off or making a meeting private blocks new queries across clients. New meetings remain private until you share them.
Meetings and speakers
For a manual recording, choose Record meeting and select audio sources. Optional detection has per-service controls. Native apps provide suggestions; web automation depends on the extension and a confirmed call.
After leaving a call, check that recording has stopped. If observation lost its signal, stop manually. Silence or muting does not prove a call has ended.
Automatic separation assigns voice labels. Edit each participant's name while reviewing the transcript. Similar or overlapping voices may need correction. Optional enrollment of your own voice requires an explicit choice.
Privacy and files
Transcription runs on your Mac after model preparation. Assistants can query only shared meetings and may send them to your chosen AI provider. Read the privacy policy before enabling this access.
Deleting an item and applying audio retention have different effects: retention keeps text and records. Exports remain at their selected destinations.