Download SayWrite for Mac

Install in seven steps

1. Download and unzip

   Click Download for Mac above. It opens the latest release on GitHub, where you download the .zip file under Assets. Open the .zip, then drag the app into your Applications folder.

2. Open it the first time with “Open Anyway”

   SayWrite isn't notarized by Apple yet while it's in early access, so the first time you open it, macOS asks you to confirm. That's expected, and it only happens once.

   1. Double-click the app in Applications. macOS says it can't check it for malicious software. Click Done.
   2. Open System Settings and click Privacy & Security.
   3. Scroll down to Security. You'll see a note that the app was blocked. Click Open Anyway.
   4. macOS asks you to confirm, and may ask for your password or Touch ID. Click Open Anyway, and SayWrite opens.

   Why this step? Notarization is Apple's automated check for apps downloaded outside the App Store, and it's on the list before SayWrite leaves early access. Updates install themselves afterwards without this step.

3. Allow the microphone

   The first time you dictate, macOS asks whether SayWrite can use the microphone. Click Allow. Audio is transcribed on your Mac and deleted straight after. You can change this later in System Settings › Privacy & Security › Microphone.

4. Turn on Accessibility

   Open System Settings › Privacy & Security › Accessibility and switch SayWrite on. If it isn't listed, click + and choose it from Applications. Then quit and reopen SayWrite.

   Why it's needed: macOS only lets an app type into other apps, and notice the Fn key while you're working in another app, if you grant Accessibility. Without it, SayWrite copies your text to the clipboard instead, and the Fn trigger won't work (Control-Option-D still does).

5. Set the 🌐 key to “Do Nothing”

   Open System Settings › Keyboard and set “Press 🌐 key to” to “Do Nothing”. Otherwise macOS also opens the emoji picker, switches input source or starts Apple Dictation every time you tap Fn. SayWrite warns you if this isn't set, but never changes it for you. More in how to use the Fn key for dictation.

6. Download the speech model

   SayWrite asks you to download its speech model, NVIDIA Parakeet TDT 0.6B v2. It's about 465 MB, comes from Hugging Face, and downloads once. After that, dictation works without an internet connection. The first load prepares the model for your Mac's Neural Engine, which can take a minute or two; later loads take a fraction of a second.

7. Hold Fn and talk

   Click into any text field, hold fn, speak, and let go. Your words are typed where the cursor is, and SayWrite never presses Return. Tap space while holding fn to polish what you said. Explore everything else on the features page.