1 · Requirements
System
macOS 12 Monterey or later
Architecture
Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3) or Intel
Permissions
Accessibility + Microphone
Disk space
~300 MB (optional local model)
2 · Install
1
Open the DMG
Double-click the downloaded
SymTalk.dmg file. A window with the app icon will open.2
Drag to Applications
Drag the SymTalk icon into the Applications folder shown in the DMG window.
3
Open it for the first time
On the first launch, macOS may show a security warning. Click Open Anyway (or go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway).
This warning appears because the app is not yet in the Mac App Store. SymTalk is safe and developed by Symlabs.
4
Grant permissions
macOS will request two required permissions for SymTalk to work:
🎤 Microphone
To capture audio while recording
♿ Accessibility
To paste text into the active app automatically
To grant Accessibility manually: System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility → enable SymTalk.
5
Configure the transcription provider
On first use, an interactive wizard appears so you can choose how to transcribe:
☁️ Cloud
Symlabs hosted
⚡ Groq
Groq API key
🤖 OpenAI
OpenAI API key
🖥️ Local
Local GPU, 100% offline
3 · Use
Hold ⌥ Option + Space to record. Release to transcribe. The text is pasted wherever your cursor is.
Settings panel: http://symtalk.local:8765/
Settings panel: http://symtalk.local:8765/
Record
Hold ⌥ Option + Space
Transcribe and paste
Release the keys
Web panel
http://symtalk.local:8765/
Menu bar
SymTalk icon in the menu bar
Troubleshooting
The app does not open: "unverified developer"
Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security and click Open Anyway next to SymTalk. You only need to do this the first time.
The text is not pasted into the app
Make sure SymTalk has Accessibility permission: System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility. Restart the app after granting permission.
No audio is captured
Check the Microphone permission: System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone → enable SymTalk.
The keyboard shortcut does not work
Another app may be using the same shortcut. Open the panel at
http://symtalk.local:8765/ and change the shortcut in Settings → Shortcut.How to uninstall
Drag SymTalk from the Applications folder to the Trash. To remove residual data, also delete
~/Library/Application Support/SymTalk.