Wispen on Mac

On the Mac, Wispen can dictate into any app with a keyboard shortcut, edit selected text by voice, rewrite dictation in an AI style, and use a different mode in each app. It also lives in the menu bar.

Dictating into other apps needs the Accessibility permission. Turn it on in System Settings › Privacy & Security › Accessibility. The setup guide asks for it.

Dictate into any app

1. Click where you want the text, in any app.
2. Press ⌥⇧D. A small dictation bar appears and Wispen starts listening.
3. Speak, then press ⌥⇧D again. Wispen inserts the text at your cursor.

Each dictation into another app is also saved as a note in Uncategorized.

Shortcut behavior

Set this in Settings › Shortcuts › Shortcut Behavior:

Option	How it works
Tap or Hold (default)	Tap to start and tap again to stop, or hold the shortcut while you talk and let go to insert.
Tap to Toggle	Press once to start, press again to stop and insert.
Hold to Talk	Records only while the shortcut is held down.

To change the shortcut, click the Dictation Shortcut button, then press the keys you want. A shortcut needs at least one of ⌘, ⌥, ⌃ or ⇧. If another Wispen shortcut already uses it, you see Already in use.

Hold-to-talk key

You can also dictate by holding a single key. Choose it in Settings › Shortcuts › Hold-to-Talk Key: Off (default), Fn / Globe, Right ⌥ Option, Right ⌘ Command or Right ⌃ Control.

• Hold the key, speak, and let go to insert.
• Double-tap the key to keep recording hands-free. Press it again to stop.
• Using the key as a modifier while typing (for example ⌥E for an accent) doesn't start a recording.

TIP

If you pick Fn / Globe, set Press 🌐 key to to Do Nothing in System Settings › Keyboard, so macOS doesn't also act on it.

The dictation bar

While you dictate into another app, the dictation bar shows the live state and these controls:

• The mode button: switch the dictation mode for this and future dictations, or choose Always Use in [app] to save a per-app mode.
• The AI style in use, if any.
• Pause / Resume, Cancel (or Esc), and the button that finishes and inserts the text.

You can drag the bar to another spot on the screen.

Cancel with Esc

With Settings › Shortcuts › Esc Cancels Dictation on (the default), pressing Esc while recording discards the dictation instead of inserting it.

Inserting text

Settings › Shortcuts › Inserting Text:

Setting	Default	What it does
Auto-Paste Text at Cursor	On	Inserts the text at your cursor. When off, it's copied to the clipboard instead.
Type While Speaking	On	With Whisper, Parakeet and Apple SpeechAnalyzer, words appear in the app as you talk. Turn it off to insert the fully polished text (replacements, filler removal) when you stop. AI styles always insert at the end.
Restore Clipboard After Pasting	On	Puts back whatever you had copied after Wispen pastes your dictation.

Wispen inserts text directly through Accessibility when the app allows it, and otherwise pastes it with ⌘V.

Sounds and media

Settings › Shortcuts › Sounds & Media:

Setting	Default	What it does
Start & Stop Sounds	On	Plays a sound when dictation into another app starts and stops.
Start Sound / Stop Sound	Submarine / Pop	Choose from the Mac's system alert sounds.
Sound Volume		How loud the sounds play.
While Dictating	Off	Lower Volume or Mute music and videos while you dictate into other apps, then put the volume back.

Turn off global shortcuts

Turn off Settings › Shortcuts › Enable Global Shortcuts to stop Wispen from listening for its shortcuts in other apps.

Paste Last Dictation

Press ⌥⇧V to insert your most recent dictation again at the cursor, in whichever app is in front. Turn it on or off, or change the shortcut, in Settings › Shortcuts › More Shortcuts.

Command Mode

Command Mode edits text by voice. It uses Apple Intelligence, which must be turned on in System Settings.

1. Select text in any app.
2. Press ⌥⇧E. The dictation bar shows what you're editing.
3. Say what to change, like "make this friendlier", "translate to Spanish" or "turn this into a bulleted list".
4. Press ⌥⇧E again. Wispen replaces the selection with the result.

With nothing selected, say what to write, and Wispen inserts it at the cursor.

Turn Command Mode on or off, or change its shortcut, in Settings › Shortcuts › More Shortcuts › Command Mode. Settings › AI Styles shows Ready or Needs Apple Intelligence.

AI Styles

An AI style rewrites each dictation into another app before it's inserted, using Apple Intelligence on your Mac. Without Apple Intelligence, your dictation is inserted as spoken.

Set it in Settings › AI Styles › Default AI Style. It's None by default. Built-in modes:

Mode	What it does
Polished & Professional	Clear, confident, workplace-ready wording.
Friendly & Casual	A relaxed tone for chats and quick replies.
Concise	The same message in fewer words.
Fix Grammar Only	Corrects mistakes and leaves your wording alone.
Professional Email Draft	Turns what you said into a polished email.

AI styles apply to dictation into other apps, not to dictation into Wispen notes.

Your own AI modes

1. In Settings › AI Styles, click New AI Mode.
2. Enter a name, an optional short description, and an Instruction that tells Apple Intelligence what to do, like "Rewrite this as a tweet under 280 characters."
3. Pick an icon and click Save.

Click Edit on a mode to change or delete it. Restore Built-in Modes adds back any built-in mode you deleted, without touching your own.

Per-App Modes

Each app can use its own dictation mode and AI style. For example, Slack can use Chat with a casual style and Mail a professional one.

1. Go to Settings › App Modes and make sure Match Mode to the App is on (the default).
2. Click Add Open App or Choose App….
3. Pick the app's mode and AI style: Default Style, No AI Style, or one of your AI modes.

You can also choose Always Use in [app] from the dictation bar's mode menu. To remove an app, click the red minus button.

Menu bar

Wispen adds a waveform icon to the menu bar.

Click it to open Quick Capture:

• Change the dictation mode.
• Start Dictating and Stop Dictation. The text appears in a scratchpad and is saved as a note in Uncategorized.
• Copy or clear the scratchpad.
• Recent Dictations: your five newest notes, each with a copy button.
• Open Wispen Window.

Right-click or Control-click it for a menu:

• Start Dictation / Stop Dictation (into the app in front)
• Command Mode (Edit Selection)
• Paste Last Dictation
• Whisper Mode
• Open Wispen Window (⌘O)
• Dictation Model: switch speech model
• Settings...
• Quit Wispen

If you close the Wispen window, the menu bar icon keeps working. Open Wispen Window or Settings... opens it again.

Keyboard shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
⌥⇧D	Dictate anywhere (changeable)
⌥⇧E	Command Mode (changeable)
⌥⇧V	Paste Last Dictation (changeable)
Esc	Cancel dictation
⌘N	New note
⌘F	Search notes
⌘K	Command palette
⌘,	Open Settings
⌘[	Back to the Settings home

On iPad with a keyboard, ⌘N, ⌘F, ⌘K and ⌘, work too.