Quick Start

From zero to talking in under a minute. Here's the whole flow.

1. Download & install

  1. Download the DMG from neuronflame.com.
  2. Open the DMG and drag Neuron Flame into your Applications folder.
  3. Double-click to open. macOS will briefly confirm "you downloaded this from the Internet, are you sure?" — click Open. From there it launches normally every time.

Apple-notarised. Neuron Flame is signed and notarised by Apple, so Gatekeeper accepts it on first launch with no extra steps. The brief "downloaded from the Internet" confirmation on first open is the standard macOS check for any internet-downloaded app, including ones from the App Store.

2. Grant permissions

Neuron Flame needs two macOS permissions to work. It will prompt for both on first launch:

If you accidentally dismiss either prompt, open System Settings → Privacy & Security and add Neuron Flame manually. See the full Permissions guide if anything goes sideways.

3. Pick a transcription model

Open the AI Models tab. The default is Parakeet V2:

If you need other languages, pick a Whisper model. Smaller is faster; larger is more accurate. Whisper Small (244 MB) is a great middle ground for most non-English speakers.

4. Set your hotkey

Open Settings → Hotkeys. Click into the Push-to-Talk field and press your chosen key combination.

Most people use:

5. Speak

Click anywhere in any app — Mail, Slack, Notes, your terminal, your browser, anywhere. Then:

  1. Hold your hotkey.
  2. Speak a sentence. The recorder pill appears at the bottom of your screen.
  3. Release. Your words appear at the cursor.

You're done. That's the whole app. The rest of the docs are for when you want more — per-app behaviour, AI cleanup, custom dictionary, etc.

What's next?