Getting Started

What you need

You will need the following to use WhisperWizard: an OpenAI API key, a WhisperWizard license key, and a Mac with macOS 10.13 or newer (Intel) or macOS 11 or newer (Apple Silicon).

• A license key. It is emailed to you at checkout. Every plan includes all features and a 14-day money-back guarantee. See the plans.
• An OpenAI API key. WhisperWizard runs on your own key, so your recordings go straight to OpenAI and we never see or store them. Create one in five minutes.
• A Mac on macOS 10.13 or newer (Intel) or macOS 11 or newer (Apple Silicon). There is no Windows, Linux or iPhone version.

1. Install WhisperWizard

Open the downloaded file and drag WhisperWizard into your Applications folder.

• Apple Silicon covers Macs with M-series chips (November 2020 and later). Intel covers earlier models. If you are unsure, open the Apple menu, choose About This Mac and read the Chip or Processor line.
• Open WhisperWizard from Applications. It is a menu-bar app: there is no Dock icon. Look for the five-bar mark at the top right of your screen.
• The app is signed and notarized by Apple. The first time, macOS asks you to confirm opening an app downloaded from the internet: choose Open.

2. Enter your license key

Your license key is emailed to you at checkout. Paste it into the app to activate it.

The first window, Get started with WhisperWizard, asks for the license key first (it looks like XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX). When it is accepted you see "Your license has been activated!". Each activation uses one of your plan's Macs; License and Devices explains the limits.

3. Add your OpenAI API key

Create a key in your OpenAI account and paste it into WhisperWizard. Usage is billed by OpenAI at their API rates.

The key field takes a key that starts with sk-. Before saving, the app sends one tiny test request to OpenAI. If it fails you see "OpenAI API Key is not valid.", which almost always means billing is not set up on your OpenAI account yet. Fix it here.

4. Grant the permissions

macOS asks for three permissions the first time each one is needed: Microphone (to hear you), Accessibility (to press ⌘V for you) and Automation of System Events (to bring back the app you were typing in). Say yes to all three. Why each one is needed.

5. Cast your first spell

Click into any text field: a Mail draft, a Slack message, a note.

1. 1Press Option Shift Space ⌥⇧Space. The small recorder appears with a live waveform and a timer.
2. 2Speak naturally, as you would tell a colleague. Ums and pauses are fine.
3. 3Press Option Escape ⌥Esc to stop. The recorder shows Processing for a moment.
4. 4Your words land where your cursor was, and your clipboard is put back the way you left it.

That was plain dictation. Now try a template: press Control Option 2 ⌃⌥2 (The Translator), speak in one language, press Option Escape ⌥Esc, and watch the translation land instead. Or press Option Space ⌥Space to search every template by name.

Where to go next

• Shortcuts: the full keymap and how to rebind it.
• Templates Reference: write your own prompts and give each one a hotkey.
• The Spellbook: copyable prompts to start from.
• Troubleshooting: if nothing pasted, start here.