A little setup.
A lot less typing.

1. Set up Hlas

You’ll need an Apple Silicon Mac (M1 or newer) with macOS 14 Sonoma or later. Meeting recording requires macOS 14.4+; Apple Translation requires macOS 15+.

To check your Mac, click the Apple menu in the top-left corner of your screen, then About This Mac. Look for an Apple M-series chip and the macOS version.

Step 1. Download and install

1. Download the app. Click Download Hlas. Wait for your browser to finish downloading a file named Hlas.dmg. A DMG is a Mac installation file.
2. Open the downloaded file. In Finder, choose Downloads in the left sidebar, then double-click Hlas.dmg. This opens the installer.
3. Copy Hlas into Applications. Drag the Hlas app onto the Applications folder in the installer. If you don’t see an Applications shortcut, open Applications in a second Finder window and drag Hlas there. Wait for copying to finish.
4. Open your installed copy. In Finder, click Applications and double-click Hlas. If macOS asks whether you want to open an app downloaded from the internet, check that it is Hlas and choose Open.

Step 2. Find Hlas in the menu bar

The menu bar is the thin strip across the top of your Mac’s screen, near the clock and Wi-Fi icon. Hlas appears there as a small microphone. It does not have an icon in the Dock along the bottom of the screen.

Click the microphone once to open Hlas’s small control panel. To open the app menu, right-click the microphone. On a trackpad, click with two fingers; you can also hold the Control key while clicking. Choose Settings in that menu whenever this guide refers to Hlas Settings.

Step 3. Complete the setup assistant

The first time you open Hlas, a small welcome panel walks you through setup. Click Continue to move between its screens. You can use Back if you want to change a choice.

1. Microphone Access: when macOS asks to let Hlas use the microphone, allow access. Hlas needs this to hear your voice. The setup panel should then say Permission granted.
2. Accessibility Access: click Open System Settings if access is not already granted. In the Accessibility list, find Hlas and turn its switch on. Your Mac may ask you to unlock the setting. Return to Hlas by clicking its menu bar microphone. This permission lets Hlas paste words into your other apps; it does not mean you need to use accessibility features yourself.
3. Choose Your Engine: an engine is the part that recognizes speech. The assistant recommends Local Parakeet v3 for its supported European languages. Choose WhisperKit if you need its wider language selection. Both work on your Mac. You can change this later.
4. Wait for the download. A model is the file the app needs to recognize speech. It is downloaded once, then kept on your Mac. You can continue through setup while it downloads, but wait until it is ready before your first recording.
5. Set Your Hotkey: keep the default ⌘ Shift Space for now. Choose Toggle if you prefer pressing once to start and again to stop, or Push-to-talk if you prefer holding the keys while speaking. Click Get Started.

What the permissions are for

Manage access in System Settings → Privacy & Security. To repeat setup, open Hlas Settings → Advanced → Show Setup Assistant.

2. Dictate your first text

Try this in a blank note first. You’ll know the basics are working before using Hlas for an email or message.

1. Open Notes and create a new note. Click in the note’s writing area. You should see a blinking vertical line—this is your cursor, and it marks where the words will appear.
2. Start recording. Hold down the Command key (⌘) and Shift, then press the Space bar. In Toggle mode, release all three keys and start talking. In Push-to-talk mode, keep holding the shortcut while you talk.
3. Say a short sentence. For example: “Remember to buy milk on the way home.” Speak at a normal pace. You don’t need to read out each letter.
4. Stop recording. In Toggle mode, press ⌘ Shift Space again. In Push-to-talk mode, release the keys.
5. Wait for your words. Hlas processes the recording after you stop. Your text should appear in the note when auto-insert is on; it does not need to appear word by word as you speak.
6. Read and correct the result. Click into the text and edit it just as you would something you typed. Voice recognition can make mistakes, especially with names.

Choose how you record

• Push-to-talk: hold the shortcut while speaking, then release to finish.
• Toggle: press once to start and again to stop.
• Cancel: press Esc during dictation to discard the take.

Change the shortcut and recording mode in Settings → General. Click the menu bar icon for recording controls; right-click it for Settings, History, updates, and Quit.

Choose whether text is pasted automatically

1. Right-click the Hlas microphone and choose Settings.
2. Click General on the left.
3. Find Text Insertion and turn on Auto-insert transcribed text.
4. Leave Press Enter after inserting off while learning. This lets you review a message before sending it.
5. Click back into your note before starting another dictation.

Make it fit your workflow

Auto-insert transcribed text pastes into your active app and restores the previous clipboard afterward. Turn it off to copy the result yourself. Press Enter after inserting is a separate, optional setting: it can send a message immediately in chat apps.

For feedback without opening the popover, enable Show on-screen recording indicator or Play sound cues in General. You can drag the floating indicator to a convenient spot.

3. Models & languages

You can leave your first model selected if it works well. Change it when you need a different language or want to try another balance of speed and accuracy.

1. Right-click the microphone, choose Settings, then click Transcription.
2. Under Transcription Backend, select Local (WhisperKit) or Local (Parakeet). “Local” means the recording is processed on your own Mac.
3. With WhisperKit, choose a model and click Download if it is not already downloaded, or Select if it is. Base is a small starting option. With local Parakeet, let its model finish downloading and preparing.
4. Wait for loading to finish, then try the same short sentence in Notes again.

A language setting describes the language you are speaking; it does not translate your words. With WhisperKit, use the Language controls in Transcription settings to choose it. Automatic detection means Hlas tries to work it out for each recording. Local Parakeet detects its supported languages automatically.

Larger Whisper models use more disk space and take longer to load. Models are cached, so you don’t download them for each session.

4. Clean up your text

AI cleanup is an extra step that rewrites spoken wording into cleaner text. Basic dictation works without it. Start with this feature only after your first dictation works.

1. Right-click the microphone, open Settings, and click Text.
2. Find the AI Cleanup section and turn on Clean up transcripts with S1-mini.
3. Allow its separate model download to finish (about 350 MB). If you see a Download or Retry button, use it and wait until the model is ready.
4. Choose a tone. Casual suits informal wording; formal suits more formal writing. You can leave the default tone while trying it. Keep the list and email options off for your first test.
5. Return to Notes and dictate the example below. Compare the result with what you said.

“S1-mini” by “Superwhisper” runs on your Mac. It removes fillers, resolves spoken corrections, adds punctuation, and formats spoken numbers and addresses.

• Tone: casual, semi-casual, semi-formal, or formal.
• Allow bullet lists: format three or more listed items as Markdown bullets.
• Format as email: arrange a greeting, body, and sign-off.

AI cleanup supports English text and is not applied to meeting recordings. If the cleanup model is unavailable or cannot produce a usable result, Hlas keeps the transcript without the AI rewrite.

Teach Hlas a name it keeps getting wrong

1. In Settings → Text, find Personal Dictionary and turn on Enable personal dictionary.
2. Click the + below the list to add an entry.
3. Enter the word Hlas wrote incorrectly and the spelling you want it to use instead. For example, replace “glass” with “Hlas” only if that is a correction you want applied.
4. Try a new dictation containing that name. Dictionary entries affect later processing; they don’t rewrite earlier saved transcripts.

Simple text rules without AI cleanup

Dictionary replacements and any translation run before AI cleanup.

Without AI cleanup, you can enable Remove filler words for English fillers, and Smart punctuation for basic capitalization and a final period. Those two rules are disabled while AI cleanup is active.

5. Translation

Translation lets you speak in one language and receive written text in another. The target language is the language you want to write in.

1. Open Hlas Settings and click Translation.
2. Turn translation on and choose your target language—for example, English if you want English text.
3. If asked to download a language pack, let it finish while connected to the internet. This file lets the translation work on your Mac.
4. Return to your note and dictate one sentence in your spoken language. After you stop, check that the result is in your chosen target language.
5. Turn translation off when you want to write in the language you are speaking again.

• WhisperKit to English: uses Whisper’s built-in English translation.
• Apple Translation: supports translation with either local engine on macOS 15+. Download any requested language packs before using it offline.

If automatic language detection gives unexpected results, choose your spoken language in Transcription settings. Available translation languages depend on Apple’s installed language support.

6. Record meetings

A meeting recording is different from a short dictation: you start it at the beginning of a call and stop it at the end. Hlas creates the written transcript afterward. It does not need a meeting bot to join the call.

Microphone audio means your voice. System audio means sound playing through your Mac, including the other people on a call and other playing media. On macOS 14.4+, Hlas can record both together.

Before your first full meeting, make a short test recording so you can check that both sides are captured.

1. In Settings → Meetings, choose whether to capture system audio, your microphone, or both.
2. Join your call as usual. Click the Hlas microphone in the menu bar, then use its meeting recording control (separate from the dictation microphone). You can also use the meeting recording item in the right-click menu. If macOS asks for System Audio Recording access, allow it to include sound from the call. Check that the meeting elapsed-time display starts.
3. At the end, use the same meeting control to stop. Hlas combines the recorded sound and converts it into text locally. Leave Hlas open while it processes; a long recording takes longer than a short dictation.
4. Open History to read the transcript. Keep Save transcripts to History enabled in Advanced settings to retain it.

Meeting transcripts are never pasted into another app automatically. You can dictate while a meeting is recording; dictation pauses while the finished meeting is being mixed or transcribed. If meeting transcription fails, use Retry in the popover.

Set up a reminder for a meeting

1. Open Settings → Meetings and turn on Enable calendar reminders.
2. Allow Calendar access and notifications when prompted. If access was previously denied, use the settings controls to open the relevant macOS permission page.
3. Select the calendars that contain your meetings. If none appear, check that they are available in your Mac’s Calendar app.
4. For a first test, leave title filters empty and the video-link requirement off. More filters mean fewer events will match.
5. Keep Hlas running. When a matching event begins, use the reminder to start recording.

Optional reminder filters and automatic recording

In Meetings settings, enable reminders, grant Calendar access, and select the calendars to watch. Optionally filter by words in the event title or require a Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, or Webex link.

Start meeting recording automatically adds a cancellable 10-second countdown when a matching event begins. Hlas must be running. You can assign a separate meeting recording shortcut in General settings.

7. History & privacy

History is the list of transcripts Hlas has saved on this Mac. It helps you find a previous dictation or read a meeting after it finishes.

1. Right-click the Hlas microphone and choose History.
2. Click a transcript to select it. Use the search field to look for a word, or choose the Meeting filter to narrow the list to meetings.
3. Right-click an entry to open its menu. Choose Copy to put its text on the clipboard, then click in your destination document and press ⌘ V to paste.
4. Choose Export if you want a separate file. Pick a name and location in the save window.

If History is empty, open Settings → Advanced and check Save transcripts to History. Turning it on saves future transcripts; it won’t recreate earlier unsaved recordings.

In Settings → Advanced, choose whether to save transcripts and how long to keep them. Retention removes older entries automatically. Deleting or clearing History permanently removes the selected saved transcripts.

What stays local

Local speech recognition, AI cleanup, and transcript history stay on your Mac. Dictation audio files are temporary. Meeting audio is retained if transcription fails so you can retry; it is removed after successful transcription.

Internet access is used for model downloads and update checks. Optional remote transcription sends audio to your configured server. Once text is inserted into another app, that app’s own storage and syncing settings apply.

8. Settings at a glance

To check for a new version, right-click the Hlas menu bar icon and choose Check for Updates.

9. Troubleshooting