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    Getting started

    Install THOHT, grant the one permission it needs, and dictate into any app in under a minute.

    Updated June 2026

    THOHT lives in your Mac's menu bar. Once it's set up, dictating is a single keystroke from anywhere — your editor, your browser, your email. This page takes you from "just installed" to "text on the screen."

    Install THOHT

    THOHT is on the Mac App Store and installs like any other app.

    1. 1
      Open THOHT on the Mac App Store and click Get.
    2. 2
      Launch THOHT. A THOHT Tutorial & Setup window opens and walks you through first‑run setup.
    3. 3
      On the first run, THOHT downloads its on‑device transcription engine (about 2 GB, so give it a moment and keep a few GB of free space). You'll see a progress bar.

    Apple Silicon vs Intel

    On an Apple Silicon Mac (M1 or newer), transcription runs on‑device and is free forever. On an Intel Mac, on‑device transcription isn't available, so THOHT uses cloud transcription — which needs Pro. See I'm on an Intel Mac.

    First launch and onboarding

    The setup wizard has a few short steps:

    1. Terms — a quick summary of how THOHT handles your audio and AI features. Tick I accept to continue.
    2. Features — a one‑screen tour: ⌥D to dictate, and ⌥C to polish text with AI (Pro).
    3. Permissions — grant microphone access (and, optionally, accessibility — see below).
    4. Try it — a built‑in practice round. Pick your microphone, read the sample line, and watch the transcription appear. You can try an AI Polish style on the result, or skip.
    5. Plan — choose Basic (free) or start a Pro free trial. You can always change this later.

    When you finish, THOHT is running in the menu bar and ready to use.

    Permissions

    THOHT asks for as little as possible. Only the microphone is required.

    PermissionRequired?What it's for
    MicrophoneRequiredRecording your voice to transcribe it.
    AccessibilityOptionalTyping transcribed text straight into the focused app (auto‑paste), and hands‑free voice control.
    Speech RecognitionOptionalOnly requested if you turn on hands‑free mode.

    You can grant or revoke any of these later in System Settings → Privacy & Security, or from THOHT's settings, which deep‑link you to the right pane.

    Without Accessibility, you still get your text

    If you skip Accessibility, transcriptions are copied to your clipboard so you can paste them yourself with ⌘V. Grant Accessibility later to have THOHT type for you automatically.

    Your first dictation

    1. Click into any text field — a note, an email, a chat box.
    2. Press ⌥D (Option‑D). A small recording panel appears with a live waveform and a timer.
    3. Speak.
    4. Press ⌥D again — or click Stop & Transcribe — to finish. (Press Esc to cancel and throw the recording away.)

    THOHT transcribes and delivers the text. That's the whole loop. For everything you can do while recording — pause, resume, switch AI styles — see Dictating.

    Where your text goes

    What happens to the finished text depends on whether you granted Accessibility:

    • With Accessibility — THOHT types the text directly into whatever field is focused (this is Hands‑Free Text Insertion, aka auto‑paste).
    • Without Accessibility — the text is placed on your clipboard and a "Copied to clipboard" confirmation appears. Paste it with ⌘V.

    Either way, a copy is saved to your history so you can find it again later.

    Something unclear or out of date? Let us know.