Coconut Whisper Back to download

Using it on a Mac

Seven steps. The first two are the ones macOS makes you do for any app that did not come from the App Store.

1

Pick the right file, then unzip it

Apple menu, About This Mac. If the chip line says Apple M1, M2, M3 or newer, take the Apple Silicon download. If it says Intel, take the Intel one. The wrong one simply will not open.

Unzip, then drag Coconut Whisper into your Applications folder.

Move it before you open it. An app opened straight from the folder it was unzipped into gets a fresh temporary location from macOS every single launch, and permissions are filed against a location. Allow it there and the permission is gone by the next launch, which looks exactly like the app ignoring you.
2

Open it the first time with a right click

Right click the app and choose Open, then confirm in the box that appears. A normal double click gets refused the first time, because the app is not notarised with Apple.

If macOS still blocks it, go to System Settings, Privacy and Security, scroll down, and click Open Anyway.

Stuck on a message saying the app is damaged? Open Terminal and paste this, then try again:
xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "/Applications/Coconut Whisper.app"
3

Give it the two permissions it needs

Microphone, so it can hear you. macOS asks the first time you dictate, just say yes.

Accessibility, so it can notice the dictation key and paste the text for you. macOS does not always ask, so set it yourself: System Settings, Privacy and Security, Accessibility, then switch Coconut Whisper on.

This is the one that catches people out. Without Accessibility the app runs, the icon is there, and the key does nothing at all. From version 0.1.6 the app notices this at launch and opens a small window with a button that takes you straight to the right screen.
After every update, remove the old entry first. Each new version is a different app as far as macOS is concerned, so the entry left behind by the previous one keeps the switch looking on while the app is still refused. In Accessibility, select Coconut Whisper, remove it with the minus button, then open the app and let it ask again.
4

Find the microphone icon in the menu bar

The app has no window and no dock icon. It lives at the top right of your screen, in the row with the clock, wifi and battery.

The Coconut Whisper icon This is the icon you are looking for
top right of the screen
🎤   Coconut Whisper sits here, near the clock

If your menu bar is crowded, the icon can be hidden behind the notch on some MacBooks. Holding Command and dragging menu bar icons rearranges them.

5

Click where you want to write, then hold the key

Click into the message box first, in Slack, Gmail, the ATS, anywhere. Then hold Right Command and talk.

A small dark pill reading Listening

This pill appears at the bottom of the screen while it hears you. Captured on Windows, it is the same pill on a Mac.

Let go when you finish. A second or two later the text appears where the cursor was.

6

The menu

Click the microphone icon in the menu bar.

Hold Right Command to dictate
Language  English, Portuguese, Tagalog, Taglish
Copy last transcript
Settings
Open log folder
Quit

Switching language takes effect immediately, no restart.

7

Settings, if you want to change the key

Open Settings from that menu. The keys you can choose from on a Mac:

Right CommandRight OptionRight Control Right ShiftF9Control + Shift Control + SpaceOption + Space

Mode swaps holding the key for pressing once to start and once to stop, which is easier for long dictation.

Sound volume sets how loud the start and stop tones are. It starts quiet, and the Test button plays it at the level you picked.

Word replacements is for words it always gets wrong. One per line, written as spoken = written.

The Coconut Whisper settings window

The settings window, captured on Windows. The Mac one has the same rows in the same order, drawn with Mac controls.

When something is off

I hold the key and nothing happens

Nine times out of ten this is the Accessibility permission from step three. Check System Settings, Privacy and Security, Accessibility, and make sure Coconut Whisper is switched on. If you had it on already, switch it off and on again after updating the app.

Right Command does nothing but another key works

Tell the team, that is worth knowing. In the meantime pick a different key in Settings, Control plus Shift is a good second choice.

macOS says the app is damaged and cannot be opened

That is Gatekeeper, not a corrupted download. Use the Terminal command in step two, then open it with a right click.

It heard nothing

Open Settings and choose your microphone by name instead of leaving it on system default. Also check System Settings, Privacy and Security, Microphone.

It is slow

Open Settings and pick a smaller model. Apple Silicon handles the larger ones comfortably, an older Intel Mac should stay on Small.