Vani Help

Getting Started

1

Download and open Vani

Download the DMG, drag Vani to your Applications folder, then open it from there — not from the DMG directly.

2

Grant permissions

Vani needs Microphone access to hear you, and Accessibility access to type at your cursor. Both are prompted on first launch.

3

Wait for the model to load

On first launch, Vani downloads the Whisper model (~150MB). This takes 1–2 minutes. After that, it's instant.

4

Hold ⌥ Option and speak

Click into any text field in any app, hold the Option key, speak, then release. Your words appear at the cursor.

Hotkeys

Hold ⌥ Option

Push-to-talk — records while held, types when released

Double-tap ⌥

Hands-free toggle — tap once to start, tap again to stop

⌥ + Space

Alternative hands-free trigger

You can change the hotkey in Settings → General.

Permissions Setup

How do I grant Microphone access?

Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone and toggle Vani on. If Vani doesn't appear, make sure it's running (mic icon in the menu bar).

How do I grant Accessibility access?

Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility. If Vani isn't listed, click + and navigate to /Applications/Vani.app. Toggle it on, then restart Vani.

Accessibility is required for Vani to type at your cursor. Without it, dictation won't paste.

Vani doesn't appear in the Accessibility list

This usually means Vani was run directly from the DMG instead of from your Applications folder. Make sure you've dragged Vani to /Applications and opened it from there. Then try clicking + in the Accessibility list again.

Troubleshooting

Dictation isn't pasting text at the cursor

This is almost always an Accessibility permission issue. Check that Vani is enabled in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility.

If it's already on, try toggling it off and back on, then restart Vani.

The pill shows "No audio" or "Didn't catch that"

A few things to check:

Make sure Microphone permission is granted in System Settings.
Check that the correct mic is selected in Settings → General → Microphone.
Hold the hotkey for at least 0.5 seconds before speaking.
Speak clearly — the Whisper model needs a moment to detect speech.

Apple Intelligence shows "Unavailable"

Apple Intelligence requires macOS 26 on Apple Silicon. Go to System Settings → Apple Intelligence & Siri and make sure it's enabled.

If it's unavailable, Vani falls back to basic cleanup (capitalisation + punctuation) — dictation still works, just without AI enhancement.

The app crashed or quit unexpectedly

Open Vani, go to the sidebar → Diagnostic Log. This opens the log file and lets you send it as feedback. Include the log when reporting — it helps identify exactly what went wrong.

FAQ

Does Vani send my voice or text anywhere?

No. Everything runs on your Mac. Transcription uses WhisperKit on the Neural Engine, AI cleanup uses Apple Intelligence locally. No audio or text ever leaves your device.

Which Macs does Vani support?

Vani requires macOS 26 Tahoe and Apple Silicon (M1 or later). It does not run on Intel Macs.

How do I add words Vani keeps mishearing?

Open Vani → Dictionary tab → click Add word. Add names, product terms, or technical jargon. Vani also learns automatically — words you use 3+ times get added on their own.

Is Vani free?

Yes. Vani is free and open source. No subscription, no account, no limits.

How can we help?