Frequently Asked Questions
Last Updated: 2026-02-13
Common questions about VaulType — privacy, compatibility, features, and troubleshooting.
Table of Contents
Section titled “Table of Contents”- General
- Privacy & Security
- Hardware & Compatibility
- Features
- Models & Performance
- Troubleshooting
- Comparison with Alternatives
- Development & Contributing
- Next Steps
General
Section titled “General”What is VaulType?
Section titled “What is VaulType?”VaulType is a privacy-first, macOS-native speech-to-text application that lets you dictate text into any app where your cursor is active. It uses local AI models (whisper.cpp for speech recognition and llama.cpp for text post-processing) — nothing ever leaves your Mac.
Why is it called VaulType?
Section titled “Why is it called VaulType?”The name captures the core philosophy:
- Hush — Your voice stays private, never leaving your device
- Type — Text appears at your cursor, as if you typed it
Is VaulType free?
Section titled “Is VaulType free?”Yes. VaulType is open source under the GPL-3.0 license. It’s free to download, use, and modify.
What languages does VaulType support?
Section titled “What languages does VaulType support?”VaulType supports 90+ languages through Whisper’s multilingual models (small, medium, large-v3), including English, Turkish, Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and many more. English-only models are also available for faster performance. Language can be auto-detected or manually selected.
Does VaulType work offline?
Section titled “Does VaulType work offline?”Yes, 100%. VaulType is designed to work completely offline. All speech recognition and text processing happen locally on your Mac. The only network requests are:
- Model downloads (one-time, optional)
- Auto-update checks via Sparkle (can be disabled)
Privacy & Security
Section titled “Privacy & Security”Is my audio sent to the cloud?
Section titled “Is my audio sent to the cloud?”No, absolutely not. VaulType processes all audio locally using whisper.cpp. Your voice data never leaves your Mac. There is no cloud component, no API calls, and no telemetry.
Is my dictation text stored anywhere?
Section titled “Is my dictation text stored anywhere?”By default, no. Text is transcribed, optionally processed by the LLM, and injected at your cursor — then discarded from memory. If you enable Dictation History (opt-in), transcriptions are stored locally in SwiftData on your Mac.
Does VaulType collect any data?
Section titled “Does VaulType collect any data?”No. VaulType has zero telemetry, zero analytics, and zero data collection by default. If you opt in to crash reporting (Sentry), only crash logs are sent — never audio, text, or usage data.
Is it safe to use for sensitive work?
Section titled “Is it safe to use for sensitive work?”Yes. Since everything is local, VaulType is suitable for sensitive work including:
- Legal documents
- Medical notes
- Confidential business communications
- Personal journaling
🔒 VaulType cannot inject text into password fields — this is a deliberate security measure.
What permissions does VaulType need and why?
Section titled “What permissions does VaulType need and why?”| Permission | Why |
|---|---|
| Accessibility | To inject text into the active app via CGEvent |
| Microphone | To capture your voice for speech recognition |
| Automation (optional) | For voice commands that control other apps via AppleScript |
See PERMISSIONS.md for a detailed breakdown.
Hardware & Compatibility
Section titled “Hardware & Compatibility”Which Mac do I need?
Section titled “Which Mac do I need?”VaulType runs on any Mac with macOS 14.0 (Sonoma) or later:
- Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4) — Recommended. Metal GPU acceleration makes speech recognition 3-10x faster.
- Intel Macs — Supported with CPU-only inference. Use smaller models (tiny, base) for acceptable speed.
How much RAM do I need?
Section titled “How much RAM do I need?”| Configuration | Minimum RAM |
|---|---|
| Whisper tiny (Raw mode) | 8 GB |
| Whisper small (Raw mode) | 8 GB |
| Whisper small + LLM 3B | 16 GB |
| Whisper medium + LLM 3B | 16 GB |
| Whisper large-v3 + LLM | 32 GB |
💡 Recommendation: 16 GB for the best experience with both STT and LLM features.
How much disk space do models need?
Section titled “How much disk space do models need?”| Model | Size |
|---|---|
| Whisper tiny | ~75 MB |
| Whisper base | ~142 MB |
| Whisper small | ~466 MB |
| Whisper medium | ~1.5 GB |
| Whisper large-v3 | ~3.0 GB |
| Qwen2.5-3B Q4 | ~2.0 GB |
| Phi-3.5-mini Q4 | ~2.5 GB |
You only need one Whisper model and optionally one LLM. Typical installation: 500 MB to 3 GB.
Does it work on macOS Sequoia?
Section titled “Does it work on macOS Sequoia?”Yes. VaulType is tested on macOS 14 (Sonoma) and macOS 15 (Sequoia).
Features
Section titled “Features”Can I use VaulType with Claude Code?
Section titled “Can I use VaulType with Claude Code?”Yes! This is one of VaulType’s best use cases. Use Prompt Mode to dictate into your terminal, and VaulType will automatically format your messy speech into clear, well-structured prompts for Claude Code.
Example: You say “I want to refactor the authentication module to use JWT tokens instead of sessions and add proper error handling” and VaulType formats it into a clean, structured prompt before injecting it into the terminal.
Does it work in Terminal?
Section titled “Does it work in Terminal?”Yes. VaulType injects text into any macOS app, including Terminal.app, iTerm2, Warp, Alacritty, and Kitty. Use the Clipboard injection method for the best terminal compatibility.
What are the processing modes?
Section titled “What are the processing modes?”| Mode | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Raw | No LLM processing — inject speech exactly as recognized |
| Clean | Fix spelling, grammar, punctuation, capitalization |
| Structure | Format as bullet lists, numbered steps, or tables |
| Prompt | Reformat into clear, well-structured AI prompts |
| Code | Format as code comments, commit messages, docstrings |
| Custom | Your own prompt templates for any formatting need |
Can I create custom processing modes?
Section titled “Can I create custom processing modes?”Yes. VaulType has a full prompt template system. You can:
- Write custom system and user prompts
- Use variables like
{text},{language},{app_name},{context} - Import and export templates
- Assign modes to specific hotkeys or apps
Does VaulType support push-to-talk?
Section titled “Does VaulType support push-to-talk?”Yes, two modes are available:
- Push-to-talk — Hold the hotkey to record, release to process
- Toggle mode — Press to start recording, press again to stop
Can I use different modes for different apps?
Section titled “Can I use different modes for different apps?”Yes. App-Aware Context (Phase 3) lets you configure default modes per application. For example:
- Terminal → Prompt Mode
- Mail → Clean Mode
- Notes → Structure Mode
- VS Code → Code Mode
Does VaulType have voice commands?
Section titled “Does VaulType have voice commands?”Yes (Phase 4). You can:
- Launch and switch between apps: “Open Safari”, “Switch to Terminal”
- Manage windows: “Move window to left half”
- Control system: “Volume up”, “Mute”, “Do Not Disturb on”
- Chain commands: “Open Terminal and run npm start”
- Create custom aliases: “Deploy” → run your deploy script
Models & Performance
Section titled “Models & Performance”Which Whisper model should I use?
Section titled “Which Whisper model should I use?”| Model | Speed | Accuracy | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| tiny | Fastest | Good enough | Quick notes, Intel Macs |
| base | Fast | Good | General use on Intel |
| small | Balanced | Very good | Recommended for most users |
| medium | Slower | Excellent | Accuracy-critical, long dictation |
| large-v3 | Slowest | Best | Maximum accuracy, M-series Pro/Max |
💡 Start with
small— it’s the sweet spot of speed and accuracy for Apple Silicon.
Which LLM should I use for post-processing?
Section titled “Which LLM should I use for post-processing?”| Model | Size | Speed | Quality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qwen2.5-3B Q4 | 2 GB | Fast | Recommended |
| Phi-3.5-mini Q4 | 2.5 GB | Fast | Great for English |
| Llama-3.2-3B Q4 | 2 GB | Fast | Good multilingual |
How fast is transcription?
Section titled “How fast is transcription?”On Apple Silicon with Metal GPU acceleration:
| Model | 5s Audio | 30s Audio |
|---|---|---|
| tiny | ~0.3s | ~1.5s |
| base | ~0.5s | ~2.5s |
| small | ~1.0s | ~5s |
| medium | ~3s | ~15s |
| large-v3 | ~8s | ~40s |
Measured on M1 MacBook Pro. M2/M3 are ~20-40% faster.
Can I use Ollama instead of built-in llama.cpp?
Section titled “Can I use Ollama instead of built-in llama.cpp?”Yes. VaulType supports Ollama as an alternative LLM backend via its localhost REST API (port 11434). This is useful if you already have Ollama installed with models downloaded.
Configure in Settings > Advanced > LLM Backend > Ollama.
Troubleshooting
Section titled “Troubleshooting”Text isn’t appearing after I dictate
Section titled “Text isn’t appearing after I dictate”Most common causes:
- Accessibility permission not granted — Check System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility
- Cursor not in a text field — Click into an editable area first
- Wrong injection method — Try switching between CGEvent and Clipboard in Settings > Advanced
See TROUBLESHOOTING.md for detailed solutions.
The app says “No model loaded”
Section titled “The app says “No model loaded””You need to download a Whisper model:
- Open VaulType Settings > Models
- Click Download next to a model (recommended:
small) - Wait for the download to complete
Dictation is slow
Section titled “Dictation is slow”Try these in order:
- Use a smaller model (tiny or base)
- Ensure Metal GPU is enabled (Settings > Advanced)
- Close GPU-intensive apps
- Use push-to-talk for shorter recordings
VaulType doesn’t appear in the menu bar
Section titled “VaulType doesn’t appear in the menu bar”- Check if VaulType is running: look in Activity Monitor
- Relaunch from
/Applications/VaulType.app - Check System Settings > Control Center > Menu Bar Only to ensure it’s not hidden
Audio level meter shows no activity
Section titled “Audio level meter shows no activity”- Verify microphone permission is granted
- Select the correct input device in Settings > Audio
- Check that the microphone works in Voice Memos
Comparison with Alternatives
Section titled “Comparison with Alternatives”How is VaulType different from Apple’s built-in Dictation?
Section titled “How is VaulType different from Apple’s built-in Dictation?”| Feature | VaulType | Apple Dictation |
|---|---|---|
| Privacy | 100% local | Partial (on-device + cloud) |
| LLM post-processing | Yes (6 modes) | No |
| Voice commands | Yes (app launch, window mgmt) | Limited (system commands only) |
| Custom modes | Yes | No |
| Open source | Yes (GPL-3.0) | No |
| Offline support | Full | Partial (basic offline mode) |
| Text injection | All apps | All apps |
| App-aware context | Yes | No |
| Cost | Free | Free with macOS |
How is VaulType different from Superwhisper / VoiceInk?
Section titled “How is VaulType different from Superwhisper / VoiceInk?”| Feature | VaulType | Superwhisper | VoiceInk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free (GPL-3.0) | $8/month | $30 one-time |
| Dual AI pipeline (STT + LLM) | Yes (both local) | Partial (local + cloud) | No |
| Voice commands | Yes | No | No |
| Processing modes | 6 | 4+ | Basic |
| Zero-network | Yes | Partial | Partial |
| Open source | Yes | No | No |
| Developer-focused modes | Yes (Code, Prompt) | No | No |
| App-aware context | Yes | Yes | No |
How is VaulType different from MacWhisper?
Section titled “How is VaulType different from MacWhisper?”MacWhisper is a great transcription app, but it’s focused on file transcription, not real-time dictation. VaulType is designed for live dictation into any app with LLM post-processing and voice commands.
Development & Contributing
Section titled “Development & Contributing”How can I contribute?
Section titled “How can I contribute?”See CONTRIBUTING.md for the full guide. The quickest ways to contribute:
- Report bugs via GitHub Issues
- Add new processing modes (create a prompt template + register it)
- Add new voice commands
- Improve documentation
- Test on different hardware and report compatibility
What’s the tech stack?
Section titled “What’s the tech stack?”- UI: Swift 5.9+ / SwiftUI / AppKit
- Speech: whisper.cpp (C/C++) with Metal acceleration
- LLM: llama.cpp (C/C++) with Metal acceleration
- Audio: AVAudioEngine
- Injection: CGEvent API
- Storage: SwiftData
- Build: Xcode 15+ / SPM / CMake
- CI/CD: GitHub Actions
See TECH_STACK.md for detailed rationale.
What’s on the roadmap?
Section titled “What’s on the roadmap?”| Phase | Focus | Status |
|---|---|---|
| v0.1.0 | Menu bar + whisper.cpp + text injection | In development |
| v0.2.0 | LLM post-processing modes | Planned |
| v0.3.0 | App-aware context, history, overlay | Planned |
| v0.4.0 | Voice commands | Planned |
| v0.5.0 | Power user features, polish | Planned |
| v1.0 | Feature-complete stable release | Future |
See ROADMAP.md for the full roadmap.
Can I build VaulType from source?
Section titled “Can I build VaulType from source?”Yes:
git clone https://github.com/vaultype/vaultype.gitcd vaultype./scripts/build-deps.shopen VaulType.xcodeproj# Build and run (⌘R)See SETUP_GUIDE.md for detailed instructions.
Next Steps
Section titled “Next Steps”- Quick Start — Get up and running in 5 minutes
- Troubleshooting — Detailed problem-solving guide
- Contributing — How to contribute
- Roadmap — What’s coming next