Welcome to Quilin
Native macOS dictation with a recorder that keeps the audio. Hotkey, talk, text — or hit record and re-run AI Actions later.
Quilin (琪音) is a native macOS dictation app. Three things hold together:
- Streaming dictation — hold the hotkey, talk, paste. Local-first, real-time.
- Recorder — captures the audio to a file you keep on your Mac.
- AI Actions — re-runnable text transformations (Basic / Polish / Translate, plus your own) on top of any transcript.
This guide gets you from install to your first transcript in about 60 seconds.
The 60-second tour
- Install Quilin from the download page. Requires macOS 15 (Sequoia) or later, Apple Silicon.
- First launch: macOS will ask for microphone and accessibility access. Grant both — mic lets Quilin record; accessibility lets it paste text at the cursor.
- Press the hotkey. The default is Right Option (⌥) — one key, no chord. You can change it under Settings → Shortcuts.
- Hold, talk, release. Text appears at the cursor wherever you are — Notes, your editor, a Slack message.
macOS menu bar — Quilin recording
⌘🔋📶
琪音
Mon 10:42The red dot is on the entire time the mic is recording. No background listening — only while you hold the hotkey.
Two surfaces, one product
Streaming and Recorder are the two surfaces where audio comes in. AI Actions sit on top of both:
- Streaming dictation is the hotkey-and-go flow. Local by default, fast, no audio saved. One Action auto-applies (Basic by default) so the text drops in cleanly. Use it for inline writing.
- Recorder mode captures audio to a file. Re-run Actions whenever — tomorrow, next week — and the audio stays on your Mac. Use it for meetings, voice memos, anything you'll want to revisit.
Where to next?
Capabilities — what Quilin does:
- Streaming dictation — hotkey, push-to-talk, local-first.
- Recorder — keep the audio, re-run later.
- AI Actions — Basic / Polish / Translate + your own.
- Multi-lingual — EN ↔ ZH, code-switching included.
- Privacy — what stays on your Mac, what doesn't.
Hands-on guides:
- Transcription backends — local vs. cloud, the daily quota, and when to pick which.
- AI Actions — the three defaults, when to write your own, and why no BYOK.
- Shortcuts & hotkey — push-to-talk vs. toggle, rebinding, and the macOS permission gotchas.
By role:
- Scenarios — what an engineer, founder, consultant, or professional actually does with Quilin during the week.
Stuck? See the FAQ or email support.