Barky help

Getting started

1. Download Barky from the download page, drag it into Applications and open it. It lives in your menu bar.
2. Sign in with your Meadow account (we email you a 6-digit code).
3. Allow the Microphone and Accessibility when Barky asks. The welcome screens walk you through it.
4. Click into any text field, hold Fn, talk, and let go. Your words appear, cleaned up.

The first time, macOS prepares the built-in speech model for your Mac, which can take a few minutes.

What you can do

• Dictate into any app. Hold your dictation key and talk. Double-tap it to keep recording hands-free; tap again to stop.
• Voice notes. Hold your voice note key (Right ⌥ by default) to record a note. Notes are Markdown files in your Barky Vault, with the audio beside them.
• Command mode. Select some text, press ⌃⌥C and say how to change it ("make this friendlier", "turn it into a list").
• Paste Last Dictation (⌃⌥V) and Correct Last Dictation… from the menu bar. Barky learns names and words you correct (turn it off in Settings → Dictionary → "Learn from my corrections").
• Cleanup. Words are transcribed on your Mac, then tidied by Apple Intelligence (on your Mac, macOS 26 or later), or by Gemini or Claude with your own key. Settings → Refining has three speeds: Instant, Balanced (the default) and Polished.
• Dictionary. Add vocabulary and replacements so names come out right.
• Shortcuts and automations. Apple Shortcuts can drive Barky with barky://dictate, barky://note (add /start or /stop), barky://cancel and barky://vault.
• Barky for iPhone (coming to TestFlight): voice notes transcribed on your phone, the same notes as on your Mac.

Keyboard shortcuts

Change them in Settings → Shortcuts: click a shortcut, then press a key, a lone modifier (like Right ⌥) or a combination. A double-tap of a held key records hands-free.

Permissions, and why

• Microphone: to hear you. Barky only listens while you hold your key (or in hands-free mode).
• Accessibility: so the Fn key works in every app and Barky can type for you. Until it's on, your words are copied so you can paste them with ⌘V.
• Input Monitoring: only if Fn still isn't detected after Accessibility is on.
• Speech Recognition: only if you choose Apple Speech in Settings → Transcription.

What stays on your Mac, and what syncs

• Dictations stay on your Mac. They're never synced.
• Voice note transcripts sync to your Meadow account when you're signed in and Sync notes is on, so your Mac and iPhone show the same notes.
• Recordings (the audio) stay on the device that made them unless you turn on Sync recordings between devices in Settings → Account. On the other device, a note without its audio says "Audio is on your other device".
• Your vault is a folder of Markdown files: iCloud Drive › Barky Vault if iCloud Drive is on, otherwise Documents › Barky Vault. Change it in Settings → Vault.
• Speech is transcribed on your Mac. Cleanup with Apple Intelligence also stays on your Mac; with Gemini or Claude, the text (not audio) goes to that service with your key.

Troubleshooting

Fn does nothing after an update. The Accessibility switch in System Settings may belong to the older build. Click Reset on the card in Barky's menu (or Settings → Troubleshooting → Reset Keyboard Permissions), allow Accessibility again, then Relaunch Barky. ⌃⌥Space keeps working in the meantime.

Text is copied instead of typed. Accessibility is off. Allow it in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility.

Nothing types into a password field or a terminal. That app turned on Secure Input, which blocks every app from typing. Barky's menu shows a warning while it's on.

macOS says Barky is running from a temporary location. Move Barky into your Applications folder and open it from there.

The sign-in code hasn't arrived. It comes from Meadow, usually within a minute. Check spam and promotions. You can ask for a new one after 60 seconds with Resend Code; the last code still works. More in Signing in.

I paid but Barky still shows the paywall. Click I've Paid — Check Again. Barky also checks by itself when you bring it to the front, when your Mac wakes, and every few minutes while it's locked. Make sure you're signed in with the same email you paid with (it shows under the buttons as "Signed in as …"). Still locked? Contact support and we'll sort it out.

Sending us details. Settings → Troubleshooting → Copy Diagnostics copies your setup (no audio, no transcripts), ready to paste into the support form.

System requirements

• macOS 14 or later.
• Apple silicon (M1 or later).
• Apple Intelligence cleanup needs macOS 26. Gemini and Claude need your own API key.
• About 480 MB of disk for the app and its speech model.
• Barky for iPhone: iOS 18 or later.
• A Meadow account with the app in your plan. Every Meadow app is paid; there are no free trials (you can ask for a refund within 14 days).