1. Pick an overlay mode
Open Whisper Island’s settings (tray icon → Settings) and choose:- Pill — a floating 420 × 120 overlay near the top of the screen. Works on any Mac.
- Notch — the overlay sits inside your MacBook’s notch area. Best on notched MacBooks.
2. Pick a recording mode
In Settings → Recording:- Push-to-talk — hold the shortcut, speak, release. Best for short utterances.
- Toggle — tap to start, tap to stop. Best for longer dictations.
3. Bind a shortcut
The default mic shortcut isCmd+Shift+Space. Change it in Settings → Shortcuts. You can also rebind:
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
Cmd+Shift+Space | Mic toggle / push-to-talk |
Cmd+Shift+H | Show / hide the pill |
Cmd+Shift+L | Expand / collapse the overlay |
Cmd+Shift+V | Toggle clipboard inclusion |
4. Try it
Speak
Say something. Release the shortcut, or tap again to stop. The overlay shows a quick “transcribing” state.
5. Pick a language
In Settings → Language, choose the language you usually dictate in. Whisper auto-detects, but pinning the language meaningfully improves accuracy on short utterances.What’s next?
Overlay modes
Deep dive into pill vs notch behavior.
Recording modes
Push-to-talk vs toggle — when to use each.
Shortcuts
Customize every shortcut Whisper Island uses.
Settings
Language, clipboard behavior, autostart, and more.