> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.vowen.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Settings

> A map of the Vowen window, the Settings modal, and the menu bar menu.

<div style={{ marginTop: "-1rem" }}>
  Vowen has two layers of configuration. The **main window** has a sidebar of full pages for the big features. The **Settings modal** opens on top of it and holds the ten sections that configure the app itself.
</div>

## Opening Vowen

* Click the Vowen icon in the menu bar (macOS) or system tray (Windows) and choose **General Settings**
* Press `Cmd+,` (macOS) or `Ctrl+,` (Windows) from the tray menu accelerator

Vowen is a background app, so the menu bar route is the faster way in.

## The Sidebar

The main window sidebar has three parts.

| Sidebar item | What it opens |
| - | - |
| Home | History, daily activity, and lifetime stats |
| Transcribe | Drag in an audio or video file and transcribe it |
| Speech models | Download, switch, and configure transcription engines |
| Dictionary | Custom vocabulary, threads, and text expansions |
| Voice Shortcuts | Voice-triggered automations |

Below those sits a group headed **Vowen AI**:

| Sidebar item | What it opens |
| - | - |
| Configure your AI | Connect AI providers, pick models, enhancement options |
| Notes | Meeting notes list, recordings, and notes settings |
| Tones | Per-app writing style profiles |
| Connectors | MCP connectors, for reading from and acting on external apps |

And a footer:

| Sidebar item | What it opens |
| - | - |
| Settings | The Settings modal (the ten sections below) |
| Help | Opens the contact form in your browser |

<Note>
  **Connectors only appears when you turn it on.** It is hidden until you enable **Settings > Experimental > Enable Connectors**. See [Connectors](/integrations/connectors).
</Note>

<Frame caption="The sidebar: five primary pages, the Vowen AI group, then Settings and Help at the bottom.">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/vowen/94qaixcfbwWHsixE/images/app/gs-sidebar.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=94qaixcfbwWHsixE&q=85&s=2eab12258c9a38353ec63483ac03da61" alt="The Vowen main window with the left sidebar highlighted, showing the primary pages, the Vowen AI group and the footer" width="2400" height="1600" data-path="images/app/gs-sidebar.png" />
</Frame>

## The Settings Modal

Clicking **Settings** in the sidebar footer opens a modal with its own sidebar. There are exactly ten sections.

<Frame caption="Settings sits at the very bottom of the main window sidebar, below every feature page.">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/vowen/94qaixcfbwWHsixE/images/app/gs-sidebar-settings-entry.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=94qaixcfbwWHsixE&q=85&s=bc88bdd98c37ab61f0d8e1255936934e" alt="The Vowen main window with the Settings row in the sidebar footer highlighted, below Help" width="2400" height="1600" data-path="images/app/gs-sidebar-settings-entry.png" />
</Frame>

| Section | What's there |
| - | - |
| Account | Your name and email, licence and plan, Import/Export Data |
| General | Updates, startup, text insertion, sound, history, filler words |
| Audio | Microphone selection and priority ranking |
| Language | Interface language, dictation language, summary language, translation |
| Recording | Indicator style and position, idle pill, saved audio, system audio, real-time preview |
| Shortcuts | Every keyboard shortcut Vowen listens for |
| Sync | Cloud sync setup |
| Developer | The `vowen` CLI, clipboard history, network preferences |
| Experimental | Features still in active development |
| Permissions | System permission status and shortcuts to grant them |

The app version is printed at the bottom of the modal sidebar.

<Note>
  Several things that used to live in this modal are now full sidebar pages: Speech models, Configure your AI, Tones, Dictionary, Voice Shortcuts, and notes integrations. There is no Privacy section and no Memory section. Memory is now part of **Configure your AI**, and data export lives at the bottom of **Settings > Account**.
</Note>

<Frame caption="The Settings modal, opened on Account. The ten sections run down the left, with the search field above them and the app version at the bottom.">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/vowen/ITmCJz6YkE9-_Kui/images/app/settings-modal-overview.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=ITmCJz6YkE9-_Kui&q=85&s=f6f51c6251d6895a16ec7938367508cd" alt="The Vowen Settings modal showing a sidebar of ten sections — Account, General, Audio, Language, Recording, Shortcuts, Sync, Developer, Experimental, Permissions — a search field above them, and the Account section open on the right" width="2016" height="1280" data-path="images/app/settings-modal-overview.png" />
</Frame>

## Section by Section

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Account">
    Three cards.

    * **Plan card**: your current plan, licence key (masked) if activated, and buttons to buy, activate, manage, or deactivate a licence.
    * **Profile card**: your name and email. The name you set during onboarding lives here.
    * **Data card**: **Import Data** and **Export Data**. Import/Export is a Pro feature.

    See [Import and export](/features/import-data).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="General">
    The rows, in order:

    * **Software Updates**: description plus a **Check for Updates** button
    * **Open at Login**: launch Vowen when you log in
    * **Hide Dock Icon** (macOS only): run as a pure menu bar app
    * **Start Minimized to Tray** (Windows only)
    * **Auto-paste transcription**: paste into the focused field automatically
    * **Text Insertion Method**: Paste method or Direct insertion. Greyed out when auto-paste is off
    * **Auto Enter**: press Enter after pasting. Greyed out when auto-paste is off
    * **Restore clipboard after paste**
    * **Sound Effects**: audio feedback when recording starts and stops
    * **Save transcriptions to history**: word count and activity are tracked either way
    * **Remove filler words**
    * **Auto-add corrections to Dictionary** (Pro, Beta): needs at least one AI provider connected
    * **Resource efficient mode**: only shown for local Whisper models, and for Parakeet on Windows

    <Note>Theme is not here. It is a sun/moon button in the main window toolbar, next to the account icon.</Note>

    <Frame caption="Settings > General.">
      <img src="https://mintcdn.com/vowen/94qaixcfbwWHsixE/images/app/gs-settings-general.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=94qaixcfbwWHsixE&q=85&s=4946547b53738dcb1645db5022a51373" alt="The General section of Vowen Settings showing software updates, open at login, auto-paste, text insertion method and clipboard rows" width="2016" height="1280" data-path="images/app/gs-settings-general.png" />
    </Frame>
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Audio">
    Microphone selection. Vowen keeps a ranked list rather than a single pinned device, and uses the highest-ranked microphone that is currently connected. Drag to reorder.

    See [Microphones](/features/microphones).

    <Frame caption="Settings > Audio. Change opens the microphone picker and ranking list.">
      <img src="https://mintcdn.com/vowen/94qaixcfbwWHsixE/images/app/gs-settings-audio.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=94qaixcfbwWHsixE&q=85&s=459df21fe2f65ab364a0dd37a10caecb" alt="The Audio section of Vowen Settings showing a Microphone row set to Auto-detect with a Change button" width="2016" height="1280" data-path="images/app/gs-settings-audio.png" />
    </Frame>
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Language">
    * **Interface language**: Vowen's own UI. 18 languages ship with the app
    * **Dictation language**: the language you speak. The available list depends on the model you have selected
    * **Summary language**: the language meeting note summaries are written in
    * **English spelling**: British or American conventions
    * **Auto-translate to English** (Pro): only shown when the model is not English-only

    See [Interface language](/features/interface-language) and [Languages](/transcription/languages).

    <Warning>
      Auto-translate for cloud models and Parakeet sends your transcribed text to Google Translate. See [Privacy](/get-started/privacy).
    </Warning>

    <Frame caption="Settings > Language holds three separate language settings.">
      <img src="https://mintcdn.com/vowen/94qaixcfbwWHsixE/images/app/gs-settings-language.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=94qaixcfbwWHsixE&q=85&s=3ec398942ff78ca8f0d76431a9dd9599" alt="The Language section of Vowen Settings showing interface language, dictation language and English spelling" width="2016" height="1280" data-path="images/app/gs-settings-language.png" />
    </Frame>
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Recording">
    * **Indicator style** (macOS only): Pill or Notch
    * **Recording Indicator Position**: Top, Bottom, or Don't show
    * **Show idle pill**: off by default
    * **Save audio recordings**: keeps `.wav` files in `~/Documents/Vowen Recordings`
    * **When recording starts**: do nothing, mute system audio, or pause playback (Pro)
    * **Real-time transcription preview** (Pro): only available on streaming-capable models

    See [Recording indicator](/features/recording-indicator) and [Recording behavior](/features/recording-behavior).

    <Frame caption="Settings > Recording.">
      <img src="https://mintcdn.com/vowen/94qaixcfbwWHsixE/images/app/gs-settings-recording.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=94qaixcfbwWHsixE&q=85&s=552949d4e4a0608481713e3cc428fd92" alt="The Recording section of Vowen Settings showing indicator style and position, and the when-recording-starts cards" width="2016" height="1280" data-path="images/app/gs-settings-recording.png" />
    </Frame>
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Shortcuts">
    Every shortcut Vowen listens for, grouped by what it does: dictation, hands-free, command mode, tones, cancel recording, and the meeting panel. Alternative and multiple shortcuts are Pro.

    See [Shortcuts](/features/shortcuts).

    <Frame caption="Settings > Shortcuts. The section id is hotkeys; the label is Shortcuts.">
      <img src="https://mintcdn.com/vowen/94qaixcfbwWHsixE/images/app/gs-settings-shortcuts.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=94qaixcfbwWHsixE&q=85&s=5b6078bb171fa17fc83682e2359cac2d" alt="The Shortcuts section of Vowen Settings listing each rebindable action with its key display box" width="2016" height="1280" data-path="images/app/gs-settings-shortcuts.png" />
    </Frame>
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Sync">
    Cloud sync setup. This is the one section where the entire page is behind a Pro overlay rather than individual rows.

    See [Cloud sync](/features/cloud-sync).

    <Frame caption="Settings > Sync.">
      <img src="https://mintcdn.com/vowen/94qaixcfbwWHsixE/images/app/gs-settings-sync.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=94qaixcfbwWHsixE&q=85&s=6b1f1facffc89e1fedf2565a298549ca" alt="The Sync section of Vowen Settings showing the cloud provider options and sync status" width="2016" height="1280" data-path="images/app/gs-settings-sync.png" />
    </Frame>
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Developer

Three settings, all aimed at people who want to script Vowen or who are debugging a connection problem.

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Command Line Tool">
    Installs a `vowen` command so you can drive Vowen from a terminal or from an agent. The row shows the installed version and path once it is in place, and offers **Install**, **Update**, and **Uninstall** buttons. Vowen checks for a newer CLI release when the section opens and turns the Update button primary when one is available.

    See the [CLI documentation](/cli/overview) for what the command can do.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Allow Dictations in Clipboard History">
    Off by default. Vowen's paste method puts your transcription on the clipboard for a moment, and clipboard managers like Maccy, Raycast, and Ditto will record it if you let them. Leaving this off keeps dictations from piling up in your clipboard history. Turn it on if you actually want them there.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Prefer IPv4 Connections">
    On by default. Vowen resolves cloud services over IPv4 before trying IPv6, which fixes hangs and connection errors on networks with broken IPv6. Turn it off only on an IPv6-only network. The change applies immediately, without a restart.

    Try this first if cloud transcription or an AI provider fails to connect on a network where everything else works.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

<Frame caption="Settings > Developer.">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/vowen/94qaixcfbwWHsixE/images/app/gs-settings-developer.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=94qaixcfbwWHsixE&q=85&s=c07a84ddd2f35e30a021017ad5556df2" alt="The Developer section of Vowen Settings showing the Command Line Tool row, clipboard history toggle and prefer IPv4 toggle" width="2016" height="1280" data-path="images/app/gs-settings-developer.png" />
</Frame>

## Experimental

Features in active development. The section header tells you to enable these only if you are hitting a specific problem.

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Enable Connectors">
    Off by default. Turning it on adds **Connectors** to the sidebar, which lets Live Ask, Chat with Notes, and Command Mode read from and act on external apps. Connections may break or behave unexpectedly. Requires Pro to actually use.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Enhanced silence detection">
    Off by default. Raises the silence threshold for cloud models so a fan, an air conditioner, or keyboard noise is less likely to be sent as speech. Turn this on if you get empty or hallucinated transcriptions while you are not talking.

    Enabling it reveals a **Sensitivity** slider from 1x to 5x, defaulting to 2x. Higher is stricter: at 3x, audio has to be three times louder than the measured baseline before Vowen treats it as speech. Raise it if phantom transcriptions persist; lower it if real speech starts getting skipped.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

<Frame caption="Settings > Experimental.">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/vowen/94qaixcfbwWHsixE/images/app/gs-settings-experimental.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=94qaixcfbwWHsixE&q=85&s=a4511c67eafac16d04d12dace959f527" alt="The Experimental section of Vowen Settings showing Enable Connectors and enhanced silence detection" width="2016" height="1280" data-path="images/app/gs-settings-experimental.png" />
</Frame>

## Permissions

A live status list of the system permissions Vowen uses, with a button beside each one that opens the right pane of System Settings. This is the fastest way to check whether a permission actually stuck after you granted it.

See [Permissions](/get-started/permissions) for what each one is for.

## Searching Settings

The Settings modal has a search field above its section list. Rather than a flat list of results, it renders the real settings sections filtered down to the rows that match, so every control looks and behaves exactly as it does when you browse to it. You can toggle a setting straight from the search results.

<Frame caption="Searching &#x22;clipboard&#x22; pulls matching rows out of General and Developer at once — and the toggles are live, so you can flip one without leaving the results.">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/vowen/ITmCJz6YkE9-_Kui/images/app/settings-search-2.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=ITmCJz6YkE9-_Kui&q=85&s=6afca3359acb38cc330e3e8b961e4c0e" alt="The Settings modal with clipboard typed into the search field, showing a General group containing Auto-paste transcription, Text Insertion Method and Restore clipboard after paste, and a Developer group containing Allow Dictations in Clipboard History, each with its working toggle" width="2016" height="1280" data-path="images/app/settings-search-2.png" />
</Frame>

How matching works:

* Matching is English-only. Vowen searches the row text and a set of English synonyms, regardless of your interface language. Searching "microphone" works even if your UI is in German; searching "Mikrofon" does not.
* All of your typed words have to match somewhere in the row.
* Matching a section's own name ("recording", "sync") shows every row in that section.
* Permissions is deliberately excluded from search. Those are system grants, not settings, so they never appear in results. Click the Permissions item in the sidebar to reach them.

Clicking a section header in the results jumps to that section and clears the query.

<Frame caption="Because &#x22;recording&#x22; is a section name, the whole Recording section comes back. Click the RECORDING header above the results to jump there.">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/vowen/ITmCJz6YkE9-_Kui/images/app/settings-search-3.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=ITmCJz6YkE9-_Kui&q=85&s=c93c1ff35d06bc4a3a74ba2f0cd38e6c" alt="Settings search results for the query recording, with a Sound Effects row from General and the full Recording section below it; an arrow points at the clickable RECORDING section header" width="2016" height="1280" data-path="images/app/settings-search-3.png" />
</Frame>

## Command Palette

Press `Cmd+K` (macOS) or `Ctrl+K` (Windows) anywhere in the main window to open the command palette. It searches sidebar pages by name or by what you call them ("voice log" finds Home, "api key" finds Configure your AI), and it searches your content as well.

See [Command palette](/features/command-palette).

## Menu Bar and System Tray

Vowen lives in your menu bar on macOS and your system tray on Windows. The menu holds a lot more than the settings shortcut.

**Always present:**

* **General Settings** (`Cmd+,` / `Ctrl+,`)
* **Speech Models** submenu: every installed local model plus every configured cloud model, with the active one checked
* **Language** submenu: the dictation languages your current model supports
* **Microphone** submenu: "Default microphone / Same as system" plus every connected device
* **Transcribe File**
* **Dictionary**
* **Voice Shortcuts**
* **Keyboard Controls**
* **AI Setup**
* **Notes**
* **Tones**
* **History**
* **Contact Us**
* **Privacy Policy**
* **Copy Last Transcription**
* **Quit Vowen** (`Cmd+Q` / `Ctrl+Q`)

**Shown depending on state:**

* **Auto-translate to English**: a checkbox, hidden for English-only models and when the effective language already resolves to English. Pro.
* **Start Meeting Notes**: when nothing is recording
* **Pause Meeting Notes** / **Resume Meeting Notes** and **Stop Meeting Notes**: while a meeting note is being recorded
* **Stop Recording**: while a screen recording is running

<Note>On Windows, **Copy Last Transcription** sits at the bottom of the menu rather than near the top.</Note>

## Theme

Vowen has Light and Dark themes. The toggle is the sun/moon button in the main window toolbar, in the top right beside the AI provider chip and the account icon. There is no theme row in Settings.

<Frame caption="This is the whole theme control: the sun/moon button in the main window toolbar.">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/vowen/94qaixcfbwWHsixE/images/app/gs-theme-toggle.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=94qaixcfbwWHsixE&q=85&s=4f0d01dd513caaa4528eeb9302c3b663" alt="The Vowen main window with the moon button in the top-right toolbar highlighted" width="2400" height="1600" data-path="images/app/gs-theme-toggle.png" />
</Frame>

## Text Insertion

Vowen can deliver your transcription using either the **paste method** (simulates `Cmd+V` / `Ctrl+V`) or **direct insertion** (types each character as if you were typing it). Choose in **Settings > General > Text Insertion Method**.

The paste method is fast but touches your clipboard; enable **Restore clipboard after paste** in the same section to put your previous clipboard contents back. Direct insertion is the right choice in apps that block standard paste.

See [Text Insertion Methods](/transcription/how-it-works#text-insertion-methods) for the full explanation.

## Idle Pill

Turn on **Show idle pill** in **Settings > Recording** to keep a small minimized bar pinned to the edge of your screen when you are not recording. Hover it to expand and start a recording without reaching for a shortcut. It is off by default.

## Hide Dock Icon (macOS)

If you prefer Vowen to be a pure background app without a Dock icon, enable **Settings > General > Hide Dock Icon**. The app stays accessible from the menu bar.


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