> ## 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.

# Quickstart

> Install Vowen, walk the setup flow, and get your first dictation pasted.

<img className="block dark:hidden" style={{ marginTop: "-1rem" }} src="https://mintcdn.com/vowen/2NLLQOm5sszam2ni/images/transcription-flow-light.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=2NLLQOm5sszam2ni&q=85&s=c4979a1c7b036298e93079dd44d3f442" alt="How Vowen transcription works" width="1672" height="941" data-path="images/transcription-flow-light.png" />

<img className="hidden dark:block" style={{ marginTop: "-1rem" }} src="https://mintcdn.com/vowen/2NLLQOm5sszam2ni/images/transcription-flow-dark.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=2NLLQOm5sszam2ni&q=85&s=80eb82c9fd371f257006d4655d2d425c" alt="How Vowen transcription works" width="1672" height="941" data-path="images/transcription-flow-dark.png" />

## 1. Download and install

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="macOS">
    1. Download the latest `.dmg` from [vowen.ai](https://vowen.ai)
    2. Open the DMG and drag Vowen to your Applications folder
    3. Launch Vowen from Applications
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Windows">
    1. Download the latest `.exe` installer from [vowen.ai](https://vowen.ai)
    2. Run the installer and follow the prompts
    3. Launch Vowen from the Start menu or desktop shortcut

    <Note>Windows may show a "Windows protected your PC" warning since the app is not yet code-signed. Click "More info" then "Run anyway" to proceed. A portable build is also available if you would rather not install.</Note>
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

Full details, including system requirements and the portable build, are on the [Installation](/get-started/installation) page.

## 2. Walk the setup flow

The first launch opens a setup flow with **11 steps**. Most of them are demos you can click straight past. Two of them are gates you cannot get around.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Welcome">
    An introduction. There is a theme toggle in the corner if you want light mode before you go any further.

    <Frame caption="The first screen of the setup flow. The dots along the top track your progress through all eleven steps.">
      <img src="https://mintcdn.com/vowen/94qaixcfbwWHsixE/images/app/gs-onboarding-welcome.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=94qaixcfbwWHsixE&q=85&s=3cb7802a43fc5ebeaf96eda984c8d039" alt="The Vowen onboarding welcome screen, showing the app icon, the headline Email faster with your voice, and a Get started button" width="2400" height="1600" data-path="images/app/gs-onboarding-welcome.png" />
    </Frame>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Your details">
    Vowen asks for your name and email.

    <Note>**A name is required.** It has to be at least two characters, and the step will not advance without one. The email field is optional. Vowen uses your name to personalise later steps and to sign text expansions.</Note>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Privacy">
    A short summary of how Vowen handles your data, with a link to the privacy policy. Click Continue.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Permissions (gate)">
    You cannot continue until the required permissions are granted.

    * **macOS:** both Microphone and Accessibility
    * **Windows:** Microphone only

    Each row shows live status and a button that opens the right pane of System Settings. See [Permissions](/get-started/permissions) if a grant does not take.

    <Frame caption="The permissions step is a hard gate. Continue stays unavailable until the required permissions are granted.">
      <img src="https://mintcdn.com/vowen/94qaixcfbwWHsixE/images/app/gs-onboarding-permissions.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=94qaixcfbwWHsixE&q=85&s=cba4dc12a6b3104797f5154545f13bbc" alt="The Vowen onboarding permissions step, listing the permissions Vowen needs with their current status" width="2400" height="1600" data-path="images/app/gs-onboarding-permissions.png" />
    </Frame>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Download a model (gate)">
    Vowen offers exactly two transcription models here:

    | Model | Languages | |
    | - | - | - |
    | **Parakeet V2** | English only | Recommended |
    | **Parakeet V3** | 25 European languages | |

    <Warning>
      **This step cannot be skipped.** The Continue button does not exist until the model is downloaded and installed. Until then the only button on the screen is Download. Vowen needs a transcription engine to be useful at all.
    </Warning>

    You can download more models later, and switch to a cloud engine, from **Speech models** in the sidebar.

    <Frame caption="The second hard gate. Continue only appears once a transcription model has finished installing.">
      <img src="https://mintcdn.com/vowen/94qaixcfbwWHsixE/images/app/gs-onboarding-model.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=94qaixcfbwWHsixE&q=85&s=4c8827a619818211f070783dfc73fea8" alt="The Vowen onboarding model step showing Model ready, a green Model installed status, and a Continue button" width="2400" height="1600" data-path="images/app/gs-onboarding-model.png" />
    </Frame>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Try it out">
    A live practice field. Hold your shortcut, speak, and watch the text land. This is the first time the hotkey actually runs.

    <Frame caption="The try-it-out step walks you through your first dictation before you reach the main window.">
      <img src="https://mintcdn.com/vowen/94qaixcfbwWHsixE/images/app/gs-onboarding-tryit.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=94qaixcfbwWHsixE&q=85&s=bd8421c5da3a65edc761e675dfcfb68d" alt="The Vowen onboarding try-it-out step, prompting you to hold the dictation shortcut and speak" width="2400" height="1600" data-path="images/app/gs-onboarding-tryit.png" />
    </Frame>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Voice Shortcuts">
    A demo of voice-triggered automations, like opening an app or a website by saying so.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Text expansions">
    A demo of typed triggers that expand into blocks of text. Try `:ooo`, `:sign`, or `:addr` in the practice field.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Threads">
    A demo of replacement rules that map a spoken phrase to fixed text, like turning "my phone number" into the actual digits.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Command Mode">
    A demo of giving voice instructions to AI, rather than dictating text.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Notes">
    A short introduction to Meeting Notes. Finishing this step ends the setup flow and opens the main window.
  </Step>
</Steps>

How the flow behaves:

* **It is resumable.** Your position is saved after every step. If you quit halfway, you come back to the step you were on.
* **There is a Back button** on every step except the first.
* **There is no forward skip.** Steps only advance by finishing them. The demo steps have a Continue button; the two gates do not, until their condition is met.

## 3. Your first dictation

<Steps>
  <Step title="Hold the shortcut">
    **macOS:** hold the `Fn` key
    **Windows:** hold `Ctrl + Shift`

    <div className="mt-3 flex gap-2 rounded-lg border border-violet-500/25 bg-violet-500/5 p-3">
      <div className="shrink-0 text-sm leading-none pt-1 text-violet-500 dark:text-violet-400">↳</div>

      <div className="text-sm leading-relaxed text-zinc-600 dark:text-zinc-400">
        <a href="/features/shortcut-patterns" className="font-semibold text-violet-700 hover:text-violet-600 dark:text-violet-300 dark:hover:text-violet-200">Want a different setup?</a> Pick your own shortcut, add a hands-free toggle, or use a mouse button. See patterns like promoting push-to-talk into hands-free without lifting a finger.
      </div>
    </div>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Speak">
    Say whatever you want transcribed. Speak naturally. Vowen handles filler words and formatting.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Release">
    Let go of the shortcut. Your transcribed text is pasted into whatever app has focus.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Frame caption="While you hold the shortcut, this pill floats at the top of your screen. The waveform moves with your voice, so you can see Vowen is hearing you.">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/vowen/94qaixcfbwWHsixE/images/app/indicator-recording.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=94qaixcfbwWHsixE&q=85&s=1056da0ae37b65a67f521b152ae1f4ba" alt="The Vowen recording indicator, a small dark pill showing a live audio waveform" width="1250" height="540" data-path="images/app/indicator-recording.png" />
</Frame>

<Check>You're now controlling your computer with your voice.</Check>

## 4. Work through the Get Started checklist

After setup, a small pill sits in the bottom-right corner of the main window with a progress ring and a "Get started" label. Click it to open the checklist. Six steps:

| Step | Counts as done when |
| - | - |
| Dictate for the first time | You have completed at least one dictation |
| Connect an AI provider | An AI provider is connected and, for CLI providers, actually chosen |
| Create a voice shortcut | You have created a voice shortcut of your own |
| Add words to your dictionary | Your dictionary has at least one entry |
| Create a text expansion | You have created an expansion of your own |
| Record a meeting note | You have at least one saved meeting note |

Clicking a row navigates to the page where you do that thing. Rows never tick themselves from the checklist.

Two details about the checklist:

* **Completion is a one-way latch.** Once a step is marked done it stays done, even if you later delete the voice shortcut or clear your history. The checklist is a first-run guide, not a live dashboard.
* **It retires itself.** At six of six the widget disappears for good. The `×` button only collapses the panel; it does not dismiss the widget.

<Note>The built-in `:date` and `:time` expansions do not count towards the expansion step, and the voice shortcuts Vowen ships with do not count towards the voice shortcut step. You have to make your own.</Note>

<Note>Everything in this quickstart is free. Vowen also has a [Pro plan](/pricing) that lifts caps on Command Mode, Tones, Memory, Voice Shortcuts, and Manual Transcriptions, and unlocks features like Speaker Diarization, Real-time Preview, Auto-translation, and Cloud Sync.</Note>

<div className="my-6 flex gap-3 rounded-xl border border-violet-500/30 bg-violet-500/10 p-4">
  <div className="shrink-0 pt-0.5 text-violet-500 dark:text-violet-400">
    <svg width="20" height="20" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" strokeWidth="2" strokeLinecap="round" strokeLinejoin="round">
      <path d="m21.64 3.64-1.28-1.28a1.21 1.21 0 0 0-1.72 0L2.36 18.64a1.21 1.21 0 0 0 0 1.72l1.28 1.28a1.2 1.2 0 0 0 1.72 0L21.64 5.36a1.2 1.2 0 0 0 0-1.72Z" />

      <path d="m14 7 3 3" />

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    </svg>
  </div>

  <div className="text-sm leading-relaxed text-zinc-700 dark:text-zinc-300">
    <strong className="text-violet-700 dark:text-violet-300">Want polished output without effort?</strong> Connect an AI provider (Groq, Gemini, OpenAI, Anthropic, and more) and Vowen will:

    <ul className="mt-2 space-y-1">
      <li>Fix grammar and punctuation while keeping your voice intact</li>
      <li>Convert spoken numbers to digits ("three thousand" becomes "3000")</li>
      <li>Format lists, emails, and phone numbers automatically</li>
      <li>Apply spoken commands ("new paragraph", "make this a bullet list")</li>
    </ul>

    <a href="/ai-features/ai-enhancement" className="mt-3 inline-block font-semibold text-violet-600 hover:text-violet-500 dark:text-violet-400">Learn about AI Enhancement →</a>
  </div>
</div>

## What's next

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Take the interface tour" icon="compass" href="/get-started/interface-tour">
    Every window Vowen can put on your screen
  </Card>

  <Card title="Pick a transcription model" icon="microchip" href="/transcription/models">
    Compare local and cloud models to find the best fit
  </Card>

  <Card title="Set up AI enhancement" icon="wand-magic-sparkles" href="/ai-features/ai-setup">
    Connect an AI provider for polished output
  </Card>

  <Card title="Customize shortcuts" icon="keyboard" href="/features/shortcuts">
    Change shortcuts to fit your workflow
  </Card>
</CardGroup>


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