> ## 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 reference
> Every setting in Vowen, what it does, its default, and which plan it needs.
This page is generated from the code. Every default below is the value Vowen actually
ships with, not the value the UI happens to show on your machine.
Settings live in three places:
* The **Settings modal**, opened from **Settings** in the left sidebar footer or with
Cmd + ,. Ten sections: Account, General, Audio, Language,
Recording, Shortcuts, Sync, Developer, Experimental, Permissions.
* **Top-level sidebar pages**: Speech models, Dictionary, Workflows, and the Vowen AI group
(Configure your AI, Notes, Tones, Connectors). These are pages, not settings sections.
* **Per-page settings modals**: the gear icon on Notes and on Transcribe opens a modal
scoped to that page.
The **Plan** column names the tier that unlocks a row. See
[Plan limits](/reference/plan-limits) for the full entitlement matrix.
## Settings modal
### Account
| Setting | What it does | Default | Plan |
| --------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------- | ---- |
| Current Plan cards | Shows Free and Pro side by side. Once a licence is activated only the Pro card remains, with the masked licence key in place of the tagline | Free | Free |
| Activate License / Manage License | Opens the activation dialog, or the Dodo Payments customer portal | Not activated | Free |
| Deactivate | Releases the licence from this device. Only shown while activated | n/a | Pro |
| Name | Your display name, collected during onboarding | Empty | Free |
| Email | Your email address, collected during onboarding | Empty | Free |
| Import Data / Export Data | Backs up and restores your dictionary, threads and workflows | n/a | Pro |
| Privacy Policy / Terms of Service | Opens `vowen.ai` in your browser | n/a | Free |
Import/Export Data is a card at the bottom of **Settings > Account**. There is no separate
Privacy section in the settings modal.
### General
| Setting | What it does | Default | Plan |
| ----------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------ | ---- |
| Software Updates | Runs an update check on demand | n/a | Free |
| Open at Login | Launches Vowen when you log into your computer | Off | Free |
| Hide Dock Icon | macOS only. Removes the Dock icon; the app stays in the menu bar | Off | Free |
| Start Minimized to Tray | Windows only. Starts with no window, tray icon only | Off | Free |
| Auto-paste transcription | Pastes the finished transcription into the focused field | On | Free |
| Text Insertion Method | macOS and Windows. `Paste method` uses the clipboard; `Direct insertion` types character by character and never touches the clipboard. Disabled while Auto-paste is off | Paste method | Free |
| Auto Enter | Presses Enter after pasting. Disabled while Auto-paste is off | Off | Free |
| Restore clipboard after paste | Puts your previous clipboard contents back after pasting | On | Free |
| Sound Effects | Plays a cue when recording starts and stops | On | Free |
| Save transcriptions to history | Writes dictation entries to History. Word count and activity are tracked either way | On | Free |
| Remove filler words | Strips "uh", "um", "hmm" and the rest of the filler list from transcriptions | On | Free |
| Auto-add corrections to Dictionary (Beta) | macOS and Windows. When you edit transcribed text, offers to add the correction to your Dictionary. Requires a connected AI provider | Off | Pro |
| Resource efficient mode | Runs the model on demand instead of keeping a server resident. Only shown for Whisper models, and for Parakeet on Windows | Off | Free |
Light and dark theme is the sun/moon button in the window toolbar, not a row in General.
### Audio
| Setting | What it does | Default | Plan |
| ---------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------- | ---- |
| Microphone | Opens the microphone modal, which picks a device and edits the priority ranking. Vowen uses the highest-ranked microphone currently connected | Auto-detect (system default) | Free |
The ranking is stored per machine and is deliberately excluded from Cloud Sync.
### Language
| Setting | What it does | Default | Plan |
| ------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------- | ---- |
| UI Language | Language the Vowen interface is written in. 18 options | English (`en`) | Free |
| Dictation Language | Language the speech model expects. The option list changes with the selected model, and some models lock it entirely | Auto-detect | Free |
| Notes Summary Language | Language AI note summaries are written in. Always offers the full catalog, since it is not tied to a speech model | Auto-detect | Free |
| English Spelling | American or British spelling for English output. Only shown when the dictation language is English or auto-detect, or the model is English-locked | American English | Free |
| Auto-translate to English | Translates non-English speech into English. Hidden when the effective dictation language is already English | Off | Pro |
Full detail on all three language settings: [Languages](/reference/languages).
### Recording
| Setting | What it does | Default | Plan |
| ---------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------- | ------------------------------------------ |
| Indicator style | macOS only. Renders the recording indicator as a floating Pill or inside the notch | Pill | Free |
| Recording Indicator Position | Top, Bottom, or Don't show | Top | Free |
| Show idle pill | Keeps a minimised bar at the screen edge while idle. Hover to expand and start recording | Off | Free |
| Save audio recordings | Keeps the `.wav` files in `~/Documents/Vowen Recordings` | Off | Free |
| When recording starts | macOS and Windows. Do nothing, Mute system audio, or Pause the playing media session. Mute and Pause are mutually exclusive | Do nothing | Do nothing is Free. Mute and Pause are Pro |
| Mute system audio during recording | Checkbox shown instead of the three cards on platforms other than macOS and Windows | Off | Pro |
| Real-time transcription preview | Streams live text below the recording indicator. Requires a streaming-capable model; the row is blurred with an explanation when the current model cannot stream | Off | Pro |
### Shortcuts
The section id is `hotkeys`; the visible label is **Shortcuts**. Each row has an enable toggle
and a click-to-record binding box. Transcription and Command Mode also carry a Hold/Tap pill.
| Setting | What it does | Default | Plan |
| ------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------- | ---- |
| Transcription Shortcut | Starts and stops dictation | macOS `Fn`, Windows `Ctrl + Shift`. Enabled | Free |
| Command Mode Shortcut | Starts a Command Mode recording | `Alt + Shift` on both platforms. Enabled | Free |
| Hands-Free Mode | Press to start, press again to stop | macOS `Fn + Control`, Windows `Ctrl + H`. Enabled | Free |
| Start New Note | Opens the Start Taking Notes modal | macOS `Cmd + Shift + N`, Windows `Alt + N`. Disabled | Free |
| Paste Last Transcription | Re-pastes your most recent transcription | macOS `Cmd + Shift + L`, Windows `Ctrl + Shift + L`. Disabled | Free |
| Cancel Recording | Discards the recording in progress | `Escape` on both platforms. Enabled | Free |
| Add another shortcut | Adds an alternative binding to Transcription, Command Mode or Hands-Free | None | Pro |
The meeting panel binding is not on this page. It lives in **Notes settings > Recording
Defaults**, because it only works while the floating indicator is on and a meeting is running.
Full detail: [Shortcuts](/reference/shortcuts).
### Sync
Everything in this section sits behind a Pro gate.
| Setting | What it does | Default | Plan |
| ------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------- | ---- |
| Provider | iCloud Drive, Google Drive, Dropbox or OneDrive. Unavailable providers show a setup hint instead of a Connect button | Not connected | Pro |
| OneDrive account | Picks which OneDrive account holds the "Vowen Sync" folder. Only shown when more than one account is detected | Auto-detected | Pro |
| Auto-sync in the background | Syncs on launch, on change, and when you switch back to the app | Off | Pro |
| Sync transcription data | Includes transcriptions, meeting notes and manual transcriptions, not just preferences | On | Pro |
| Sync Now / Push to Cloud / Disconnect | Runs a sync, force-pushes local data, or disconnects the provider | n/a | Pro |
### Developer
| Setting | What it does | Default | Plan |
| ------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------- | ---- |
| Command Line Tool | Installs, updates or removes the `vowen` CLI. Shows the installed version and path, and flags an available update | Not installed | Free |
| Allow Dictations in Clipboard History | Lets clipboard managers such as Maccy, Raycast or Ditto record your dictations. Off means dictations are marked transient | Off | Free |
| Prefer IPv4 Connections | Resolves cloud services over IPv4 before IPv6. Applied live, no restart | On | Free |
### Experimental
The section carries a standing warning that these features are in active development.
| Setting | What it does | Default | Plan |
| ----------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------- | -------------------------------------------------- |
| Enable Connectors | Master toggle for the MCP-based Connectors page. Turning it on adds Connectors to the sidebar | Off | Toggle visible to everyone; connectors require Pro |
| Enable Cursor/Windsurf file tagging | Detects file references while dictating in Cursor or Windsurf and inserts them as `@` mentions | Off | Pro |
| Enhanced silence detection | Raises the silence threshold for cloud models to stop phantom transcriptions in noisy rooms | Off | Free |
| Sensitivity | Multiplier on the base RMS silence threshold, 1 to 5. Only shown while Enhanced silence detection is on | 2x | Free |
### Permissions
Status rows, not toggles. Each shows Granted, Checking, or an **Open Settings** button that
deep-links into System Settings. Status is re-checked whenever the window regains focus.
| Permission | Used for | Platforms |
| ----------------- | ----------------------------------------------- | --------------------- |
| Microphone Access | Recording audio | macOS, Windows, Linux |
| Accessibility | Global keyboard shortcuts and auto-pasting text | macOS only |
| Screen Recording | Screenshots for AI context | macOS only |
## Sidebar pages
These are top-level pages in the left sidebar, not sections of the settings modal.
### Speech models
| Control | What it does | Default |
| -------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Installed / Available model list | Download, delete and activate local models; configure cloud providers with an API key | Onboarding preselects **Parakeet V2** on macOS and Windows. The bare settings default before onboarding is `base.en` |
| Set Active | Makes a model the dictation model. Everything else that does not override it inherits this choice | n/a |
| Custom speech servers | Adds an OpenAI-compatible speech endpoint. Stored as `custom-server_` entries | None |
### Dictionary
Three tabs, each with its own list and its own search box.
| Tab | What it holds | Default | Plan |
| ---------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Dictionary | Custom vocabulary words and phrases fed to the recognizer as biasing context | Empty | Free, unlimited |
| Threads | Text replacements applied after transcription | Empty | Free, unlimited |
| Expansions | Live typing expansions triggered as you type | Two built-ins, `:date` and `:time` | 1 user expansion free, unlimited on Pro. Built-ins do not count |
The gear icon on the Expansions tab opens a two-tab modal:
| Tab | What it holds | Default |
| --------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------- |
| General | Suggestions dropdown shown while typing a `:` trigger | Off |
| Variables | Global variable library, picked up by any expansion through a matching `{{token}}` | Empty |
### Workflows
| Control | What it does | Default | Plan |
| -------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------- | --------------------------- |
| Built-in Workflows | Voice-triggered actions that ship with Vowen | Enabled | Free |
| Custom Workflows | Your own trigger phrase plus websites and applications to open | None | 3 on Free, unlimited on Pro |
| Enable LLM Workflow Routing | Matches spoken commands to workflows with an AI model instead of exact trigger matching | Off | Free |
| Fall back to regular workflow matching | Uses pattern matching when the LLM fails or is unsure | On | Free |
| Show LLM reasoning in notifications | Displays why a workflow was chosen | On | Free |
| Minimum confidence threshold | Below this the workflow does not run. Range 0 to 1 | 0.5 | Free |
| Webhooks and custom scripts | Workflow steps that call a URL or run a script | n/a | Pro |
### Configure your AI
Three tabs.
**Configuration**
| Setting | What it does | Default | Plan |
| ----------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------- | ----------------------------------------- |
| AI Provider grid | Connect a provider with your own API key. Azure adds resource, deployment and API version fields; Bedrock adds a region; custom entries add a base URL | Not connected | Free. Multiple custom API entries are Pro |
| Enhance transcription with AI | Cleans up and reformats every dictation through the connected model | Off | Free |
| Pass screen as context (Beta) | macOS only. Sends names visible in the focused window to your AI provider so it can fix misheard terms. Uses Accessibility, not Screen Recording | Off | Free |
| Custom Instructions | Free-text instructions appended to the enhancement prompt | Off | Free |
Custom AI instructions for dictation are free on every tier. The separate custom-instructions
field for meeting-note summaries is Pro.
**Command Mode**
| Setting | What it does | Default | Plan |
| ---------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------- | ----------------------------------------------- |
| Command Mode | Enables the spoken-command hotkey | Off | Free, 5 calls per day. Unlimited on Pro |
| Include screenshot | Attaches a screenshot as context. Requires Screen Recording permission on macOS | Off | Free |
| Region capture overlay | Shows a drag-to-capture overlay during Command Mode instead of capturing the whole screen | Off | Free |
| Custom Utilities | Hotkey-triggered AI prompts you write yourself | None | 1 preconfigured template free, unlimited on Pro |
**Memory**
| Setting | What it does | Default | Plan |
| ------------ | ----------------------------------------------- | ------- | ------------------------------ |
| Memory items | Persistent facts passed to the AI on every call | Empty | 3 items free, unlimited on Pro |
Memory items are not covered by Cloud Sync.
### Notes
The Notes page lists your meeting notes. Its gear icon opens the Notes settings modal,
documented below. The split button next to it starts a recording and lets you pick the
default summary template.
| Control | What it does | Default | Plan |
| ------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------ | ------------------------------- |
| Start Taking Notes | Begins a meeting-notes session. Disabled once the free note quota is reached | n/a | 10 notes free, unlimited on Pro |
| Default template dropdown | Sets the template every new note uses | Meeting Notes (built-in) | Free |
### Tones
| Control | What it does | Default | Plan |
| ----------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------- | ----------------------------- |
| Tone list | Per-app writing styles. Each tone can override the speech model, dictation language, AI provider and instructions | Empty; global settings are the fallback | 1 tone free, unlimited on Pro |
| Per-tone shortcut | Optional dedicated hotkey with its own Hold/Tap mode. Mouse buttons cannot be bound here | None | Free |
| Active in Apps | Applications the tone applies to automatically | None | Free |
### Connectors
Hidden until **Settings > Experimental > Enable Connectors** is on.
| Control | What it does | Default | Plan |
| ----------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------- | ---- |
| Connector cards | MCP servers such as Linear, Notion and Vercel, reachable from Live Ask, Chat with Notes and Command Mode | None connected | Pro |
| Composio catalog search | Adds connectors from the wider Composio toolkit catalog | None | Pro |
Write tools are filtered out before they reach the model. Only read-shaped tools
(`list_*`, `get_*`, `search_*` and similar) are exposed.
## Notes settings modal
Opened with the gear icon on the Notes page. Five tabs.
### Recording Defaults
Every row here is a default for new recordings. Leaving a row on "Use global default" makes it
inherit the matching global setting rather than copying it.
| Setting | What it does | Default | Plan |
| --------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------- | ---- |
| Transcription Model | Speech-to-text engine used for meetings | Inherits the global model | Free |
| Language | Spoken language for meeting transcription | Inherits the global dictation language | Free |
| Microphone | Meetings normally follow the global microphone ranking. **Customize** forks a private copy; **Use global** discards it | Inherits the global ranking | Free |
| AI Summary Model | LLM that writes the post-meeting summary | Inherits the global provider | Free |
| Show real-time transcription preview | Streams live text into the note page while recording | Off | Pro |
| Meeting panel shortcut | Opens the floating meeting panel. Greyed out while the floating indicator is off | macOS `Cmd + \`, Windows `Ctrl + \`. Enabled | Free |
| Identify speakers | Speaker diarization. Only shown when the effective model is diarization-capable. The toggle itself carries no Pro badge here, but the main process strips the flag at transcription time on the free plan | Off | Pro |
| Merge speaker segments | Joins consecutive turns from the same speaker. Only shown while Identify speakers is on | Off | Pro |
| Number of speakers | Pins a known speaker count. Auto-detect, or 2 to 6 | Auto-detect | Pro |
| Summary citations | Cites the transcript inline; clicking a citation cues the audio at that moment | Off | Pro |
| Show floating indicator while recording | The meeting pill with pause, stop and quick notes. Turning it off also disables the meeting panel shortcut | On | Free |
### Meeting Detection
| Setting | What it does | Default | Plan |
| --------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------- | ---- |
| Auto-detect meetings | Offers to record when a trigger app starts using the microphone | Off | Pro |
| Auto-stop notes when meeting ends | Prompts to stop when the meeting app releases the microphone, with 15 seconds to cancel | Off | Pro |
| Trigger apps | Per-app toggles for the built-in registry, plus apps you add yourself. Only shown while Auto-detect meetings is on | All registry apps enabled | Pro |
| Detect other apps | Show the banner or ignore it when an unlisted app takes the microphone | Notify | Pro |
### Templates
| Control | What it does | Default | Plan |
| ------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------- | ---------- |
| Built-in Meeting Notes template | Always present. Its summary toggle, custom instructions, summary language, tags and system-audio capture are editable | Present | Free |
| Add from library | Opens the built-in template library. Free users can browse the catalog; every Add is locked | n/a | Pro to add |
| Create template | Writes your own summary prompt, description, tags and summary language | n/a | Pro |
| Default template | Marks which template new notes use | Meeting Notes | Free |
Do not begin a custom template prompt with `TITLE:`. Vowen injects the title instruction
itself, and adding it produces a duplicated header.
### Watch folders
| Control | What it does | Default | Plan |
| --------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------- | ---- |
| Watched folders | Folders whose new audio and video files are transcribed automatically. Each folder carries its own model, language, diarization, speaker count, timestamp and notification rules; null values inherit the Transcribe defaults | None | Pro |
Adding a folder seeds it against the files already present. It does not backfill them.
### Integrations
| Control | What it does | Default | Plan |
| -------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------- | ---- |
| Obsidian | Writes finished notes into a vault folder | Not connected | Pro |
| Webhook | POSTs `{transcript, summary, tags}` when a note summary is finalized. Supports custom headers and HMAC signing | Not connected | Pro |
| Export | Bulk-exports every note to disk | n/a | Pro |
The webhook fires on meeting notes only. There is no per-transcription webhook.
## Related
Every keyboard and mouse binding, with platform defaults.
The full free and Pro entitlement matrix.
Interface, dictation and summary languages, disambiguated.
Keys that work inside the Vowen window.