HyperWhisper needs a small number of macOS permissions to work. Each is prompted only when first needed — you don’t have to grant everything up front.Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://hyperwhisper.com/docs/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
Permissions at a glance
| Permission | When prompted | Required for | Where to grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microphone | First recording | Recording any audio | System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone |
| Accessibility | First auto-paste / push-to-talk | Auto-paste, bare-modifier push-to-talk | System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility |
| Screen Recording | First use of Screen OCR mode | Screen OCR mode only | System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen Recording |
| Input Monitoring | — | Not required | — |
Microphone
Required for any transcription. The first time you start a recording, macOS shows the standard system dialog:“HyperWhisper” would like to access the microphone.Click OK. If you click Don’t Allow by accident, you can change it later at System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone and toggle HyperWhisper on. Without it: Recording fails immediately. The app shows an error banner explaining how to grant access.
Accessibility
Required for two features:- Auto-paste — issuing the paste keystroke on your behalf into the frontmost app.
- Bare-modifier push-to-talk — listening for hold-to-record on a single modifier key (Option, Control) globally. (Standard hotkey combinations like
⌥Spacework without Accessibility.)
Unlock and add HyperWhisper
Click the lock icon and authenticate, then enable HyperWhisper in the list.

Screen Recording
Optional — only needed if you use Screen OCR mode, which reads on-screen text into your transcript context. If you don’t use that mode, you don’t need this permission. If you enable Screen OCR mode, macOS prompts the first time it captures the screen. Grant at System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen Recording and restart HyperWhisper. Without it: Screen OCR mode fails silently. Other modes are unaffected.Input Monitoring
Not required. HyperWhisper uses macOS’s standard global hotkey API and the Accessibility API for advanced push-to-talk — neither needs Input Monitoring. If macOS or another tool prompts you to grant Input Monitoring to HyperWhisper, it’s safe to decline.Resetting permissions
If permissions get stuck or you’ve granted them to an old build:Replace
com.hyperwhisper.app with the bundle ID of your build if you’re running a development version.