HyperWhisper shows a compact overlay on screen when you start a recording. The overlay tells you that the recording is active. It also shows the length of the recording. You can stop or cancel the recording from the overlay. You do not have to open the main app.
How it appears
A small pill-shaped window (200×40 px) appears on screen. This window stays above your other windows. It does not take focus from the application that you type into.
A pill-shaped overlay window appears and stays above your other windows. The design matches macOS. The window does not take focus when it appears. You can drag it to any position on screen. HyperWhisper saves the position and restores it for the next recording.
A compact overlay window appears above your other windows and does not take focus. You can drag it. HyperWhisper saves the position and restores it for the next recording.Turn the overlay off with Show the recording status overlay in Settings → Application settings. It is on by default.
On iOS 16.1 and later, a Live Activity appears. On a device with a Dynamic Island, the Dynamic Island shows the recording status. On a device without a Dynamic Island, and on the lock screen, a banner at the top of the screen shows the recording status and the elapsed time.
What it shows during recording
During a recording, the window shows these elements:
- Stop button — a red circle. Click it to stop the recording and start transcription
- Mode badge — a capsule with the name of the current transcription mode
- Animated waveform — 25 vertical bars that react to your microphone input in real time (see Audio level visualization)
- Duration timer — the elapsed time in MM:SS format, in a monospaced font
- Streaming indicator — a small colored dot that appears when you use a streaming transcription mode (see States)
During a recording, the window shows these elements:
- Stop button — a red circle. Click it to stop the recording and start transcription
- Mode badge — a capsule with the name of the current transcription mode
- Animated waveform — 25 vertical bars that react to your microphone input in real time (see Audio level visualization)
- Streaming indicator — a small colored dot that appears when you use a streaming transcription mode
The Live Activity shows:
- Mode name and icon (Dynamic Island expanded view, leading region)
- Status label — “Recording” or “Transcribing…”
- Duration timer — counts up from the start time of the recording (recording state only)
- Progress spinner — appears during transcription
- Static waveform — five bars in the expanded bottom region of the Dynamic Island during a recording. Live Activities do not support animated bars
- Compact mic icon — appears in the compact and minimal views of the Dynamic Island. It is red during a recording, and blue during transcription
States
The window moves through several states during a recording.
macOS also has a rare inline error state for silent streaming failures. This state stays open and gives you a close button. It does not use the toast-then-close pattern above.
Streaming indicator colors
When you use a streaming transcription mode, a small dot appears next to the waveform. The colors are different on each platform:
Windows has no separate “warming up” state. Windows changes directly from connecting to ready.
Mode badge during streaming
The mode badge also changes when a streaming session starts. On macOS, the badge disappears, and the streaming dot above replaces it. On Windows, the badge stays visible, but the text changes to Live.
Controls
Linux grabs bare Escape only while a recording session runs, and it releases the key as soon as the session ends. A permanent grab would take Escape away from every other application on your desktop. Escape therefore cancels a HyperWhisper recording, and it does nothing in HyperWhisper at any other time.
To stop a recording, tap the Live Activity. Then stop the recording in the app. Cancel confirmation
If you press Escape during a long recording, a “Cancel?” prompt replaces the normal recording view. The app does not delete your audio immediately. The minimum length is different on each platform:
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macOS — the prompt appears when the recording is longer than 15 seconds. A recording of exactly 15 seconds cancels immediately, with no prompt
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Windows — the prompt appears when the recording is 15 seconds or longer. A recording of exactly 15 seconds shows the prompt
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Linux — the prompt appears when the recording is 15 seconds or longer, the same as Windows
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No, or Escape again — closes the prompt and continues the recording
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Yes, or Return / Enter — cancels the recording and deletes the audio
If your recording is shorter than this minimum length, Escape cancels it immediately, with no prompt.
During a streaming session, Escape always cancels immediately on all three desktop platforms. The prompt never appears, and the length of the session makes no difference.
Audio level visualization
The animated waveform shows you what your microphone receives, in real time.
- The 25 bars are center-peaked. The center bars move to a higher amplitude than the outer bars. This shape matches the natural shape of speech energy
- The height of the bars increases with the input level of your microphone. Louder speech makes taller bars
- On Windows, the animation speed also increases with louder input. On macOS, the animation speed is constant at all amplitudes
- During transcription, the waveform disappears on macOS and Windows. A spinner replaces it
If the waveform is flat or almost still while you speak, make sure that you selected the correct microphone in Settings → Audio Input.
Window behavior
- The window stays above all other windows. It does not take focus
- You can drag the window. HyperWhisper saves the last position and restores it for the next recording
- If there is no saved position, or the saved position is off screen, the window appears at the bottom center of the screen
- The window closes automatically after the success state or the error state ends
- The window stays on top of all other windows. It never takes focus from your work
- You can drag the window. HyperWhisper saves the last position and restores it for the next recording
- If there is no saved position, or the saved position is off screen, the window appears at the bottom center of the screen
- The window closes after the success state or the error state ends. It also closes when you dismiss the result
- The window stays above your other windows and does not take focus
- You can drag the window. HyperWhisper stores the position as a ratio of your work area, so the overlay returns to the same relative place after you change your resolution, your scaling, or your monitor
- HyperWhisper writes the position to a private file in your config directory, and it groups quick drags into one write
- If there is no stored position, or the stored position is not valid, the overlay appears at the bottom center, 20 device-independent pixels above the bottom of the work area
- A position that would fall outside the work area is moved back inside it
- The window closes automatically after the success state or the error state ends
- The Live Activity appears automatically when a recording starts
- It updates in real time when your phone is locked
- A tap on the Live Activity opens HyperWhisper
- The Live Activity ends when transcription is complete
Tips
- If the waveform does not move while you speak, your microphone can be muted, or the selected device can be wrong. Read Microphone Selection.
- On Windows, drag the overlay to a corner of the screen away from your work area. The position stays the same for later recordings.
- For a long dictation, look at the duration timer before you stop. The timer shows that the recording is still active.
- On iOS, look at the Dynamic Island during a long recording. It shows if the recording is still active, or if the app started transcription.
