Getting started
Recordist is a small app that lives in your menu bar or system tray. It waits for a meeting and asks whether to record. When the call ends it writes the notes on your own computer. This guide takes about five minutes.
1. Install
Download Recordist from the download page. Requires macOS 14.6 or later on Apple silicon.
Open the .dmg, drag Recordist to Applications, then open it from Applications. Early builds are not yet notarised by Apple, so the first time, right-click the app and choose Open (why).
Windows and Linux versions are in early access; the download page explains what that means.
2. Grant two permissions
Recordist asks for each permission the first time it is needed, and explains why.
| Permission | What it is for | Where to change it |
|---|---|---|
| Microphone | Records your side of the conversation | macOS: System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone |
| Screen & System Audio Recording | Records the other participants (what comes out of your speakers or headphones). Recordist uses the audio part only; it never captures your screen | macOS: System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen & System Audio Recording |
If you decline a permission, Recordist keeps working with whatever it has. Without the microphone it records only the other side; without system audio it records only you. The full list, including the two optional permissions, is in which permissions Recordist asks for.
3. Choose a transcription model
On first launch Recordist offers to download its default model, about 574 MB. Keep it unless your computer has less than 8 GB of memory, in which case pick small. You can change this later in Settings → Transcription; transcription models explains the trade-offs.
This is the first of three downloads the app performs. The other two, the built-in notes engine runtime and the notes model, arrive in the background once you finish setup. Each appears in the Privacy Ledger as a download, with nothing about you sent.
4. Record a meeting
Join a call in Zoom, Teams, Meet or any other app. Within a second or two a small card appears:
Zoom is using your microphone. Record this meeting? Record · Not this one · Snooze 10m
Click Record. The menu bar or tray icon shows a pulsing ember dot while a recording is active, and a live transcript is one click away.
When the meeting ends, or you press Cmd+Shift+R (Ctrl+Shift+R on Windows and Linux), Recordist finishes transcribing and then writes the notes.
Nothing is recorded until you click Record. If you ignore the card it dismisses itself after 45 seconds. "Not this one" hides it for the rest of that call. "Snooze 10m" hides it for ten minutes across every app.
Before your first recording, the app also asks you to accept the terms and to confirm that you are responsible for any consent or notice required where you record. Laws differ by country and by state or province; our plain-English guide helps you ask the right questions and is not legal advice.
5. Read your notes
Open the main window from the menu bar or tray icon. Every meeting shows:
- Summary, Decisions, Questions and Action items, written by the AI model you chose (local by default; see AI notes). Notes may be wrong; check the recording before acting on them.
- The full transcript with timestamps. Click any line to hear that moment.
- Markers you dropped during the call with Cmd+Shift+M (Ctrl+Shift+M on Windows and Linux).
Your first 14 days include every Pro feature. After that, the Free plan keeps unlimited recording, transcription, search and Prep Briefs, with 3 AI notes a month.
6. Optional: connect your AI assistant
If you use Claude Desktop, Claude Code or Cursor, one configuration block lets it search and read your meetings on your own machine. See Connecting Claude Desktop, Claude Code or Cursor.
Where things live
Everything Recordist knows is in one folder on your computer: Settings → Privacy → Show data folder. Privacy and data lists what is inside and how to export or delete it.