MurmrMurmr

Guide

Murmr on macOS

The Mac app runs in the menu bar and lets you capture voice from anywhere with a global shortcut. Transcription and cleanup run on-device; entries sync with your iPhone and iPad via iCloud.

Trigger recording from anywhere

Press ⌘ ⇧ D (Command+Shift+D) from any app or the desktop, or hold ⇧ fn (Shift+Fn) for push-to-talk. Murmr doesn’t need to be the active window — both shortcuts are global. A floating HUD appears; speak your note, then stop (or release Shift+Fn). Murmr transcribes and cleans on-device and can paste the result into the app you were using.

0) TestFlight

Make sure you install the macOS build

TestFlight can show both iOS and macOS builds of Murmr on Apple silicon Macs. Picking the wrong one gives you the iPad app in compatibility mode with reduced functionality.

When you open Murmr in TestFlight on macOS, look at the platform selector at the top of the window. On Apple silicon Macs, TestFlight can offer both the iOS build (running as an iPad app) and the native macOS build.

To get the full macOS experience — menu bar app, global shortcut, and paste‑back into the frontmost app — make sure the dropdown is set to macOS before you install or open Murmr. If it's left on iOS or iPadOS, TestFlight will install the iPad build instead, which runs in a window and doesn't have the same keyboard and menu bar integration.

1) Keyboard shortcut

Global hotkeys: ⌘⇧D and Shift+Fn

Start and stop recording from anywhere using the global shortcut or push-to-talk.

⌘+⇧+D

Command+Shift+D works from anywhere: browser, editor, email, or when no app is focused. The first press starts recording; press again (or use the Stop button in the HUD) to finish. Murmr runs in the menu bar, so you don’t have to switch to it first.

⇧+fn

Shift+Fn (push-to-talk): hold both keys to record, release to stop. Recording starts when you press Shift+Fn and stops when you release. On many Mac keyboards the Fn key is in the bottom-left corner. If paste succeeds, the HUD can auto-close after push-to-talk.

You can also start recording from the Murmr menu: click the menu bar icon and choose “Start Recording”, which uses the same shortcut in the menu for reference.

3) Recording flow and paste

From shortcut to pasted text

What happens after you use the shortcut or Shift+Fn and how to get the result into your current app.

  1. Press ⌘ ⇧ D or hold ⇧ fn. A floating HUD appears and recording starts.
  2. Speak your note. Murmr records and transcribes on-device (Apple Speech framework), then runs on-device cleanup (punctuation, capitalization, filler removal).
  3. Press ⌘ ⇧ D again, release ⇧ fn, or click Stop in the HUD. Murmr processes and shows the cleaned text.
  4. If you’ve granted Accessibility permission, Murmr can paste the result into the frontmost app for you. Otherwise it copies to the clipboard — switch back to your app and press ⌘ V to paste.

You can also open History from the menu, pick an entry, and paste it again into any app. Settings lets you manage templates and snippets (text shortcuts and corrections) so pasted output matches how you work.

Templates & destinations explains how to format output and send it to Obsidian or the Share Sheet from iOS.

4) Sync with iOS

iCloud sync across devices

Entries captured on Mac appear on your iPhone and iPad, and the other way around.

Murmr uses iCloud (CloudKit) to sync your history. Record on Mac → the entry shows up in the Murmr app on iOS. Record or clean up on iPhone → the updated entry appears on Mac. No account beyond your Apple ID; data stays in your iCloud and is processed on-device where possible.

Enable “Sync with iCloud” in Murmr Settings on each device. Templates and snippets can sync too, so your Mac and iOS setups stay in step.