Installation

Version: This guide describes Parrot Scribe 1.1.0. Upgrading from 1.0.x? See Upgrading from 1.0.x.

System Requirements

Before installing Parrot Scribe, ensure your Mac meets these requirements:

• macOS: 15.0 (Sequoia) or later
• Processor: Apple Silicon (M1 or later) - Intel Macs are not supported
• RAM: 8 GB minimum (16 GB recommended)
• Storage: Space for the app, the speech models you download, and retained recordings. The multilingual speech model is about 0.74 GB and the English model about 0.70 GB. Speaker detection adds about 0.11 GB and voice recognition about 0.03 GB.

Parrot Scribe is free for personal use. Pro adds the AI-app connection and automatic Teams and Zoom recording, and supports up to five devices. Organization and legacy licenses use the same activation flow.

Download Parrot Scribe

1. Download Parrot Scribe (stable release)
2. The installer package will download to your Downloads folder

Install the Application

1. If an earlier Parrot Scribe is running, quit it from its menu bar icon and wait for saving to finish. The installer stops while an app is still running.
2. Open the downloaded ParrotScribe-stable.pkg file
3. Follow the installation wizard prompts
4. When prompted, enter your administrator password
5. Parrot Scribe will be installed in your Applications folder

Grant Required Permissions

Parrot Scribe uses separate permissions for its two audio sources. Grant Microphone for your voice and Screen & System Audio Recording for audio playing through your Mac, such as other people in a call. The app's Permissions window shows both and offers Check Again after you change them.

Microphone Access

On first use, macOS asks for microphone permission:

1. Click OK when the permission dialog appears.
2. If you denied it, open System Settings > Privacy & Security > Microphone, enable Parrot Scribe, and return to the app.

Screen & System Audio Recording

To capture audio playing through your Mac, Parrot Scribe also needs this permission:

1. Open System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen & System Audio Recording.
2. Enable Parrot Scribe.
3. If access still appears off, reopen Parrot Scribe.

Verify Installation

1. Open Parrot Scribe from your Applications folder.
2. The Parrot Scribe icon appears in your menu bar, and the Library window opens.
3. Start a recording from the menu bar icon. The first recording may download a speech model first.

Opening Parrot Scribe again brings back the running app. Command-Q closes its windows; choose Quit from the menu bar icon to stop the app.

Next step: Create your first transcription, or activate a Pro, organization, or legacy license.

Upgrading from 1.0.x

Parrot Scribe 1.1.0 is rebuilt in Rust and Tauri. It upgrades any 1.0.x installation directly. A library from a version before 1.0.0 must first be opened in 1.0.7.

• In-app update: 1.0.0 through 1.0.7 first update to 1.0.8, which then offers 1.1.0. Choose Install and Relaunch and complete any administrator prompt.
• Downloaded installer: quit the earlier app from its menu bar icon and wait for saving to finish before running the installer.

Your sessions, transcripts, recordings, folders, speaker names, supported settings, Pro access and Recovery Key carry over. The original library stays untouched as a recovery copy. Launch at Login moves to the new app, and the previous app's background helpers stop.

After upgrading:

• Reconnect AI apps. Open Settings > AI Apps and choose Connect for Claude, Codex or Cursor. Command-line hosts need a new token from Advanced. Earlier tokens do not authorize 1.1.0.
• Voice profiles need new samples. Saved names carry over, but automatic recognition needs new voice samples. Recognition stays off until you turn on Recognize Saved Voices in Settings > Transcription. See Speaker Recognition.
• Some 1.0.x preferences do not carry over. Automatic transcript deletion and keeping uncompressed audio are not part of 1.1.0. If your earlier settings used either one, Parrot Scribe shows a notice until you acknowledge it. Sessions stay until you delete them; audio retention still applies.

Recordings and edits made in 1.1.0 do not appear in 1.0.x. To go back, see the 1.1.0 release notes.