Getting started

Install it, launch it, and get your first words on screen. If you're connecting to a server somebody else already runs, this takes about two minutes and costs nothing.

Last updated 2026-08-31

1. Install

All three builds are on the download page. Pick your platform.

macOS

Download the .dmg and open it.
Drag LymeScribe into your Applications folder.
Launch it from Applications. The app is notarized by Apple, so it opens without a security warning.

LymeScribe lives in your menu bar — look for the waveform icon. It's a menu-bar app rather than a Dock app, so closing the window doesn't quit it.

Windows

Download LymeScribeClient-x.y.z.msi and run it.
The installer is signed by Interapp Development, Inc. If Windows shows a SmartScreen warning anyway, choose More info and then Run anyway — the download page links a fuller walkthrough.
Launch LymeScribe from the Start menu.

Linux

Two options, both x86_64:

AppImage — download LymeScribeClient-x.y.z-x86_64.AppImage, mark it executable, and run it. No installation, no root:
```
chmod +x LymeScribeClient-x.y.z-x86_64.AppImage
./LymeScribeClient-x.y.z-x86_64.AppImage
```
Arch Linux (AUR) — the package is lymescribe-client-bin. Install it with your usual AUR helper; updates then come through your package manager rather than through the app.

Linux Two things worth knowing before you start. Your desktop environment decides how much of the app works: GNOME 48 or newer, KDE Plasma 5.27 or newer, and any X11 session get the full push-to-talk experience, while older or more minimal desktops fall back to starting and stopping recording from the tray. And on GNOME, the tray icon needs the AppIndicator and KStatusNotifierItem Support shell extension to appear at all — without it the app registers an icon successfully and GNOME simply shows nothing. The app tells you which of these apply to your machine in Settings. More in Dictation.

Linux On update integrity, plainly. There's no Linux equivalent of Apple notarization or Windows code signing. The AppImage is served over HTTPS and the app verifies its SHA-256 against the release manifest before running an update. That protects you against a corrupted or tampered download; it is not a third-party attestation that the publisher is who we say we are. If you install from the AUR, your package manager's own verification applies instead and the app will tell you to update through pacman.

2. First launch

The first time you open LymeScribe it asks one question: do you want to host on this computer, or connect to a server? Nothing you pick here is permanent — you can switch in Settings at any time.

Connect to a Server is free and needs an address and an API key from whoever runs the server. Jump to connecting to a server below.
Host on this computer starts a 7-day free trial of the hosting unlock — no account, no credit card — and walks you through downloading a speech model. That's Self-hosting.

Either path ends on a try it screen with your microphone picker and a live input meter. Say something; if the bar doesn't move, choose a different microphone there before you finish.

macOS Two permission prompts, and one optional third. Microphone access lets the app record — it records only while you hold the dictation hotkey. Accessibility access lets it hear that hotkey from any app and type the finished text where your cursor is; without it, LymeScribe will not type at all rather than quietly doing something else. The optional third is Automation (System Events), which lets the app press Command-V for you when you've chosen paste delivery. Each prompt has an Open System Settings button, and the wizard screen updates itself the moment you grant the permission. You can revisit all three later in Settings under Permissions.

3. Connect to a server (free client mode)

Connecting to a LymeScribe server is free, forever, on every platform. You need two things from the person running the server: its address and an API key.

Where does the key come from? If the server is somebody's computer running the hosting unlock, they'll find it on that machine in LymeScribe's Settings under the hosting section — it's presented as the connection key to hand out. If it's a dedicated LymeScribe Server, whoever set it up has it; see Server setup.

Open Settings ▸ Servers (the gear in the toolbar, or Ctrl/Cmd + ,), choose Add Server, and fill in:

NameAnything you'll recognize — "Office GPU box", "Mike's iMac".

Server URLHost and port, for example 192.168.1.100:58994. Type just the address and LymeScribe connects over plain HTTP; type https:// in front to use TLS.

API KeyPaste the key from the hosting machine.

Press Test Connection before saving. A pass means the address, the key and the network path are all good; a failure tells you which of those broke. Then Save.

There's no network discovery — LymeScribe never scans your LAN looking for servers. You always type the address, which means the app only ever talks to a machine you explicitly pointed it at.

Windows An HTTPS checkbox and a certificate fetch. The Windows client shows a Use HTTPS toggle rather than inferring the scheme from what you typed, and — if the server presents a certificate from a private authority — a Fetch from Server button that retrieves the CA certificate so the connection validates.

Task routing: two servers, two jobs

You can save more than one server and assign them different work. Under Task routing you nominate:

a dictation server, which handles real-time push-to-talk and wants low latency; and
a batch server, which handles dropped files and speaker labels — heavier work that can take its time.

Most people point both at the same machine. Splitting them is useful when a fast local machine handles dictation while a GPU box in the closet grinds through meeting recordings.

If no server is assigned for batch work, dropped files will tell you so rather than failing quietly: the app points you at Settings ▸ Servers to pick one under Task routing.

4. Activating a license key

You only need a license to host — connecting to somebody else's server never requires one. If you bought the hosting unlock, the key was emailed to you after purchase.

Open Settings ▸ License.
Paste the key into the License key field. Keys look like LS-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX.
Press Activate.

Activation needs a one-time internet connection. After that, LymeScribe is fully offline — it does not phone home to keep working.

One license covers a Mac and a PC. If you're moving to a new machine, use Deactivate This Machine… on the old one first, which frees the seat. Lost the key? There's a Resend key button on the same pane.

Trial mechanics. The 7-day hosting trial starts the first time you actually host from a machine, not when you install. Client mode is unaffected by the trial clock in either direction. If the app can't reach the licensing server to verify an in-flight trial, hosting pauses and retries automatically — your history and client mode keep working throughout.

What's next

You're set up. The two things the app does are dictation — speaking into whatever app you're already in — and transcribing files you already have. Start with whichever brought you here.