How to install WhimprFlow on Mac

Before you start

These are one-time installs. If you have used Terminal before, you may have them already — the first step checks.

1. 1

   Install Git

   Apple opens a small installer.

   Type this into Terminal, then press Return.

   xcode-select --install

   You know this worked when: Git responds with a version number

2. 2

   Install Node LTS

   Choose the macOS Installer (.pkg).

   Open download ↗

   You know this worked when: Node responds with a version number

Install WhimprFlow

1. 3

   Open Terminal

   Keep it open beside this page.

   You know this worked when: Terminal is open

2. 4

   Check Git and Node

   Use Terminal. Git and the current Node LTS are required.

   Type this into Terminal, then press Return.

   git --version
   node --version

   You know this worked when: Git and Node respond with version numbers

3. 5

   Install pnpm

   The interface is a pnpm project.

   Type this into Terminal, then press Return.

   npm install -g pnpm

   You know this worked when: pnpm responds with a version number

4. 6

   Install Rust

   Run the single command the page shows, then reopen Terminal.

   Open rustup ↗

   You know this worked when: cargo responds with a version number

5. 7

   Install CMake

   Already have cmake? This is already done. The speech engine needs it to build.

   Open download ↗

   You know this worked when: cmake responds with a version number

6. 8

   Copy WhimprFlow to this Mac

   Type this into Terminal, then press Return. The first line moves you into the folder this step runs in, so it works in a window you have just opened.

   cd ~
   if [ ! -d WhimprFlow/.git ]; then
   git clone https://github.com/Blueturboguy07/WhimprFlow.git
   fi

   You know this worked when: A WhimprFlow folder appears

7. 9

   Open the WhimprFlow folder

   Type this into Terminal, then press Return. The first line moves you into the folder this step runs in, so it works in a window you have just opened.

   cd ~
   cd WhimprFlow

   You know this worked when: Your terminal prompt is inside the WhimprFlow folder

8. 10

   Use the reviewed version

   Type this into Terminal, then press Return. The first line moves you into the folder this step runs in, so it works in a window you have just opened.

   cd ~/WhimprFlow
   (
   if ! git config --get remote.origin.url 2>/dev/null | sed -E 's#^git@github\.com:#https://github.com/#; s#\.git$##' | grep -qxF "https://github.com/Blueturboguy07/WhimprFlow"; then
     echo "~/WhimprFlow already exists and is not a clean copy of this app's source. Move or rename that folder, then press Try again."
     exit 1
   fi
   if git status --porcelain 2>/dev/null | grep -q .; then
     echo "~/WhimprFlow already exists and is not a clean copy of this app's source. Move or rename that folder, then press Try again."
     exit 1
   fi
   git checkout 44c6d39213e38e7619e6dcfea1184b6619a11d01
   )

   You know this worked when: Git reports the reviewed commit

9. 11

   Install the interface packages

   The last line fixes a pnpm build-approval quirk — it's a no-op when not needed.

   Type this into Terminal, then press Return. The first line moves you into the folder this step runs in, so it works in a window you have just opened.

   cd ~/WhimprFlow
   cd ui
   pnpm install
   cd ..
   pnpm --dir ui approve-builds --all || true

   You know this worked when: The install finishes without an error

10. 12

    Make the speech model folder

    The model is too large to ship in the repository.

    Type this into Terminal, then press Return. The first line moves you into the folder this step runs in, so it works in a window you have just opened.

    cd ~/WhimprFlow
    mkdir -p "$HOME/Library/Application Support/WhimprFlow/models"

    You know this worked when: The models folder exists

11. 13

    Download the speech model

    About 150MB — the command fetches it straight into the models folder.

    Type this into Terminal, then press Return. The first line moves you into the folder this step runs in, so it works in a window you have just opened.

    cd ~/WhimprFlow
    if [ ! -f "$HOME/Library/Application Support/WhimprFlow/models/ggml-base.en.bin" ]; then
    curl -f -L -o "$HOME/Library/Application Support/WhimprFlow/models/ggml-base.en.bin" https://huggingface.co/ggerganov/whisper.cpp/resolve/main/ggml-base.en.bin
    fi

    You know this worked when: ggml-base.en.bin sits in the models folder

12. 14

    Build the app

    The first build compiles Whisper, so it takes a while.

    Type this into Terminal, then press Return. The first line moves you into the folder this step runs in, so it works in a window you have just opened.

    cd ~/WhimprFlow
    ui/node_modules/.bin/tauri build --bundles app

    You know this worked when: A WhimprFlow.app appears in the bundle folder

13. 15

    Put WhimprFlow in Applications

    Copy the freshly built app into Applications so it's a real, launchable Mac app.

    Type this into Terminal, then press Return. The first line moves you into the folder this step runs in, so it works in a window you have just opened.

    cd ~/WhimprFlow
    ditto target/release/bundle/macos/WhimprFlow.app /Applications/WhimprFlow.app

    You know this worked when: WhimprFlow.app is in your Applications folder

14. 16

    Open WhimprFlow

    Launch it to finish setup — and so it shows up in your apps list.

    Type this into Terminal, then press Return. The first line moves you into the folder this step runs in, so it works in a window you have just opened.

    cd ~/WhimprFlow
    open /Applications/WhimprFlow.app

    You know this worked when: WhimprFlow opens

15. 17

    Choose how speech is cleaned up

    In Settings pick OpenAI and paste a key, or keep the raw transcript.

    You know this worked when: Settings saves without an error

16. 18

    Grant Accessibility

    Press Grant on the Accessibility row and allow WhimprFlow. The row goes green on its own.

    You know this worked when: The Accessibility row reads Granted

17. 19

    Grant the microphone

    Press Grant on the Microphone row and allow it. WhimprFlow needs it to hear you.

    You know this worked when: The button at the bottom reads Enter WhimprFlow

18. 20

    Hold Fn and speak

    Release the key and your words land where the cursor is.

    You know this worked when: Clean text appears in the app you were typing in

If something goes wrong

Nothing here can damage your computer, and every step can be run again safely. If a command fails, the usual cause is the step before it not having finished.

Still stuck? Tell us what happened and we will fix the guide. Include the step number and we can usually reproduce it.