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This guide walks through making a short test recording so you can verify the full pipeline is working: record → transcribe → summarize → query.

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Make a recording

1

Open Steno

Launch Steno from your Applications folder or from the menu bar icon.
2

Press Record

Click New note. Steno starts capturing audio immediately and generates a title automatically from the transcript — you can rename it later from the note’s detail view.You will see a live timer in the top bar, and with the default Parakeet engine a live transcript appears while you record.
3

Say something

Speak for 30-60 seconds. Introduce yourself, describe your work, or read a few sentences aloud — anything with clear speech works.
4

Stop the recording

Click Stop. Steno immediately begins transcribing.

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Review the output

Transcription runs on-device and is fast on Apple Silicon, so a short recording is ready in moments. When it finishes:
  • The transcript appears in the right pane with timestamped lines
  • A summary is generated below the transcript: a short paragraph, key topics, and any action items Steno identified
  • The recording appears in the sidebar under today’s date

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Ask a question

Click the Ask bar at the bottom of any note. Type a question in plain English:
  • “What were the main points?”
  • “What actions did I mention?”
  • “Summarize this in one sentence.”
Steno passes your question and the saved note to the local model and streams the answer inline. No data leaves your Mac when using the default local model.

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Where your files are saved

All output is stored locally: Summaries and transcripts are plain Markdown files. You can open, edit, and sync them with any tool you use for notes.
Transcription speed depends on which engine you use. It runs entirely on-device and is fast on Apple Silicon; the default Parakeet engine also shows a live transcript as you record. The optional Whisper engine runs more slowly, since it transcribes only after you stop. You can switch engines in Settings → Transcribe.
Try a larger summarization model. In Settings → AI, switch from the default gemma4:e2b-it-qat to qwen3.5:9b or gpt-oss:20b. Larger models produce better-structured notes but take longer to run.
You need to enable system audio capture. See Recording → System audio for the one-time setup.