> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.stenoai.co/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Your first recording

> Make your first recording with Steno. From pressing record to reading your summary takes about two minutes.

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

## Make a recording

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Steno">
    Launch Steno from your Applications folder or from the menu bar icon.
  </Step>

  <Step title="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.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Say something">
    Speak for 30-60 seconds. Introduce yourself, describe your work, or read a few sentences aloud -- anything with clear speech works.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Stop the recording">
    Click **Stop**. Steno immediately begins transcribing.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## 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

## 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.

## Where your files are saved

All output is stored locally:

| File type | Location |
| - | - |
| Audio | `~/Library/Application Support/stenoai/recordings/` |
| Transcript | `~/Library/Application Support/stenoai/transcripts/` |
| Summary / notes | `~/Library/Application Support/stenoai/output/` |

Summaries and transcripts are plain Markdown files. You can open, edit, and sync them with any tool you use for notes.

***

<Accordion title="Transcription is taking a long time -- is that normal?">
  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**.
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="The summary is not very useful -- what can I do?">
  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.
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="I can only see my own voice -- how do I record both sides of a call?">
  You need to enable system audio capture. See [Recording → System audio](/features/recording) for the one-time setup.
</Accordion>


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