# Steno

> Steno is an open-source macOS and Windows (alpha) app that records, transcribes, and summarizes meetings using AI models that run entirely on your device. It captures your device's system audio and microphone locally — no meeting bot joins the call — and transcribes and summarizes on-device by default, so audio and transcripts never leave your device. Free and open source (MIT, no usage restrictions, including enterprise use); a paid managed Enterprise deployment tier is a separate, optional offering. macOS 14.4+ (Apple Silicon only) or Windows 10/11 (x64). MIT licensed.

## Key facts

- Platform: macOS (macOS 14.4 Sonoma or later; Apple Silicon, M1 or later -- Intel Macs are not supported since v0.4.0) and Windows 10/11 (x64) in alpha.
- Cost: free and open source (MIT license, no usage restrictions). A paid managed Enterprise deployment tier is a separate, optional offering (details coming soon). Source at https://github.com/ruzin/stenoai
- No meeting bot: records system audio + microphone locally; no participant is notified by Steno.
- Transcription: two on-device engines — Parakeet (default, with a live transcript while recording; 25 European languages, including English) and Whisper (optional; 99 languages). No audio is uploaded.
- Summarization: local models via Ollama by default (default model Gemma 4 E2B). Optional off-device alternatives -- a cloud model (OpenAI, Anthropic, AWS Bedrock, or a custom endpoint), a self-hosted "Private Server" remote Ollama instance, or an organization adapter -- receive the transcript and any typed notes only, never audio.
- Privacy: recording, transcription, and summarization are on-device by default. The app has anonymous usage analytics (no meeting content, on by default) that can be turned off during setup or later in Settings.
- Data location: ~/Library/Application Support/stenoai/ (recordings, transcripts, output).

## Getting started

- [What is Steno](https://docs.stenoai.co/getting-started/what-is-steno): overview and requirements.
- [Installation](https://docs.stenoai.co/getting-started/installation): download, permissions, setup.
- [Your first recording](https://docs.stenoai.co/getting-started/first-recording): the record → transcribe → summarize flow.

## Features

- [Recording](https://docs.stenoai.co/features/recording): microphone, system audio, or both.
- [Transcription](https://docs.stenoai.co/features/transcription): Parakeet and Whisper engines.
- [Live transcription](https://docs.stenoai.co/features/live-transcription): real-time transcript while recording.
- [Summaries and notes](https://docs.stenoai.co/features/summaries): on-device summarization.
- [Report templates](https://docs.stenoai.co/features/report-templates): editable, per-meeting note formats.
- [Ask your meetings](https://docs.stenoai.co/features/ask-your-meetings): chat over one meeting or your whole library.
- [Speaker labels](https://docs.stenoai.co/features/speaker-labels): [You] / [Others] via stereo-channel diarization.
- [Apple Shortcuts](https://docs.stenoai.co/features/apple-shortcuts): stenoai:// deep links for automation.

## Guides

- [Record a Zoom meeting on a Mac](https://docs.stenoai.co/guides/record-zoom-on-mac)
- [Record a Microsoft Teams meeting on a Mac](https://docs.stenoai.co/guides/record-teams-on-mac)
- [Record a Google Meet call on a Mac](https://docs.stenoai.co/guides/record-google-meet-on-mac)
- [Record system audio on a Mac](https://docs.stenoai.co/guides/record-system-audio-on-mac)
- [Transcribe audio locally on a Mac](https://docs.stenoai.co/guides/transcribe-audio-locally-on-mac)
- [In-person meeting notes on a Mac](https://docs.stenoai.co/guides/in-person-meeting-notes)

## Privacy and models

- [How on-device processing works](https://docs.stenoai.co/privacy/how-on-device-works)
- [Confidential use cases](https://docs.stenoai.co/privacy/confidential-use-cases)
- [Transcription models](https://docs.stenoai.co/models/transcription-models)
- [Summarization models](https://docs.stenoai.co/models/summarization-models)
- [Remote Ollama setup](https://docs.stenoai.co/models/remote-ollama)

## Reference

- [FAQ](https://docs.stenoai.co/faq)