Installing MaxTalk on your Mac
MaxTalk is a developer preview. From 0.2.2 it is signed with a Developer ID and notarized by Apple, so it opens straight after you download it.
1. Drag it to Applications
Open the downloaded MaxTalk_x.y.z_aarch64.dmg and drag MaxTalk into the Applications folder. It needs a Mac with Apple silicon and macOS 13 or later.
2. Open it the first time
Double-click MaxTalk in Applications. When macOS says it was downloaded from the internet, click Open.
0.2.1 and earlier are not notarized, and macOS stops them. Install the latest version.
3. Want to check the app wasn't altered?
This command only reads the signature. Its output should show accepted and Notarized Developer ID:
spctl -a -vv /Applications/MaxTalk.app4. Grant three permissions
The welcome window walks you through them, or turn them on in System Settings › Privacy & Security:
- Microphone: to hear you.
- Accessibility: to type into text fields and read the text you select.
- Input Monitoring: to notice your talk key. It starts working as soon as you allow it; no restart needed.
Other access is asked for only the first time it is needed: Reminders and Calendar when you add or look up reminders and events; Contacts when an email names someone; and macOS asks whether MaxTalk may control an app (Automation) the first time it writes to Notes or switches dark mode.
5. Download the speech model
The welcome window downloads the recommended Whisper model, Large v3 Turbo (quantized), about 574 MB, in one click. From then on recognition runs on your Mac and works offline. Dictation alone needs no AI model and no API key.
6. Using Fn as a talk key?
First set “Press 🌐 key to” to “Do Nothing” in System Settings › Keyboard, or macOS acts on Fn before MaxTalk does.
Updating
From 0.2.0, check for and install updates in Settings › About: each download's signature is checked first, MaxTalk reopens by itself, and the permissions you granted are kept. Going from 0.2.1 to 0.2.2 the signature changes to a Developer ID, so grant Microphone, Accessibility and Input Monitoring once more. Coming from 0.1.0 or 0.2.0, update by hand once: quit MaxTalk from its menu bar icon, download the new installer, drag MaxTalk into Applications to replace the old one, and open it again. Replacing the file without quitting leaves the old version running.