# Sprich – install guide

Sprich is a dictation app for the Mac: hold a key, talk, release, and clean text appears where your cursor is. German and English, automatic. Everything runs on your Mac; nothing is sent anywhere unless you choose the Claude engine.

## Install

1. Open the `.dmg` and drag **Sprich** into **Applications**.
2. Start Sprich. It lives in the menu bar (waveform icon), not in the Dock.
3. A setup window opens:
   - **Microphone**: click Allow.
   - **Accessibility**: click Open System Settings, then switch Sprich on in the list. This lets Sprich see the hotkey and paste into other apps.
   - **Cleanup engine**: keep **Local** (free, offline). Click Download for the runtime (160 MB) and the language model (3.4 GB, one time). Or choose **Claude** and paste an API key.
   - **Hotkey**: Control is the default.
4. The speech recognizer (460 MB) downloads by itself in the background; the menu shows progress.

Requirements: Apple Silicon Mac, macOS 14 or newer, about 5 GB of disk space for the local engine.

## Use

- **Hold Control**, speak, release. The pill at the right edge shows you're being heard.
- **Double-tap Control** to keep recording hands-free; press once more to finish.
- **✕** on the pill cancels, **✓** finishes early. Nothing else cancels a take.
- Say "new paragraph", "neuer Absatz", or list things ("first…, then…") and the text is formatted for you.
- **Recent dictations** in the menu re-copies any of the last fifteen, so nothing is lost if a paste goes to the wrong place. The full log is in `~/Library/Application Support/Sprich/history.md`.

## Update

Sprich checks for updates on launch and offers the download. Installing an update means replacing the app in Applications with the new one; your settings and permissions stay.