Questions and answers

What does Riff do?

Riff is push-to-talk dictation for Mac. Hold the hot key, say what you want to write, and let go. Riff transcribes what you said on your Mac and types it at the caret in the app you were using.

What do I need to run Riff?

A Mac with Apple silicon and macOS 26.4 or later.

How do I get Riff?

Riff is in early access. Ask for a copy by email.

Why does Riff need Accessibility access?

Riff types into other apps through macOS accessibility. Without Accessibility access, Riff still transcribes each take and keeps the text in its history, where you can copy it.

Where does the text go when no text field has focus?

Into the history. Open the Riff menu in the menu bar, choose Transcriptions, and choose the take to copy it.

Are my recordings uploaded?

No. Both transcription engines run on your Mac, and Riff saves your recordings and transcriptions on your Mac. Transcribed on your Mac has the details.

Which transcription engine should I choose?

Apple Speech is the default and needs no download. Cohere Transcribe needs a one-time download of about 1.5 GB. You can switch between them in Settings at any time.

Can I change the hot key?

Yes. Click the hot key button in Settings and press the combination you want. Control-Option-R is the default.

Why is there no Dock icon?

Riff runs from the menu bar so it stays out of the way while you work. Its menu has your transcriptions, Settings, Check for Updates, and Quit Riff.