User Guide on ApplauseLab

Recording

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Starting a Recording

There are two ways to start recording:

Using the Global Hotkey

Press your configured hotkey (default: Right Option ⌥) from any application. You’ll see:

A visual overlay indicating recording is active
An audio cue (if enabled)

Using the App Interface

Open the Yap window
Click the Start Recording button

Stopping a Recording

Press the hotkey again or click Stop in the overlay. The recording will be:

Saved temporarily
Sent for transcription
Auto-pasted to your active application (if enabled)

Canceling a Recording

If you want to discard a recording without transcribing:

Transcription

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Yap supports two transcription providers: Local (using whisper.cpp) and Cloud (using OpenAI’s Whisper API).

Local Transcription

Local transcription processes audio entirely on your device using whisper.cpp.

Advantages

Private — Audio never leaves your device
Offline — Works without internet connection
Free — No API costs or subscriptions

Disadvantages

Slower — Processing depends on your hardware
Resource usage — Uses CPU/RAM during transcription
Less accurate — May struggle with accents or specialized vocabulary

Requirements

You need whisper-cpp installed on your system:

Whisper Models

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When using local transcription, you need to download a Whisper model. This guide helps you choose the right one.

Available Models

Model	Size	Speed	Accuracy	Best For
`tiny`	~75 MB	Fastest	Basic	Quick tests, low-power devices
`tiny.en`	~75 MB	Fastest	Basic	English-only, slightly better
`base`	~150 MB	Fast	Good	General multilingual use
`base.en`	~150 MB	Fast	Good	Recommended for English
`small`	~500 MB	Medium	Better	When accuracy matters
`small.en`	~500 MB	Medium	Better	Professional English dictation
`medium`	~1.5 GB	Slow	High	Technical/medical content
`medium.en`	~1.5 GB	Slow	High	High-stakes English content
`large-v3`	~3 GB	Slowest	Highest	Maximum accuracy needed

English vs Multilingual

Models ending in .en are English-only. They’re:

History

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Yap keeps a history of your transcriptions so you can review, copy, and replay past recordings.

Viewing History

Click the History tab in Yap
Browse your past transcriptions

Each history item shows:

Transcribed text — The result of your dictation
Timestamp — When the recording was made
Duration — Length of the recording

Actions

Copy Text

Click the Copy button to copy the transcribed text to your clipboard. Useful when auto-paste didn’t work as expected or you need the text again.

Settings

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Access Settings by clicking the Settings tab in Yap.

Transcription Provider

Choose between local and cloud transcription:

Local — Uses whisper.cpp on your device
Cloud (OpenAI) — Uses OpenAI’s Whisper API

See Transcription for details on each provider.

Model Selection (Local Only)

When using local transcription:

Browse available models
Click to download models you need
Click a downloaded model to select it as active

The active model shows a green checkmark.

Keyboard Shortcuts

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Global Hotkeys

These work from any application:

Action	Default Shortcut	Notes
Start/Stop Recording	`Right ⌥`	Configurable in Settings
Cancel Recording	`Esc`	During active recording

Alternative Hotkey Options

Configure in Settings → Recording Hotkey:

Option	Key Combination
Right Option	`⌥` (right side)
Left Option	`⌥` (left side)
Fn	`fn`
Double-tap Right Option	`⌥` `⌥` (quick double-tap)

Recording Overlay

When the recording overlay is visible:

Action	Shortcut
Stop & Transcribe	`Return` or hotkey
Cancel Recording	`Esc`

Application Window

When Yap window is focused: