From download
to your first words.
You need an Apple silicon Mac, macOS 14 or later, and an internet connection. Free managed dictation and rewriting are subject to shared service capacity and account allowances. Sign in to Cadence to see your current access. Desktop testing is still in progress.
Using Windows? Follow the Windows setup guide. You only need the download for your operating system.
Install Cadence
Download the Mac release, open the disk image, and drag Cadence into Applications. Eject the disk image, then open Cadence from Applications. Quit any older Cadence copy before opening the newly installed app; development copies can have different permission records.
Sign in
Choose Sign in in Cadence. Your browser opens secure sign-in, where you can use Google. The email-code option is still under first-login verification. Use the same account on each Mac. After signing in, allow the browser to return to Cadence.
If you close the browser before finishing, return to Cadence and try Sign in again. No API key or access code is needed for the public Mac release.
Allow two permissions
Microphone lets Cadence hear you when you start a recording. Accessibility lets it insert text and replace a selection you approve. The setup guide opens the relevant macOS settings and checks your progress.
Default shortcuts do not require Input Monitoring. Some optional modifier-only shortcuts do; Cadence tells you when it is needed.
Try one sentence
Use the sample field in setup, or place your cursor in Notes. Press the dictation shortcut shown in Cadence, speak a sentence, then finish recording. Your words appear at the cursor.
Next, highlight a sentence and try the rewrite shortcut. Ask for a change, review it, then choose Accept. You can cancel with Escape.
If Accessibility looks enabled but Cadence says denied
Quit any older or development copy and open Cadence from Applications. In System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility, remove the old Cadence entry with the minus button and add the installed copy from Applications. Enable it, then reopen that same copy. This can be needed when moving from an old development build to the Apple-signed app.
Make it yours later
Microphone choice, vocabulary, presets and custom shortcuts can wait. Find them in Settings when you need them. Cadence is available from the menu bar; reopening it from Applications brings up its main window.