MacParsley

Getting started

This takes about ten minutes. You'll import one recording, see it transcribed and summarized, and look around.

1. Open MacParsley

The window has three parts:

  • The sidebar (left) shows your library: folders, the meetings inside them, smart folders, and a tag filter at the bottom.
  • The content (right) shows the meeting you select, with a list of its parts on the left of that area: Audio, Transcript, Summary, Mind Map, Attachments (and Highlights for meetings that came from Plaud).
  • The toolbar (top) has the actions, grouped: Import Audio, Record Meeting, Transcription, Summarize, Meeting Info; then Folder, Tag and Speaker Management; then Share Meeting and Print; then Advanced Search, and the search box.

The main window with its three parts labelled

MacParsley keeps your library in a folder in Documents called MacParsley Library (you can change this in Settings → General). Everything in it is an ordinary file; see The library.

2. Choose how it will transcribe and summarize

Open Settings (⌘,).

  1. Summaries tab, Transcription: pick the transcription engine. Apple (built in) needs no download and is a good start. Other models download from Configure Engines….
  2. Summaries tab, Summarization Model: pick the model that writes summaries and titles. Apple On-Device Model works if your Mac has Apple Intelligence. If you run LM Studio or Ollama, they appear here too. Cloud services need an API key you add yourself. The menu lists only what's set up; Configure Additional Models at its bottom sets up the rest. See AI models and privacy.

You can change either of these any time.

3. Add your first recording

Pick one:

  • Import a file. Choose Import Audio in the toolbar (⇧⌘I), drop an m4a, wav, mp3 or ogg file on the window, or choose Upload Audio in the Import window. See Importing.
  • Record something. Choose Record Meeting (⇧⌘R) and press Record. See Recording.
  • Let MacParsley record your calls. In Settings → Recording, choose what to do for Zoom, Teams, Webex and Slack. See Recording.
  • Bring recordings from Plaud, Pocket or Fireflies. See Plaud and Pocket and Fireflies.ai.

4. Watch it work

After you add audio, MacParsley does these steps one after another. The round progress button in the toolbar (and a bar above the content during big jobs) shows what's running.

  1. Transcribes the audio.
  2. Separates the voices and tries to name them from voice prints it already has.
  3. Writes a title, if the recording only has a file name.
  4. Writes a summary, choosing a prompt that fits the kind of recording.
  5. Draws two mind maps from the summary.

You can open the meeting while this happens. The Transcript appears first, then the Summary.

5. Name the speakers

Open the Transcript tab. People MacParsley didn't recognize show as Speaker 1, Speaker 2… Use Identify Speakers… (a button on the Transcript tab) to say who they are. MacParsley remembers their voice and names them in future meetings. See Transcripts and speakers.

6. Try the rest

TryHow
SearchType in the search box (⌘F). It looks in titles, summaries and transcripts.
OrganizeDrag a meeting onto a folder; add tags with Meeting Info (⌘I).
Summarize againSummarize (⇧⌘S) lets you pick a different prompt, style or model.
ShareShare Meeting has Share… (the Mac's Share sheet) and Show in Finder (the meeting's folder).
Print⌘P prints what's showing: summary, transcript or mind map.

Where to go next

← MacParsley HelpThe trial and buying MacParsley →