llms.txt
# Synopsule
> Synopsule records and transcribes locally on Mac and iPhone, with speaker labels, timestamped notes, search, and readable exports. Apple Watch records on the wrist and transfers audio to the paired iPhone for transcription. No app account is required. Audio is never uploaded to Synopsule or an AI provider. Optional cloud AI asks before receiving selected text.
Updated: 12 October 2026. **Current version: 2.4.0.**
## Links
- [App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/synopsule/id6773112941): one universal purchase for Mac, iPhone, and Apple Watch
- [Product website](https://synopsule.com/): overview, screenshots, notes, files, and meeting context, pricing, and FAQ
- [Connect AI apps](https://synopsule.com/mcp/): Mac MCP setup and tool reference
- [Privacy policy](https://synopsule.com/privacy/): data handling and optional AI destinations
## Recording, reading, and exporting
- Mac records microphone and system audio in separate lanes, so it can capture both sides of a remote call without a meeting bot. iPhone records through its microphone for conversations, interviews, lectures, and voice notes. Watch records and transfers to iPhone; it does not transcribe on the watch.
- Whisper transcription runs locally. A small speech model is bundled for first-launch and offline use. Optional larger models provide different speed and accuracy tradeoffs. A live draft is followed by final analysis after recording stops.
- On-device speaker separation and saved voiceprints help label returning speakers. Review or correct names; voiceprints stay on the device.
- Write timestamped notes and label important moments with flags, while recording or reading. Search transcript text, including recordings without summaries, with speaker filters.
- **Keep audio is off by default.** New audio is deleted after successful processing unless the user enables retention in Settings. Existing saved audio is unchanged. Playback and audio export require retained audio; transcripts and notes remain when audio is deleted.
- Export Word, PDF, Markdown, plain text, interactive HTML, and SRT/VTT, or share to Apple Notes and Obsidian. Choose which transcript, speaker labels, timestamps, notes, flags, and summary to include.
- Summaries, questions, and note context use the configured AI option. Source quotes can be inspected. Do not claim AI answers are error-free or that every generated statement has a citation.
- Optional calendar awareness reads selected calendars locally and never changes events. Chosen meeting details can be saved with the recording. Calendar prompts and Mac meeting-app detection offer recording; recording starts when the user chooses Record.
- iPhone supports Siri, Shortcuts, the Action button, a widget, a Control Center control on iOS 18+, and a recording Live Activity. Watch shows recording duration and per-recording transfer status with retry.
- Sort, filter, tag, and star recordings; view recurring meetings as a series and open action items across meetings. Create a readable ZIP library archive and restore it into another library.
- Text follows Dynamic Type on iPhone and Watch. Accessibility includes VoiceOver labels and actions, Reduce Motion, colour-blind speaker colours, and additional shapes under Differentiate Without Color.
## Context alongside the conversation
On Mac and iPhone:
- **Add context to a note.** In a finished recording's Notes, choose Add context. The selected AI option suggests additions from nearby transcript passages and attached text. The original note remains separate. Inspect the source quotes, then Keep, Edit, or Discard the suggestion. If AI needs setup, the app uses its existing setup and returns to that note.
- **Attach readable files.** Add PDF, Markdown, or plain-text files to one recording or its title-based recurring meeting series. The original file remains untouched; extracted text is saved locally. There is no OCR. Pages without readable text are reported rather than treated as usable evidence.
- **Questions across saved sources.** Questions can use recordings, notes, labeled flags, and attached text. Open quotes to inspect their source, including file name, scope, and PDF page when available.
- **Expanded local search.** Search includes notes, flags, and attached text. Settings → Search on this device offers an optional 165 MB EmbeddingGemma2 model for finding related wording locally. Keyword search remains available without it. This model supports retrieval; it does not generate answers. Questions and note context use the configured AI option.
- **Optional Meeting context.** While recording, local keyword search can surface relevant quotes from earlier saved meetings. It can also show open action items from earlier recordings. It is optional and does not generate live answers.
- **Review state and exports.** Transcript exports and Markdown mirrors include only kept, current note context. Library archives preserve attached text and saved context with its review state. Archives created by 2.4 require Synopsule 2.4 or later on the receiving device; 2.4 can read older archives.
- **AI setup and consent.** Apple Intelligence supports summaries, answers, and note context on eligible devices. Cloud consent names the provider and covers selected transcript, note, and attached-file text. Older transcript-only consent does not cover these new requests. Audio is never sent to AI.
The existing setup remains Welcome, Privacy, Permissions, AI, Calendar, and All set. AI and calendar options are optional; recording and local transcription do not require Pro or an API key.
## AI choices and pricing
- **App: $1.99 USD once**, covering Mac, iPhone, and Apple Watch. Recording, local transcription, speaker separation, notes, search, exports, and archives do not require Pro.
- **Apple Intelligence:** on-device on eligible Macs and iPhones with macOS 26 / iOS 26 or later and Apple Intelligence enabled. No provider key or Pro subscription. Smaller input capacity means long recordings use chunks; summaries are general recaps.
- **Ollama on Mac:** configure a model running locally on the Mac for on-device AI. No Pro subscription; Ollama and its model are installed separately.
- **Your own provider key:** OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, or a compatible custom gateway. Selected text goes directly to the configured provider. Provider usage pricing applies. Keys are stored in the device Keychain.
- **Synopsule Pro:** optional cloud AI without a provider key to manage, $4.99 USD/month or $39.99 USD/year. Selected text goes through Synopsule to OpenAI. Subscriptions renew until cancelled and can be managed in Apple Account subscription settings.
Local AI keeps selected text on the device. Cloud AI requires named-provider consent, which can be reset in Settings. Automatic summaries are optional and off by default. AI choices have different input limits and template support; Apple Intelligence returns general summaries rather than all template sections.
## Libraries and privacy
Each device keeps its own library. **There is no library sync and no cloud library.** Moving recordings is an archive the user creates and restores, merging by recording ID. Sharing Markdown through Files or an optional iCloud Drive export folder shares text copies, not a synchronized Synopsule library.
Audio, transcripts, notes, flags, voiceprints, and extracted file text are stored locally. Synopsule Pro processes selected text for an AI request without persisting it after the request completes. Product analytics not linked to identity can be disabled in Settings; audio, transcripts, notes, and attached text are excluded from analytics. Model downloads and optional services can require a connection even when recording and transcription work offline.
## AI apps and MCP on Mac
Settings → Connect to AI Apps offers setup for compatible clients, including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, and Codex. The built-in server is the Synopsule app launched with `--mcp`; it is local and read-only. It exposes saved Markdown text and a catalog, never audio, live drafts, or voiceprints. The mirror also includes attached text and kept, current note context.
Tools: `list_transcripts`, `search_transcripts` (exact text), `semantic_search_transcripts` (recap meaning using Apple's system embeddings, with a reported exact-text fallback), `get_transcript` (Markdown, chunked when long), and `get_summary`. The MCP semantic tool is separate from the optional in-app search model. A search can return no matches.
The AI client controls what happens to text it reads, including any cloud processing. ChatGPT can use shared Markdown or a configured HTTPS connection as described in the setup guide. iPhone offers Markdown sharing through Files. An optional Mac export folder can keep readable text copies in a location the user chooses.
## Requirements and contact
Mac with Apple silicon on macOS 15+; iPhone on iOS 17+; watchOS 26+ for the Watch app. Apple Intelligence requires eligible hardware and OS 26+ with the feature enabled. Optimized for Apple silicon. The interface is English; Whisper transcription supports multiple spoken languages.
- Support: rxv2dev@gmail.com
- Built by Sunny Nagra
- [Standard App Store EULA](https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/)
