The copy-paste install prompt
Quill doesn't come as a normal "download and drag to Applications" app — you build it from the source code. Sounds scary. It isn't, because you're not the one doing it. Paste this into Claude Code (or Codex) and let it handle the cloning, building and installing while you make a cuppa.
Install this for me and set it up: https://github.com/digimata/quill It's a free, open-source menu bar app for macOS that records meetings and transcribes them locally. Please: 1. Check I'm on macOS 15 or newer first — if not, stop and tell me. 2. Clone the repo, then build it with Swift (swift build -c release). If the Swift toolchain or Xcode Command Line Tools are missing, install them first. 3. Copy the built binary to /usr/local/bin/quill. 4. Run "quill install --launch-at-login" so it starts automatically and lives in my menu bar. 5. Launch it, then walk me through anything that needs my password or macOS permissions — it will ask for Microphone access and System Audio Recording (under Privacy & Security). Tell me exactly what to click. 6. Let me know when I can click the feather icon in my menu bar and hit record. Explain each step in plain English as you go — I'm not a developer.
Why it works: the prompt mirrors Quill's actual install steps from the README, so the AI isn't guessing — it's following the recipe with your hands off the keyboard.
What to expect while it runs
Your password: copying the binary to /usr/local/bin needs an admin password — that's normal, it's your Mac asking, not the internet.
Two permission pop-ups: Microphone + System Audio Recording. Say yes to both or you'll get silent recordings.
First transcription is slower: Quill downloads its transcription model (~600 MB) once on first use. After that it's local and fast.
What Quill actually is
Quill is a tiny menu bar app for Mac that does the job you're probably paying a subscription for: it records your meetings and hands you a speaker-tagged transcript. The difference is everything happens on your Mac. No bot joining your call, no audio uploaded anywhere, no monthly bill.
Records both sides
Captures your mic AND the audio coming out of your Mac — so it hears the other people on the call too, on any meeting app.
Transcribes on your Mac
Runs a local AI model on your machine. Your audio and transcripts never touch the cloud.
Speaker-tagged
Because your voice and theirs are recorded as separate tracks, transcripts come labelled "me" vs "them" automatically.
Stupidly fast
Roughly 20 seconds to transcribe an hour of audio on Apple Silicon Macs.
No bot in the meeting
Nothing joins your call. Nobody sees a "notetaker" participant. It just quietly listens from your Mac.
Free + open source
No subscription, no account, no upsell. ~3.7k stars on GitHub and climbing.
The repo
Everything lives here — code, README, updates: github.com/digimata/quill. Star it if it saves you a subscription.
Your first recording (60 seconds)
Once it's installed there's no dashboard, no login, no settings maze. It's a feather icon in your menu bar. That's the whole app.
Click the feather icon in your menu bar
Choose Start recording. First time only, macOS asks for mic + system audio permissions.
Have your meeting like normal
The icon turns red with a running timer, and macOS shows its purple recording indicator. Zoom, Meet, Teams, phone calls through your Mac — Quill doesn't care which app.
Click Stop recording
Transcription kicks off automatically — progress shows right in the menu.
Wait for the ping
A notification tells you the transcript is ready. For a one-hour call that's about 20 seconds later.
Where your transcripts live
The honest catches
It's genuinely good, but it's early days for this project. Here's what to know before you commit.
It records everything your Mac plays
The system-audio tap is global — notification dings, Spotify, voice memos, all of it ends up in the recording. Pause the music and mute noisy apps before you hit record.
Two more things worth knowing
Silent recordings? That's almost always permissions. Check System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone and Screen & System Audio Recording, and make sure Quill is allowed in both.
Recording laws: depending on where you (and your callers) are, you may need consent to record a call. A quick "I'm recording this for notes, all good?" at the top of the call covers you and is just good manners.
What to do with a transcript
A transcript sitting in a folder is just a prettier version of forgetting. The magic is what you do in the two minutes after the call. Paste your transcript into Claude with one of these — or if you use Claude Code, just tell it to read the newest transcript.md in your ~/Recordings folder.
1 Action items + follow-up email
Here's the transcript of a call I just had (speaker-tagged me vs them). Turn it into: 1. A list of action items — split into MINE and THEIRS, each with a deadline if one was mentioned. 2. Any decisions that were made, in one line each. 3. A short follow-up email from me to them recapping what we agreed and what happens next. Match the tone I used in the call — read how "me" speaks in the transcript and write it in that voice, not corporate-speak. [PASTE TRANSCRIPT HERE]
Why it works: the follow-up email gets sent while the call is still warm — and because the transcript carries your actual voice, it doesn't read like a robot wrote it.
2 Client call summary + decision log
This is a transcript of a client call. Create a clean record I can drop into my client notes: - One-paragraph summary of what the call was about - Decisions made (with who made them) - Anything the client is worried or excited about, in their own words — quote them directly - Open questions we didn't resolve - What I promised to deliver, and by when Keep it factual — no padding, no interpretation beyond what was actually said. [PASTE TRANSCRIPT HERE]
Why it works: six months later, when the client says "we never agreed to that" — you'll have the receipts.
3 Mine the call for content
Read this call transcript and mine it for content. Find: 1. The 3 best insights or explanations I gave (marked "me") — moments where I explained something well or said something quotable. 2. Every question the other person asked — each one is a content topic, because if they asked it, my audience is googling it. 3. For the strongest insight: draft a short social post in my speaking style from the transcript. [PASTE TRANSCRIPT HERE]
Why it works: you already say your best content out loud on calls — this catches it before it evaporates.
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