Permissions
Oravo needs exactly two, and nothing else. It never asks for Input Monitoring — the hotkey and text insertion don't require it.
Microphone
Without it Oravo can't hear you. If you said No the first time, macOS won't ask again, so grant it manually: System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone → Oravo.
Accessibility
This is how Oravo types finished text into your apps. Without it, dictation is transcribed but nothing appears in your app. Grant it at System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility → Oravo.
If text still doesn't appear after granting it, quit and reopen Oravo — macOS only hands the permission to a freshly launched app.
The speech model
Oravo downloads a speech model once (about 148 MB) and then runs it entirely on your Mac — no internet needed after that.
The download won't finish
- On hotel, café, or airport Wi-Fi, a sign-in page can interrupt the download. Complete the network sign-in, then press Retry.
- Check you have about 200 MB free.
- Still stuck? Open Settings → Speech model and download it again — Oravo tells you exactly what went wrong.
Dictation
Nothing happens when I press the hotkey
- The default is ⌥ Space (Option + Space). Another app may have claimed it — Spotlight and some launchers do. Rebind Oravo's hotkey in Settings, or free it in the other app.
- Check the Oravo icon is in your menu bar. Oravo has no Dock icon by design.
I don't want to hold the key down
Turn on Settings → “Press once to start, once to stop (don't hold)”.
It says “transcribing” and stops there
Usually the speech model isn't fully in place. Open Settings → Speech model and confirm the active model is ready; re-download if not.
Bluetooth headphones or AirPods
Oravo follows your system input device, including switching mid-session. If a Bluetooth mic was connected while Oravo was recording, stop and start the recording once so it picks up the new device.
Pro and license keys
Dictation is free forever. Pro unlocks the AI features — cleanup and restyle, Ask AI, and translation.
Where's my key?
It's in your purchase email from Lemon Squeezy, and on the confirmation page right after checkout. Paste it into Oravo → Subscription.
“Already active on the maximum number of Macs”
Your key covers three Macs. To move it, open Oravo on a Mac you no longer use, go to Subscription, and choose Deactivate this Mac. That frees a seat immediately. If you can't get to that Mac, email us and we'll release it.
I'm on Pro but AI features ask for a key
Pro and your AI key are two separate things. Pro unlocks the features; the AI itself runs on your own API key, which keeps your text going directly from your Mac to the provider you chose. Add a key in Settings → AI (Anthropic, OpenAI, and others are supported), or run Ollama locally for no key at all.
Privacy
Dictation and the speech model run on your Mac. Nothing is sent anywhere unless you turn on an AI feature, and then it goes directly to the provider whose key you supplied — never through us.
Local-Only mode
Turn it on in Privacy and Oravo makes no network calls at all — not even to check your license. AI features are unavailable while it's on, by design.
Deleting your data
Everything lives on your Mac. History → Delete All removes every saved dictation. The Privacy panel lists every connection Oravo has made and can be cleared too.
Updates
Oravo checks for updates automatically and installs them with your approval. You can check any time from the Oravo menu: Check for Updates…
Still stuck? Email hello@oravo.app — a real person reads it. Including your macOS version and what you were doing helps us answer on the first reply.