Recording pill
The glass capsule that shows Warble is listening.
While you dictate, a small Liquid Glass pill floats above the Dock on the screen your pointer is on. It never takes focus, and clicks next to it reach the app underneath.
It is one piece of glass that changes shape rather than a set of separate views: a wide capsule while you speak, a small one while Parakeet works, and a circle with a check mark once the text is typed.
| State | What you see |
|---|---|
| Listening | A red dot and bars that follow your voice. |
| Transcribing | Three rippling dots while Parakeet works. |
| Typed | A green check for a moment, then the pill fades. |
| Problem | A red-tinted pill with a short reason, and a low tone if sounds are on. It clears after five seconds. |
When nothing was typed
A dictation that produces no text says why instead of quietly disappearing:
| Message | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Hold Right ⌘ to dictate | In Hold mode the key was tapped, not held. Keep it down while you speak, or switch to Toggle mode. |
| No sound from the microphone | The recording was silent. Check the input in Settings → Audio. |
| No sound from system audio | Listen to is set to system audio and nothing was playing. |
| No sound recorded | Neither the microphone nor system audio had sound. |
| No words recognized | There was sound, but Parakeet heard no words in it. |
| Screen Recording permission needed | System audio capture was refused. See Troubleshooting. |
| Microphone unavailable | macOS would not start the microphone. |
Moving and closing it
- Move: drag the pill anywhere. Warble remembers the spot, also on other displays. Drop it near its old place above the Dock and it snaps back.
- Close: hover over the pill and click the × in its corner. It stays hidden until the dictation ends and comes back for the next one. A problem message still shows.
- Reset: right-click the pill and choose Move Back Above the Dock.
Turn it off in Settings → Feedback → Show recording pill. The menu bar icon animates the same states either way.
Warble