Strandweave

Getting Started

Installation

Download the latest version of Strandweave from the download page. Open the downloaded file and drag Strandweave to your Applications folder.

Launch Strandweave from your Applications folder or Launchpad. macOS may ask if you want to open an app downloaded from the internet — click Open to proceed.

Granting permissions

Strandweave needs one macOS permission to record audio:

  • Microphone access — required for Strandweave to record audio from your microphone during a session. macOS will prompt you the first time you attempt to record.

You can review or change this permission at any time in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone.

Permission denied by mistake? Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone, find Strandweave in the list, enable it, then quit and relaunch the app for the change to take effect.

Setting up local transcription

Strandweave transcribes recordings locally on your Mac using the Whisper runtime. Transcription runs after recording is complete — it is not live or real-time.

To use transcription, a local Whisper runtime and model must be available on your Mac. Open Settings → Transcription in Strandweave to check the current status and confirm which model is configured. If no model is shown, refer to the setup guidance in the app's onboarding checklist or Settings screen.

Activating your licence

If you have purchased a licence from store.strandweave.app , enter your licence key when prompted on first launch, or open the licence section in the app's preferences.

Your licence key is in the confirmation email sent after purchase. If you cannot find it, check your spam folder or contact support with your order reference.

Making your first recording

  1. Open Strandweave on your Mac.
  2. In the sidebar, select the New Sessions tab. Choose Quick New Recording to create a session and start recording immediately, or Record Meeting Session to add meeting details first.
  3. When prompted, allow Microphone access. No bot joins any call.
  4. When your session ends, press Stop Recording.
  5. Open the Recording tab for the session and press Transcribe Offline to run local transcription.
  6. Review the transcript in the Transcript tab.
Tip: Use Record Meeting Session on the home screen to fill in a meeting title, participants and agenda before recording starts. Participants can be converted into speaker labels automatically after recording.

Importing an existing audio file

Strandweave can transcribe audio files you have already recorded — you do not need to start a new live session. Open Strandweave and press Import Audio in the sidebar or home screen, then select your file.

Supported formats: M4A, WAV, MP3, AAC, AIF, AIFF, CAF, MOV, MP4.

The imported session appears in your Existing Sessions list alongside any recorded sessions. Run Transcribe Offline on the session's Recording tab to generate a transcript.

Reviewing playback and transcript

Open a session and select the Transcript tab to read and edit the transcript. Selecting a segment moves audio playback to the corresponding point in the recording.

Use the Speakers tab to add or rename speakers, and assign them to transcript segments individually or in bulk. Speaker labels are managed manually — Strandweave does not automatically identify who is speaking.

Set a review status — Unreviewed, Needs Correction, Reviewed or Finalised — to track your progress across sessions.

Organising sessions

Sessions are listed in the Existing Sessions sidebar tab, sorted by newest first by default. You can search, filter by source (Recorded or Imported), review status, date range, project or tags, and sort by title, duration or project.

Use the Session Info tab or Retention tab on a session to assign a project, area, tags and sensitivity level. These fields organise sessions without creating a separate folder structure.

To rename a session, select it and edit the title in the Session Info tab. To duplicate or delete a session, use the buttons at the bottom of the sidebar or right-click the session for additional options.

Exporting transcripts

Open a session and select the Exports tab. Choose an export format and press Export Now to save to the session's default exports folder, or Choose Folder to pick a different destination.

Available export formats:

  • Markdown — transcript-focused record with session metadata
  • TXT — plain text transcript
  • JSON — structured session data for backup or tooling
  • RTF — rich text for word processors
  • DOCX — basic Word-compatible document
  • AI Processing Input — local Markdown prepared for manual use with AI tools
  • Second Brain Note — structured Markdown with frontmatter for knowledge-management apps

Exports are local files saved to your Mac. Strandweave does not upload or transmit your recordings or transcripts.

Finding your app version

If you need to include your Strandweave version when contacting support, open Settings and scroll to the Help / About section. The version number is shown there. You can also access it via the Help menu → About Strandweave.

To find your macOS version, click the Apple menu (top-left of your screen) and select About This Mac.

Next steps

If you run into any issues, visit the troubleshooting guide. If you need further help, contact support.