Download

Heliotype 1.4.0

Signed with an Apple Developer ID and notarized by Apple, so the first launch is a plain double-click. The 14-day trial is the complete app.

Download for macOS 50 MB · Apple Silicon · $29 launch price

Requirements

  • Apple Silicon Mac (M-series). There is no Intel build.
  • macOS 15 or newer to record meetings — it relies on the modern CoreAudio process-tap API.
  • macOS 13 or newer to transcribe existing audio or video via the Finder right-click.
  • An AssemblyAI API key for transcription. New accounts include about $50 of credit — more than 200 hours — with no card required.

Installing

  1. Open the disk image and drag Heliotype to Applications. Replacing an older copy keeps every setting: your licence, folder, switches and API key live outside the app.
  2. Launch it. There is no window and no Dock icon — look for the disc in the menu bar, top right.
  3. Allow notifications when macOS asks, once, on first launch. It is how the app tells you a recording saved or a transcript failed — there is no window to show you.
  4. Grant two recording permissions the first time you record: Microphone, and System Audio Recording Only. The second is the audio-only category — nothing on your screen is captured. If you use calendar naming, macOS asks for Calendar access once more, the first time a recording is named.
  5. Paste your AssemblyAI key from Settings → Set AssemblyAI API Key. It is stored in your macOS login Keychain.

Verifying the download

The disk image is notarized, so macOS checks it for you. To check it yourself, compare the SHA-256: 

shasum -a 256 ~/Downloads/Heliotype-1.4.0.dmg

Expected: 9309f2714789201b10ec2e5eb9146d88b2956eebc9f2d5ed880e9eb3919bd31e

What changed

Version 1.4.0 — see the changelog for the full history. Heliotype never checks for updates on its own: no check at launch, no background timer, no phone-home. Since 1.4.0 there is a Settings → Check for Updates… item that asks once, when you click it — and this page and the changelog are the other two ways to find out a new version exists.

Before you install

What it can't do is worth two minutes — no summaries, no live captions, cloud transcription today, Apple Silicon only. Better to know now than after the trial.