Using Sotto

Sotto is a voice input app for Mac. Place the cursor where you want to type, hold your shortcut, and speak.

Get started

Downloads are coming soon. The setup steps below are for when Sotto is available.

You need macOS 26 or later and a Mac with Apple Silicon.

1. Get the app from the download page and move it to Applications.
2. Open Sotto and follow the prompts to allow Microphone, Speech Recognition, and Accessibility access.
3. Prepare the Japanese recognition model. The initial model setup requires an internet connection.
4. Select a text field, hold the right Command key while speaking, and release it when you finish.

Screen Recording permission is only needed for Pro's screen context feature.

Basic controls

By default, Sotto records while you hold the right Command key. Open Settings from the menu bar and change your shortcut in General. You can also choose toggle mode: press once to start and again to stop.

In General, you can switch the recognition language between Japanese and English (US).

Useful settings

• Correction: Toggle voice commands and full-width alphanumeric conversion. In Japanese, say “maru” for a period or “kaigyou” for a line break.
• User dictionary: Add replacements for names and specialist terms you use often.
• Industry dictionaries: Pro includes dictionaries for different industries.
• App profiles: Pro lets you use settings tailored to the app you are typing in.
• Privacy: Manage screen context and correction log storage. Correction logging is off by default.

Enable Pro's Apple Intelligence formatting in Correction. Immediate mode inserts text first; wait mode inserts it after formatting finishes. When formatting is unavailable or takes too long, Sotto uses the regular correction result.

Input history

Input history is off by default. Enable it in Settings → Privacy to search and compare the recognized text and the L1 and L2 results. Open it with ⌃⌥⌘H or the Input History menu item, and press ↓ from the search field to enter the list. Select a version, use ⇧⌘C to copy it, or ⌘Return to reinsert it into the original field. If Sotto cannot safely verify the destination, it offers copying instead.

Entries are kept for 7 days; pinned entries remain until you delete them. Storage is limited to 10 MiB. Turning history off deletes existing entries, including pinned ones.

Free and Pro

Basic dictation is free and unlimited, with a 14-day Pro trial on first launch. See the license policy for feature differences and purchase and update terms.

Troubleshooting

• Recording does not start: Check Microphone and Speech Recognition access in macOS System Settings → Privacy & Security.
• The shortcut or text insertion does not work: Check Accessibility access and place the cursor in an editable text field.
• Words are recognized incorrectly: Check the recognition language and add replacements to your user dictionary.
• Pro features are unavailable: Check your trial or license status in License settings.

When Secure Input blocks insertion

An open lock screen in an app such as 1Password can keep macOS Secure Input enabled even after you switch to another app. Sotto pauses automatic insertion and submission while it is active. The shortcut to start recording may also stop responding.

If recognized text is available, choose “未挿入テキストをコピー” (copy uninserted text) from the Sotto menu in the menu bar, then press ⌘V in the field where you want to paste it. Input history does not need to be enabled. If only automatic submission was blocked, check the text in the destination and submit it manually.

To resume recording, bring 1Password to the front, then switch back to the app where you want to type. If that does not help, quit and reopen 1Password. You do not need to disable password protection settings.

Recognition and correction run on your Mac. See the privacy policy for details about stored data and network requests.