NotchLive

What is NotchLive

NotchLive is a private, on-device live captioning and meeting transcription application for Mac. It captures system audio or microphone input via ScreenCaptureKit, transcribes speech using on-device Whisper AI, and displays live captions near the top of the Mac workspace, including in the MacBook notch. The app is designed for privacy: no cloud audio processing and no required account. It supports macOS 14 Sonoma and later, with Apple Silicon recommended but Intel Macs also supported.

How to use NotchLive

1. Download and install NotchLive on your Mac (macOS 14+).
2. Open any meeting, video, or podcast. NotchLive captures system audio or your microphone via ScreenCaptureKit.
3. Speech is transcribed on-device with Whisper AI, and live captions appear near the top of your Mac workspace.
4. Use Focus mode to follow the latest caption, or expand Timeline to scroll, search, copy, and export the current live transcript while new captions continue arriving.
5. For meetings, enable speaker attribution (on supported Apple silicon Macs) and use Participant Review to rename, merge, reassign, split, or leave speech unresolved.
6. Optionally enable translation to 20 languages via Apple Translation (requires macOS 15+).
7. Save meetings, notes, and dictations; export as TXT, Markdown, or JSON.
8. Optionally enable read-only local MCP access for Codex or Claude to follow finalized captions and translate the stream.

Features of NotchLive

• Live AI captions in the MacBook notch or a floating Focus/Timeline window
• On-device Whisper AI speech recognition with 6 model tiers (Small, Medium, Large Turbo Compact, Large Turbo, etc.)
• System audio and microphone capture via ScreenCaptureKit
• Works with any app that plays audio: Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, YouTube, Spotify, and more
• Focus and Live Timeline modes: scroll, search, copy, and export the current live transcript while captions continue arriving
• Local speaker attribution on supported Apple silicon Macs
• Participant Review: rename, merge, reassign, split, or leave speech unresolved
• User-governed participant ontology for analytics, exports, saved output, Meeting Intelligence, and MCP results
• Meeting Analytics calculated from the reviewed transcript and participant map (words, turns, speaking time, pace, conversation share, balance, attribution coverage)
• Portable, versioned NotchLive meeting data bundles
• Optional read-only local MCP access for enabled saved-meeting and active-caption data
• Parallel translation of enabled active captions through Codex or Claude
• Translated speech in 20 languages (via Apple Translation, macOS 15+)
• Pro Voice Notes with Raw and AI-cleaned views
• Saved Notes with copy, TXT, Markdown, and JSON export, and NotchPad handoff
• Live streaming and batch transcription modes
• Session recording with Raw/AI dictation export as TXT, Markdown, and JSON
• Ghost Mode hides NotchLive from screen sharing and screen recordings while captions keep running
• Global keyboard shortcuts
• Auto language detection for 90+ languages
• No cloud audio processing, no required account
• Free tier includes live captions, all Whisper AI models, system audio and mic capture, keyboard shortcuts, and unlimited use

Use Cases of NotchLive

• Hearing accessibility: live captions for hard-of-hearing users and anyone who wants spoken audio easier to follow in real time.
• Captioning meetings on Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams without host settings or meeting bots.
• Transcribing and captioning videos, podcasts, and lectures.
• Legal transcription: local-first captions and transcripts for legal work.
• Consultants: capture client calls without a cloud meeting bot.
• Research interviews: follow interviews and keep local transcripts.
• Meeting translation: translated captions for meetings, videos, and calls.
• Dictation: use as a Mac dictation app.
• Creating speaker-aware meeting records with Participant Review and Meeting Analytics.
• Exporting transcripts for review, sharing, or further analysis.
• Connecting to local AI tools (Codex, Claude) via MCP for translation and data access.