Platform support

Nock’s launch-preview desktop workflow is centered on macOS, including its notch interface, global voice shortcuts, and native speech helpers. Public installers are still being prepared. Use the download page for the platforms and requirements of an actual release.

Do not assume that a Windows build reference or a website demo means every macOS feature works on another platform. These instructions describe the macOS implementation; availability and parity must be checked for each released build.

Permissions on macOS

Open Settings → Permissions to inspect the capabilities Nock needs:

Permission	What it enables
Microphone	Hearing speech during a voice request.
Accessibility	Inserting dictated text, selected-text access, and parts of shortcut handling.
Input Monitoring	Detecting supported global voice shortcuts.
Speech Recognition	The Apple on-device speech fallback.
Screen Recording	Optional screen context when you request it.

Screen access supports visual assistance. The current guided onboarding tour also requires Screen Recording, alongside microphone and keyboard permissions; do not expect to complete that tour with screen access denied. Ordinary text-only requests do not themselves need a screen capture.

The Apple recognition fallback prefers on-device recognition when the selected recognizer supports it. It is not an unconditional offline guarantee for every language or system configuration.

Grant or revisit a permission

A permission row shows states such as Granted, Denied, Restricted, or Not asked yet. Use Grant when available. Otherwise choose Open System Settings, review the relevant Privacy & Security panel, and enable the intended app entry.

Return to Nock and check the state again. If macOS requires an app restart, save current work and follow that instruction. Do not assume repeatedly pressing a shortcut will trigger a prompt after permission has already been denied.

Why Nock Speech appears

Microphone and on-device recognition use a helper named Nock Speech. It can appear alongside Nock in the corresponding system privacy lists. Check the relevant helper entry if the main app appears permitted but speech still fails.

Keyboard shortcuts involve their own listener. If the menu-bar item says hotkey blocked by a missing permission, inspect Accessibility and Input Monitoring first. Its permission refresh and listener restart controls can help after you have changed a grant.

After replacing or updating the app

macOS associates permissions with application identity and signing. A differently signed development copy can be treated as a different app, so old grants do not prove the current copy has access. Inspect the installed copy and its current permissions before changing audio or model settings.

Likewise, an app run from source may not have the self-update controls offered by a release. That is a build distinction, not necessarily a networking problem.

Narrow the failure

No audio suggests microphone/input selection; no on-device transcript suggests recognition access; recognized words that are not inserted suggest focus or Accessibility; missing visual context suggests Screen Recording or the action’s screen setting. Use a short test in an ordinary text field to distinguish these cases.

See Downloads and updates, Troubleshooting, and Support.