โ† Back to Velox

๐Ÿš€ Getting Started with Velox AI Input

Your complete guide from downloading the app to completing your first voice input. Follow these steps to be up and running in under 10 minutes.

๐Ÿ“‹ Table of Contents

  1. Download & Install Velox
  2. First Launch & Permissions
  3. Configure Your API Provider
  4. Your First Voice Input
  5. Tips & Best Practices
  6. Troubleshooting

๐Ÿ“ฆ What You'll Need

Step 1: Download & Install Velox

1.1

Download from Mac App Store (Recommended)

The easiest way to get Velox is through the Mac App Store. This ensures you get automatic updates and the most secure version of the app.

  1. Open the Mac App Store on your Mac
  2. Search for "Velox AI Input"
  3. Click "Get" or the download button
  4. Enter your Apple ID password or use Touch ID if prompted
  5. Wait for the download and installation to complete
๐Ÿ–ผ๏ธ
Screenshot: Mac App Store - Velox AI Input Page
Shows the Velox app listing with "Get" button, ratings, and description
๐Ÿ’ก Tip: You can also use this direct link: apps.apple.com/app/id6755575370
1.2

Alternative: Direct Download (DMG) (Advanced Users)

If you prefer to download the app directly, you can get the DMG file from our website.

  1. Visit d.ai-voice-input.com/packages/Velox.dmg
  2. Download the Velox.dmg file
  3. Open the downloaded DMG file
  4. Drag Velox.app to your Applications folder
  5. Eject the DMG and delete it
โš ๏ธ Security Note: When opening a DMG download for the first time, macOS may show a security warning. Right-click the app and select "Open" to bypass this on first launch.
๐Ÿ–ผ๏ธ
Screenshot: DMG Installation Window
Shows the drag-and-drop interface with Velox icon and Applications folder

Step 2: First Launch & System Permissions

2.1

Launch Velox for the First Time

After installation, you'll need to launch Velox and grant it the necessary permissions to work properly.

  1. Open your Applications folder
  2. Find and double-click Velox AI Input
  3. The app will appear in your menu bar (top-right corner) with the Velox icon
  4. You'll see a welcome screen with onboarding instructions
๐Ÿ–ผ๏ธ
Screenshot: Velox Menu Bar Icon
Shows the macOS menu bar with the Velox icon highlighted
๐Ÿ’ก Tip: Velox is a menu bar app, which means it doesn't appear in your Dock. Look for the icon in the top-right corner of your screen, near the clock.
2.2

Grant Microphone Permission

Velox needs access to your microphone to record your voice. This is the first permission you'll be asked for.

  1. When prompted, click "OK" or "Allow" on the microphone permission dialog
  2. If you accidentally denied it, you can enable it manually:
    • Open System Settings (or System Preferences)
    • Go to Privacy & Security โ†’ Microphone
    • Find Velox AI Input and toggle it ON
๐Ÿ–ผ๏ธ
Screenshot: Microphone Permission Dialog
Shows macOS permission prompt asking for microphone access
2.3

Grant Accessibility Permission

Velox needs Accessibility permission to automatically paste transcribed text into your active app. This is a critical permission for the app to work properly.

  1. Velox will prompt you to grant Accessibility permission
  2. Click "Open System Settings" in the prompt
  3. In System Settings, go to Privacy & Security โ†’ Accessibility
  4. Click the lock icon at the bottom and enter your password
  5. Find Velox AI Input in the list and toggle it ON
  6. Close System Settings and return to Velox
๐Ÿ–ผ๏ธ
Screenshot: Accessibility Settings
Shows System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility with Velox enabled
โš ๏ธ Important: Without Accessibility permission, Velox cannot automatically paste text into your apps. You'll need to manually copy and paste each transcription.
2.4

Complete the Onboarding

Velox will guide you through a brief onboarding process to explain the key features.

  1. Read through the onboarding screens
  2. Learn about the Option (โŒฅ) hotkey
  3. Understand the floating panel interface
  4. Click "Get Started" or "Continue" to finish
๐Ÿ–ผ๏ธ
Screenshot: Velox Onboarding Screen
Shows the welcome screen with key features and hotkey explanation

Step 3: Configure Your API Provider

3.1

Choose Your Speech-to-Text Provider

Velox uses external speech-to-text (STT) services to convert your voice to text. You need to configure at least one provider before you can use the app.

We recommend starting with Groq:

  • โœ… Completely free โ€“ 14,400 requests per day (no credit card required)
  • โœ… 10x faster โ€“ Ultra-fast inference with Whisper
  • โœ… Easy setup โ€“ Takes about 5 minutes

Other options:

  • OpenAI: Requires paid API key, but very reliable
  • Custom: Use any Whisper-compatible service (DeepSeek, Moonshot, local server, etc.)
๐Ÿ’ก Recommendation: If you're new to Velox, start with Groq. It's free, fast, and perfect for getting started. You can always add more providers later.
3.2

Get Your Groq API Key (Free)

Follow these steps to get a free Groq API key. This takes about 5 minutes.

  1. Visit console.groq.com/keys
  2. Sign up with your email, Google, or GitHub account (no credit card required)
  3. Once logged in, click "Create API Key"
  4. Give your key a name (e.g., "Velox")
  5. Copy the API key (starts with gsk_...)
  6. Save it somewhere safe โ€“ you won't be able to see it again!
๐Ÿ–ผ๏ธ
Screenshot: Groq Console - Create API Key
Shows the Groq console with the "Create API Key" button and key display
๐Ÿ’ก Need detailed help? Check out our complete Groq API Setup Guide with screenshots for every step.
3.3

Configure Groq in Velox

Now let's add your Groq API key to Velox so you can start using voice input.

  1. Click the Velox icon in your menu bar
  2. Select "Settings" from the dropdown menu
  3. Go to the "Speech to Text" tab
  4. In the "Provider" dropdown, select "Groq"
  5. Paste your API key in the "API Key" field
  6. The Base URL and Model are pre-configured:
    • Base URL: https://api.groq.com/openai/v1
    • Model: whisper-large-v3
  7. Click "Test Connection" to verify everything works
  8. If successful, you'll see a green checkmark โœ…
๐Ÿ–ผ๏ธ
Screenshot: Velox Settings - STT Configuration
Shows the Settings window with Groq selected and API key field filled in
โš ๏ธ Connection Failed? If the test fails, double-check:
  • You copied the entire API key (starts with gsk_)
  • You're connected to the internet
  • There are no extra spaces before or after the key
3.4

Configure LLM Provider (Optional but Recommended)

Velox can use a Large Language Model (LLM) to improve your transcriptions by fixing grammar, adding punctuation, and making the text more natural. This step is optional but highly recommended.

  1. In Settings, go to the "Text Processing" tab
  2. Select your preferred LLM provider:
    • OpenAI: GPT-4 or GPT-3.5 (requires paid API key)
    • Groq: Fast and free (use the same API key as STT)
    • Custom: Any OpenAI-compatible service
  3. Enter your API key (can be the same as your STT key if using Groq)
  4. Choose a model (e.g., llama-3.1-70b-versatile for Groq)
  5. Click "Test Connection"
๐Ÿ’ก Tip: If you're using Groq for STT, you can use the same API key for LLM processing. Groq offers free, fast LLM inference with models like Llama 3.1.

Step 4: Your First Voice Input

4.1

Prepare Your Test Environment

Before trying your first voice input, let's set up a simple test environment.

  1. Open a text editor (e.g., Notes, TextEdit, or any app)
  2. Create a new document or note
  3. Click inside the text area to make sure it's focused
  4. Make sure your microphone is working (check the input level in System Settings)
๐Ÿ’ก Tip: For your first test, use a quiet environment and speak clearly. Once you're comfortable, you can use Velox in noisier settings.
4.2

Activate Voice Input

Now let's try your first voice input using the Option (โŒฅ) key.

  1. Press and hold the Option (โŒฅ) key on your keyboard
    • On most Mac keyboards, this is next to the Command (โŒ˜) key
    • Some keyboards label it as "Alt"
  2. The Velox floating panel will appear near the bottom of your screen
  3. You'll see a red pulsing indicator showing that recording has started
  4. The panel will show "Listening..." with a timer
๐Ÿ–ผ๏ธ
Screenshot: Velox Floating Panel - Recording State
Shows the floating panel with red pulse indicator and "Listening..." text
โš ๏ธ Panel Not Appearing? If the panel doesn't show up:
  • Make sure Velox is running (check the menu bar icon)
  • Try clicking the Velox menu bar icon and selecting "Show Panel"
  • Check that you granted Accessibility permission in Step 2.3
4.3

Speak Your Message

While holding the Option key, speak your message clearly into the microphone.

Try this sample text for your first test:

"This is my first voice input with Velox. I'm testing the speech to text feature and it's working great!"

Tips for better results:

  • Speak at a normal pace (not too fast or too slow)
  • Use your natural voice โ€“ no need to over-enunciate
  • Speak in complete sentences when possible
  • Pause briefly between sentences
  • Keep background noise to a minimum
๐Ÿ’ก Pro Tip: You can speak for as long as you hold the Option key. There's no time limit, but shorter inputs (under 30 seconds) tend to be more accurate.
4.4

Release to Process

When you're done speaking, release the Option key to stop recording and start processing.

  1. Release the Option (โŒฅ) key
  2. The panel will change to show "Processing..."
  3. Velox will:
    • Convert your speech to text (using Groq Whisper)
    • Clean up the transcription (remove filler words, fix obvious errors)
    • Apply light grammar and punctuation corrections (if LLM is configured)
  4. This typically takes 1-3 seconds depending on your provider and audio length
๐Ÿ–ผ๏ธ
Screenshot: Velox Panel - Processing State
Shows the panel with a spinner and "Processing..." text
๐Ÿ’ก Need to Cancel? Press ESC at any time during recording or processing to cancel the current operation.
4.5

Review & Paste

Once processing is complete, Velox will automatically paste the transcribed text into your active app.

What happens next:

  1. The transcribed text appears in the panel for a moment
  2. If the app focus hasn't changed, Velox automatically:
    • Saves your current clipboard (so you don't lose what you copied)
    • Pastes the transcribed text using โŒ˜V
    • Restores your original clipboard after pasting
  3. The panel shows a brief success message and fades out
๐Ÿ–ผ๏ธ
Screenshot: Successful Transcription
Shows the text editor with the transcribed text pasted in
โš ๏ธ Focus Changed? If you switched apps while Velox was processing, it won't automatically paste. Instead, the text will stay in the panel with a "Copy" button so you can paste it manually. This prevents accidentally pasting into the wrong app.

๐ŸŽ‰ Congratulations!

You've successfully completed your first voice input with Velox!

You can now use this same process anywhere on your Mac โ€“ in emails, documents, chat apps, code editors, and more.

Step 5: Tips & Best Practices

5.1

Keyboard Shortcuts

  • Option (โŒฅ) โ€“ Hold to record, release to process
  • ESC โ€“ Cancel current recording or processing
  • โŒ˜ + , โ€“ Open Settings (when Velox menu is active)
๐Ÿ’ก Customization: You can change the hotkey in Settings if Option doesn't work well for you. Go to Settings โ†’ General โ†’ Hotkey.
5.2

Speaking Tips for Better Accuracy

  • Speak naturally: Use your normal speaking voice and pace
  • Pause between thoughts: Brief pauses help with sentence detection
  • Avoid filler words: "Um," "uh," "like" โ€“ Velox will try to remove these
  • Spell out special characters: Say "comma," "period," "question mark"
  • Use context: The LLM works better with complete sentences
5.3

Understanding the Writing Styles

Velox offers different writing styles to match your context. You can change this in Settings โ†’ Text Processing.

  • Casual: Natural, conversational tone (default)
  • Professional: More formal language for business communication
  • Technical: Preserves technical terms and code-like syntax
  • Minimal: Light corrections only, preserves your exact words
5.4

Managing Your History

Velox keeps a local history of your recent transcriptions for easy access.

  1. Click the Velox menu bar icon
  2. Select "History"
  3. Browse your recent transcriptions
  4. Click any item to copy it to your clipboard
  5. Use the search box to find specific transcriptions
๐Ÿ’ก Privacy Note: History is stored locally on your Mac and never uploaded to any server. You can clear your history anytime in Settings โ†’ Privacy.
5.5

Trial & Purchase Information

Velox offers a 7-day free trial so you can fully test all features before purchasing.

  • Trial Period: 7 days from first launch
  • Full Features: All features are available during the trial
  • One-Time Purchase: $4.99 USD for lifetime access
  • No Subscription: Pay once, use forever
  • Trial Status: Check remaining days in the menu bar or Settings
๐Ÿ’ก Tip: Take advantage of the full trial period to test Velox in your daily workflow. Try it in different apps and contexts to see how it fits your needs.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

๐Ÿ”ง Common Problems & Solutions

The floating panel doesn't appear when I press Option

Solutions:

  • Check that Velox is running (look for the icon in the menu bar)
  • Make sure you granted Accessibility permission (Step 2.3)
  • Try clicking the menu bar icon and selecting "Show Panel"
  • Restart Velox from the menu bar (Quit and reopen)
  • Check if another app is using the Option key as a hotkey
Microphone permission denied or not working

Solutions:

  • Go to System Settings โ†’ Privacy & Security โ†’ Microphone
  • Find Velox AI Input and toggle it ON
  • Restart Velox after granting permission
  • Test your microphone in another app (e.g., Voice Memos) to confirm it works
  • Check that your microphone is selected in System Settings โ†’ Sound โ†’ Input
Text isn't pasting automatically

Solutions:

  • Verify Accessibility permission is granted (Step 2.3)
  • Make sure the target app is focused when you release Option
  • Some apps (like Terminal) may require additional permissions
  • Try manually copying from the panel if auto-paste fails
  • Check that the cursor is in a text field (not just the app window)
API connection test fails

Solutions:

  • Double-check your API key (no extra spaces, complete key)
  • Verify you're connected to the internet
  • For Groq: Make sure the key starts with gsk_
  • Try generating a new API key from the provider's console
  • Check if your firewall or VPN is blocking the connection
Transcription is inaccurate or has errors

Solutions:

  • Speak more clearly and at a moderate pace
  • Reduce background noise
  • Use a better microphone (external USB mic recommended)
  • Try enabling LLM processing for better corrections
  • Adjust the writing style in Settings to match your content
  • For technical content, use "Technical" writing style
App is slow or laggy

Solutions:

  • Check your internet connection speed
  • Try a different API provider (Groq is usually fastest)
  • Disable LLM processing if you only need basic transcription
  • Keep audio recordings under 30 seconds for faster processing
  • Close other resource-intensive apps
Trial has expired but I can't purchase

Solutions:

  • Make sure you're signed in to the Mac App Store with your Apple ID
  • Check your payment method in App Store settings
  • Try restarting the Mac App Store app
  • Contact Apple Support if purchase fails repeatedly
  • Email us at [email protected] if issues persist
๐Ÿ’ก Still Need Help? If you can't find a solution here, please contact us at [email protected]. Include details about your issue, macOS version, and any error messages you see.

๐Ÿš€ Next Steps

Now that you're set up, explore these resources to get the most out of Velox: