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Overview

The Alter settings window provides comprehensive control over the application’s functionality, appearance, and integration capabilities.

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Accessing Alter Settings

When the Alter window is visible
  1. Use the keyboard shortcut when the Alter window is open: cmd+,
or
  1. click on the 3 dots on the main window /
Alter Settings entry When the Alter widow is not visible Access it via the menu bar Alter Settings Menu Bar Here’s a detailed breakdown of each section

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Defaults

Alter Settings Defaults Quick access settings:
  • Open notch keybinding (default: Alt+Space)
  • Selection Button toggle for quick access when selecting text
LLM settings:
  • Max Tokens: Set maximum text generation length (default: 2,048)
  • Temperature: Adjust from deterministic to creative (default: 0.70)

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Dictation

Dictation Settings

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Shortcut

Global Keybinding Set a custom keyboard shortcut to trigger Alter’s voice features. If left empty, the Fn key will be used by default. Behavior:
  • Hold - Activates speak-to-command mode
  • One tap - Starts dictation mode
Record Shortcut Click “Record Shortcut” to capture your preferred key combination.

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File Management

Transcripts Directory Access your saved transcriptions and recordings through Finder. Click “Open in Finder” to navigate directly to where Alter stores your voice data.

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Language

Dictation Language Set the primary language for voice recognition and transcription. When set to “Automatic”, Alter will attempt to detect the language being spoken. Note: All voice features will use this language setting for processing transcriptions, including meetings.

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Automation

Auto Record Meetings When enabled, Alter automatically starts recording when it detects you’re in a meeting. Meeting Threshold Define how long a recording must be (in seconds) before Alter considers it a meeting rather than a quick voice note. Default is 120 seconds (2 minutes). Keep Dictation in Pasteboard When enabled, dictated text is automatically copied to your clipboard/pasteboard, making it easy to paste into any application.

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Dictionary

Custom Word Recognition Add words that you want Alter to better recognize during transcription. This is particularly useful for:
  • Technical terms specific to your industry
  • Company names and product names
  • Proper nouns that might be misunderstood
  • Acronyms and abbreviations
Format: Enter words separated by commas in the text field.

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Processor

Speech Processing Engine Choose how Alter processes your voice input:
  1. Cloud - Uses cloud-based processing for highest accuracy
  2. Local (Apple) - Uses Apple’s on-device speech recognition
  3. Local (Whisper) - Uses OpenAI’s Whisper model locally for privacy
  4. Whisper Pro - Advanced local processing with 10-second transcripts for meetings
These settings help you customize Alter’s voice recognition and automation features to match your workflow and preferences.

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Profile

Alter Settings Profile Profile is a simple way to tell Alter who you are and how you want to work together. Context matters - when Alter knows more about you, it can skip the fluff and provide more helpful, targeted responses. My Profile: Use this personalization section to:
  • Tell Alter about yourself: Share your role, expertise, and background
  • Share what you’re working on: Describe your current projects and goals
  • Set your preferred communication style: Specify how you like to receive information
  • Add explainers for tools: Detail how you want some tools to be used and provide technical references if needed (pairs of names and ids for example)
Why Profile Matters: When Alter knows you’re a developer who prefers concise technical answers, or a writer who wants creative brainstorming, it can adapt its responses accordingly. This personalization helps Alter understand your context and provide more relevant assistance. Here’s a simple example: 
My name is Samuel ROY, I'm the CEO of Alter, an AI assistant that understands your Mac. It's the first AI assistant living in the macOS notch.  I bring vision and manage product development, I can code and do marketing tasks. I like my AI to output content in a genuine, friendly and direct tone. Humor and Internet culture is appreciated. 

When you use tools, you might need the following informations:
<DISCORD>
Guild ID: XXXXXXX
General channel: general
Private team channel: XXXXX
</DISCORD>

<GITHUB>
Alter app repo: XXXXX
Alter server: XXX
Alter website (alterhq.com): XXXX
</GITHUB>
  • Generation Language: Select preferred language for outputs Note: Language selection affects generation only, not application interface

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Appearance

Alter Settings Appearance Theme options:
  • System (follows system settings)
  • Light mode
  • Dark mode Panel customization: Default Panel Position (e.g., top center)
Menu Font size (default: 16) Message Font size (default: 16) Display notch toggle

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Billing

Alter Settings Billing

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Permissions

Alter Settings Permissions
  • Launch at Login: Toggle switch to control whether Alter starts automatically when the system boots up

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Required Permissions

Alter will work at best when those permissions are enable
  • Accessibility permissions
    • Purpose: Used to get selected text system-wide and to paste text anywhere
    • Status: OK
    • Action button: “Check Accessibility”
  • SystemEvents permissions
    • Purpose: Used to interact with other applications
    • Status: OK
    • Action button: “Check SystemEvents”
  • Screen Recording permissions
    • Purpose: Used to capture screen content
    • Status: OK
    • Action button: “Check Screen Recording”
  • Microphone permissions
    • Purpose: Used to record audio input
    • Status: OK
    • Action button: “Check Microphone”

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Disable analytics

We rely on analytics to improve Alter. However you are free to disable it if you prefer it
  • Disable Analytics: Toggle switch to control analytics collection

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External API keys

This is where you want to set up your API keys if you are using your own providers, for example, OpenAI, OpenRouter, or your local models. Alter Settings API keys Partners integration:
  • Straico support
  • Custom provider options
Alter Settings API keys on Provider configuration:
  • Enable/disable custom providers
Provider selection (e.g., LM Studio) List of providers:
  • LM Studio
  • Mistral
  • Ollama
  • OpenAI
  • Open Router
  • Custom (any OpenAI compatible endpoind)
Alter Settings API keys choice error Alter Settings API keys choice right Alter Settings API keys on

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Router

Alter can be used as a gateway to provide its cloud models to other tools in the same manner than OpenRouter. Alter Settings Router