Getting started with MeetInk: your first meeting in a few minutes

Setup takes about three minutes. Most of it is one download that happens while you answer a few questions.

1. Install

1. Download MeetInk for Mac and drag it into Applications.
2. Open it. MeetInk lives in your menu bar, and a setup window walks you through the rest.

You need macOS 15 or later. Apple silicon (M1 or newer) is recommended for fast on-device transcription.

2. Two permissions, then a quick test

The Permissions step asks for two things:

1. Microphone records your side of the conversation. Click Grant access and allow it when macOS asks; the card shows Granted.
2. Meeting audio records the other people on the call. Click Test audio: MeetInk plays a short chime and checks that it can hear it. When macOS asks, allow it. The card shows Working.

If the meeting audio test says it couldn't hear the sound, open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen & System Audio Recording, find System Audio Recording Only, turn on MeetInk, and click Test again. More help: Fixing permissions.

3. Tell it what your meetings are about

In What are your meetings about?, pick any of Engineering, Sales, Client services and Manager. MeetInk creates matching folders (for example Standups or Discovery calls) and writes notes in the right shape for each kind of meeting. You can also enter Your name, so notes say "Priya will…" instead of "Me".

4. Transcription downloads

The Transcription step downloads the speech model (Parakeet, English) and the speaker-labelling model. They run on your Mac; audio never leaves it. Progress is shown on screen. You can continue once they're ready, or let them finish in the background.

5. Choose how notes get written

Transcription turns audio into text. The notes engine turns that text into a summary, decisions, action items and insights. Pick one:

• Google Gemini (your key), recommended: Google's free tier needs no card. Click Get a free API key, paste it and click Save; the key is checked with Google straight away. On the free tier Google may use what you send to improve its models; the paid tier doesn't.
• Local model with Ollama, most private: runs entirely on your Mac, no key, no bill. MeetInk can install Ollama and download a model that suits your Mac.
• Claude (your Anthropic key) or OpenAI (your key).

With Gemini, Claude or OpenAI, only the transcript text is sent, never audio, straight from your Mac to that provider. Keys are stored in your Keychain.

You can skip this and choose later. Details: Choosing a notes engine.

6. When a call starts

Choose Ask me (a notification offers to record; nothing records until you click) or Record automatically (starts with the call; you're asked before it stops). You can change this later in Settings → Recording.

7. Optional: Ask Claude about your meetings

If you use Claude Desktop, one click adds a local connector so Claude can answer questions from your notes. You can do this later too, and also connect Claude Code or Cursor: Connect AI apps.

8. Record your first meeting

There are a few ways to start:

• When a call starts, a notification appears, titled with the meeting's name from your calendar (or with the call, like "Meeting in Google Chrome" or "Slack huddle"). Click Take notes.
• From Today, click Record next to a calendar meeting. It's available from 5 minutes before the start.
• Any time, press ⌘R or click New recording.

With Ask me, nothing records without your click.

While recording:

• The Live transcript on the right fills in as people speak, labelled You and Others.
• Type notes in the middle of the page. Each new line is stamped with the call time, like [4:12] ask about annual discount. Your notes guide the summary.
• Press ⌘⇧B or click Bookmark to mark an important moment.
• If there's an earlier meeting with the same people or in the same folder, a Last time card shows its recap and open items.

9. End & process

Click End & process (or Stop recording in the sidebar, or ⌘R again). MeetInk creates the final transcript with speaker labels, then writes the notes. They appear as they're being written. Every line in the notes links back to the moment it was said, and your time-stamped notes become clickable too.

10. Names for the speakers

Speakers are told apart on your Mac, within each meeting: Speaker 1, Speaker 2 and so on. When the notes are written, the notes engine puts names to them from the calendar invite and the conversation (someone introducing themselves, or being addressed by name).

At the top of the transcript you'll see what it worked out. A name it's sure of is applied; click Right to keep it or Change to fix it. One it isn't sure of shows as "Speaker 2 might be Sam" with Use. You can also click any speaker's label in the transcript and type a name.

Names apply to that meeting only. Voices aren't remembered from one meeting to the next.

11. Ask about the meeting

Open Ask AI next to the transcript (⌘J) and ask anything about the meeting. Answers point to the moments they're based on; click a time to play it. Add to notes keeps an answer in My notes.

What's next

• Connect your calendars to see today's meetings and name recordings automatically.
• Send notes to Slack, Drive or Zapier.
• Try it free for 14 days with every feature; after that it stays free for 5 meetings a month.