System requirements
VoxForge runs on macOS 14 Sonoma or later. Apple Silicon (M-series) is strongly recommended, since transcription and speech synthesis run on the Neural Engine and GPU. On 8 GB Macs, choose lighter models (such as Whisper Base or Tiny, and the Kokoro voice) for the best experience.
Troubleshooting
A model won't download or the download is stuck
Models are fetched from public repositories (such as the Hugging Face Hub) on first use. If a download stalls:
- Check your internet connection and any VPN, firewall, or content filter that might block
huggingface.co. - Make sure you have enough free disk space for the model you selected (sizes are shown in the model browser).
- Quit and reopen VoxForge — downloads resume from where they left off.
Live transcription isn't picking up my microphone
VoxForge needs microphone permission for live transcription. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone and make sure VoxForge is enabled. Audio is processed on-device and never uploaded.
Transcription is slow or the app uses a lot of memory
Larger Whisper models are more accurate but need more RAM and run slower. Switch to a smaller model (Turbo offers a great speed/accuracy balance), or let VoxForge's recommended-model suggestion pick one to match your Mac's hardware.
Can VoxForge open WebM, MKV, or AVI files?
The Mac App Store version supports the formats macOS handles natively (MP4, MOV, M4A, WAV, MP3, AIFF, FLAC). For WebM, MKV, AVI, OGG, and video-URL import, use VoxForge Pro, which bundles ffmpeg and a yt-dlp helper.
I bought VoxForge Pro — how do I activate it?
Open VoxForge Pro, go to Settings, and enter the license key from your purchase confirmation. If activation fails, email support@highroadsoftware.com with your order ID and we'll sort it out.
Where are my projects stored, and how do I back them up?
Projects live in VoxForge's sandboxed container under ~/Library/Containers/com.voxforge.app/ and are included in your normal macOS / Time Machine backups. Nothing is stored on our servers.
More questions
The FAQ on the product page covers languages, privacy, voices, and the difference between the two versions. If you don't find your answer there, just email us — we're a small team in Belgium and happy to help.