Trie — Release notes

Release notes

Each version lists only the changes that matter to you. Upgrading is always the same: run the install command again.

0.5.0 · 2026-10-08

Trie now has a menu bar menu and starts in standby: it leaves the microphone alone until you need it, and one tap of Right ⌘ starts dictation.

Highlights

Menu bar menu: The menu bar icon shows whether Trie is ready, listening, processing, in standby, or unavailable. When a permission is missing, the first line of the menu says which one and links straight to the matching System Settings pane.
Starts in standby: Trie starts in standby and does not keep the microphone busy. In standby, tap Right ⌘ once to start dictating, or switch between Active and Standby in the menu. In standby, Bluetooth headset presses go back to the system and control playback as usual.
Follows your language: The overlay, notices, and menu follow your system language: Chinese on a Chinese system, English otherwise, never both on one screen. You can also set the language in the config file.
Cancel with Esc: Esc now cancels a dictation too, alongside ⌘ + period.
Right ⌥ trigger: The trigger key can be set to Right ⌥ (Option) in the config file.

Full list of changes

New

Launch at login: On by default, with a one-line note the first time Trie opens. Turn it off with Launch at Login in the menu.
Tools in the menu: Open the glossary and the config file, export a diagnostics file that contains none of your text, open the logs folder, check for updates by hand, send feedback, see About Trie, and restart or quit Trie.

Improved

Overlay: Redesigned. The status line follows speak, think, and act, so you can tell whose turn it is; amber means Trie is working, gray means it has stepped back. The panel is now translucent glass.
Notices: The reasons shown after Unavailable and the headset hints are shorter and more direct, in both languages.
Input device: The Ready line in the menu shows the name of the input device in use, not only for Bluetooth headsets.
Spoken underscores: Say “underscore” (下划线) a given number of times and you get exactly that many; the tidy-up no longer adds or drops any.

Fixed

Starting again after cancelling: Starting a new dictation right after cancelling one is no longer slowed down by the cancelled one still being tidied up.
Paste target: After many windows had been opened, text could be pasted into the wrong window if you switched windows when stopping. In that case it now only goes to the clipboard.
Audio recovery: If the process that captures audio restarts unexpectedly, dictation and standby now recover correctly.

Known limits

Command-line install only: Trie is signed; notarization is still being processed by Apple. Until it completes, there is no browser download.
Continuous capture while active: While Trie is active, the selected input device captures continuously, and audio goes only into a 30-second ring buffer in local memory. To free the microphone, switch to standby or quit Trie. See Privacy.
Settings live in the config file: The trigger key, input devices, and interface language can only be changed in the config file for now; quit and reopen Trie afterwards.

How to upgrade

curl -fsSL https://trie.ai/install.sh | sh

Run the same install command again in Terminal. Models and personal settings are kept, and permissions do not need to be granted again. The first time the new version opens, Trie turns on launch at login with a one-line note, then waits in standby: tap Right ⌘ to start. If the new version gives you trouble, you can roll back to the previous version.

System requirements

Apple silicon (M-series), macOS 14 or later, at least 16 GB of memory, and about 8 GB of disk space; a network connection is needed only during installation. See the installation guide.

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