# Install and set up Frog on macOS

Canonical page: https://frog.beffa.xyz/docs/getting-started/
Updated: 2026-10-29

Install the published Frog app, then choose the tools you want. These guides follow the current source; the availability note on each guide names the release they describe. There is no required Frog account.

These guides describe Frog 1.0.42, the published download as of October 29, 2026. Download links lead to the latest published release.

## Install Frog

The published 1.0.42 app includes everything described in these guides. If you run an older version, check Settings → About and the release notes when comparing your app with them.

1. Open the GitHub releases page and download Frog-macOS.dmg for the latest release. A ZIP is also provided.
2. Open the DMG and drag Frog.app to your Applications folder.
3. Open Frog and follow the setup assistant. Its steps are optional, and you can return to them later.

- [Download the latest Frog release](https://github.com/t1llo/frog/releases/latest)

## Choose how to run your models

For an offline setup on Apple silicon, download a speech model for dictation and a text model for writing or transcript cleanup. The setup assistant recommends Whisper Large v3 Turbo and Qwen3 1.7B (4-bit), approximately 1.6 GB of downloads in total. Download size is not a memory requirement or a performance guarantee.

Open Models → Local models for downloads, Models → Providers for local servers or cloud services, or Models → Installed tools to use a supported coding CLI’s existing login. Use model adds its text model to the rule selectors without a Frog API-key form. You can also import a complete Frog JSON export or sync both live configuration files. Credentials, downloaded weights, and macOS permissions are separate. Non-AI tools need no model.

- [Installed tools and provider setup](https://frog.beffa.xyz/docs/providers/#installed-tools)
- [Configuration files and reload](https://frog.beffa.xyz/docs/configuration/)

## Choose your tools

Enabling Stay awake makes its page available; starting a power session is a separate action. Finish its guided access setup before starting your first session.

1. Open Features, pinned at the bottom of the sidebar.
2. Enable the optional tools you want, such as Command bar, Explain, Windows, or Mr. Usage. Their pages appear in the sidebar.
3. Open a tool’s page to configure it, from the sidebar or with Open beside it in Features. Command bar starts with Control–Option–Space; Clipboard’s Quick paste starts with Shift–Command–V.
4. Return to Features to disable a tool and stop its work. Your configuration and saved documents remain; temporary clipboard history is cleared.

## Review the permissions for the features you use

Accessibility access lets Frog work with selected text and individual application windows. Microphone access is needed for recording dictation. Review the permissions from the setup assistant or Frog’s settings and macOS System Settings.

The window switcher uses Accessibility rather than screenshots and does not need Screen Recording permission. Recording begins when you invoke an audio rule, rather than running continuously in the background.

## Try a writing rule

To revisit setup, open Settings → General → Setup assistant. For version-specific behavior, use the release notes that accompany your installed build.

1. Open Writing and choose a text rule such as proofreading. Select an available text model and record a shortcut if the rule does not have one. Try opens an in-app text test.
2. Write a short draft in an editable field in another app, then select the words you want to change.
3. Invoke the rule’s shortcut and wait for the result. If automatic replacement is unavailable, paste the result from the clipboard.

## Related guides

- [Choose features](https://frog.beffa.xyz/docs/features/)
- [Local models](https://frog.beffa.xyz/docs/local-models/)
- [Writing rules](https://frog.beffa.xyz/docs/writing-rules/)
- [Stay awake](https://frog.beffa.xyz/docs/stay-awake/)

## Source documentation

- [Installation instructions](https://github.com/t1llo/frog#install)
- [Provider and first-launch documentation](https://github.com/t1llo/frog/blob/main/docs/providers.md)