How to install Wispr Flow on Mac

Last updated: October 26, 2026

Available on: Mac

Install Flow on your Mac so it can hear your speech and insert text. If the app closes on launch or permissions stall during setup, use the matching recovery steps below.

Before installing

Flow requires macOS 12.0 (Monterey) or later. Check your macOS version and the Chip or Processor line in Apple menu → About This Mac. Apple Silicon and Intel Macs use separate downloads; there is no universal Mac build.

How to install

Note: Keep the name Wispr Flow.app directly in /Applications, ~/Applications (in your home folder), or /System/Applications. Renaming it or using a subfolder such as /Applications/Utilities/ prevents launch. Launch Flow only from Applications, Launchpad, or Spotlight.

  1. Download Flow from wisprflow.ai, choosing Apple Silicon or Intel to match your Mac.

  2. Open the downloaded .dmg file.

  3. Drag the Wispr Flow icon onto the Applications folder.

  4. Close the installer window.

  5. Open Wispr Flow from Applications.

On a fresh install, Flow places its menu bar icon on the right; an existing or ⌘-dragged position is preserved. First launch also enables opening Flow automatically at login.

Grant permissions

The Permissions page always appears on Mac. Continue appears only after both required permissions are granted.

  1. Click Allow on “Allow Flow to insert spoken words,” then grant Accessibility access when macOS prompts.

  2. Click Allow on “Allow Flow to use your microphone,” then grant Microphone access in the macOS prompt.

  3. Click Continue to finish this step.

After each grant, Flow returns from System Settings and activates the next card automatically — that advance confirms the grant worked. Enter requests the active permission or, when both are granted, activates Continue.

Note: On managed Macs, installation grants no permissions. The supplied wispr-flow-accessibility.mobileconfig profile can pre-grant Accessibility, but you must grant Microphone on first use; macOS does not allow MDM to pre-grant it for third-party apps.

If Flow will not open

Flow reports location errors before macOS compatibility errors, then chip mismatches. Resolve each error before checking for the next.

Flow needs to be in the Applications folder

Opening a copy stored in the installer window, Downloads, or Desktop shows this message, with Move to Applications and Quit.

  1. Click Move to Applications.

  2. Confirm the macOS authorization prompt if it appears.

Flow moves itself into Applications and reopens from there; any stale copy already in Applications goes to the Trash, or Flow hands off to that copy if it is already running. If you cancel the prompt or the move cannot finish, Flow tells you to drag it to Applications yourself and quits — drag Wispr Flow.app into Applications, then open it from there.

  • Renamed app: If the app has been renamed (for example “Wispr Flow 2.app” or “Flow.app”), Flow asks you to rename it back to Wispr Flow and drag it to Applications.

  • Inside a subfolder: If the copy sits in a subfolder of Applications, Flow asks you to move it to the top level of the Applications folder.

If the location message disappears, this issue is resolved; address any next message below.

Unsupported MacOS Version

On macOS 11 or older, the message reads “Wispr Flow requires MacOS 12.0 or later. Please upgrade your operating system to continue.” Clicking OK quits Flow.

  1. Click OK to close Flow.

  2. Update your Mac through System Settings → General → Software Update.

  3. Install Flow again, then open it to confirm the version message no longer appears.

Incorrect App Version

The Intel download running on an Apple Silicon Mac shows: “You are running the Intel version of Wispr Flow on an Apple Silicon Mac. Please download the Apple Silicon version from wisprflow.ai for better performance.”

Warning: Delete only /Applications/Wispr Flow.app. Settings and history remain in ~/Library/Application Support/Wispr Flow/; removing that folder deletes them. Caches, logs, preferences, saved application state, and website data also remain. For full removal, remove the Accessibility entry manually in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility.

  1. Delete the mismatched copy from Applications.

  2. Download the matching build from wisprflow.ai and repeat “How to install” above.

  3. Open the matching build; this clears the error.

The menu bar icon is missing

Your menu bar may be too full.

  1. Hide other icons or ⌘-drag them to make room.

  2. Click the Flow icon, then choose Open Wispr Flow to bring its window forward.

If a meeting title appears beside the icon, Hide next meeting from menu bar saves space; Show next meeting in menu bar restores it.

Permission problems

Allow did not grant access

After 10 seconds, a pending request can show “Permission request timed out. Please try again or restart the app.” If Flow regains focus beforehand, it rechecks access and cancels that message.

  1. Click Allow again for the ungranted permission. For Microphone this opens System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone, even if you dismissed the first prompt without denying access; for Accessibility it requests the macOS prompt again rather than opening Settings.

  2. Grant access in the prompt or enable Wispr Flow in Settings.

  3. Restart Flow if retrying does not complete the request.

When the card advances to the next permission, the grant succeeded.

Continue reports a permission error

Continue rechecks access. A missing or revoked permission keeps you on the page with “Some permissions are not yet granted. Please grant all permissions to continue.”

  1. Grant the permission shown again on the page.

  2. Click Continue when it reappears to proceed.

If verification itself fails, Flow shows “Something went wrong verifying permissions. Please try again.” Click Continue again.

A permission message appears after startup

Flow also checks permissions after startup, so notifications may appear later rather than at launch.

  • Microphone Permission Required: “Flow needs microphone access to work.” Denied or restricted access automatically opens System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone. If macOS has not asked yet, Grant Permission opens the prompt first, then Settings if access is not granted.

  • Accessibility Permission Required: “Flow needs accessibility access to work properly.” Flow automatically opens System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility. The notification’s Open Settings action requests the macOS Accessibility prompt again.

Grant access in the prompt or enable Wispr Flow in the Settings pane, then finish “Grant permissions” above.

Still stuck?

Contact support if:

  • The installer fails or the .dmg will not open after re-downloading.

  • The menu bar icon remains missing after making room.

  • An error is not covered here, or permissions still fail after retrying and restarting.

When the Flow window is available, choose Talk to support (⌘/) from Flow’s menu bar menu. Include your macOS version, Apple Silicon or Intel chip, exact error text, and steps tried.