Desktop App
Native companion app for automatic meeting detection, high-fidelity audio capture, and system tray integration.
The Dial8 desktop app is a native companion that enhances the web experience with capabilities that require system-level access — audio recording, meeting detection, and local calendar integration.
Overview
The desktop app wraps the Dial8 web application in a native window and adds:
- Automatic meeting detection — Knows when you join a video/audio call
- Dual-stream audio recording — Captures microphone and system audio separately
- Live transcription — Real-time transcript powered by Deepgram
- System tray — Shows upcoming meetings with countdown
- Local calendar access — Reads Exchange calendars from macOS Calendar.app
The full Dial8 UI runs inside the app — everything you can do on the web works identically in the desktop app, plus the native features above.
Installation
- Download the desktop app from dial8.ai
- Open the
.dmgand drag Dial8 to your Applications folder - Launch and sign in with your existing Dial8 account
Permissions
On first launch, the app will request:
| Permission | Why |
|---|---|
| Screen Capture | Required for system audio recording |
| Microphone | Required for voice recording |
| Speech Recognition | Optional, for enhanced transcription |
| Calendar | Optional, for local Exchange calendar access |
Grant permissions in System Settings → Privacy & Security if prompted.
Requirements
- macOS 13.0 or later
- Apple Silicon or Intel Mac
Meeting Detection
The desktop app monitors which applications are using the microphone to detect when you've joined a meeting.
Supported Apps
Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Slack Huddles, and other audio/video conferencing apps are detected automatically.
How It Works
- Monitoring — The app periodically checks which apps are using the microphone
- Detection — When a conferencing app starts using the mic for more than 5 seconds, a meeting is detected
- Recording — If auto-record is enabled, recording starts automatically. Otherwise, you'll see a notification with the option to start recording
- End detection — When the conferencing app stops using the mic for ~60 seconds, the meeting is considered ended
Configuration
- Enable/disable meeting detection
- Auto-record — Automatically start recording when a meeting is detected
- Configure detection thresholds if needed
Audio Recording
Dual-Stream Capture
The app records two separate audio streams:
- Microphone — Your voice from the selected input device
- System audio — What's coming through your speakers (other participants, shared audio)
This separation produces better transcription results because each speaker's audio is cleaner.
Audio Levels
Real-time audio level meters show you that recording is working, with ~10Hz updates for both microphone and system audio.
Controls
- Start / Stop recording
- Pause / Resume during a recording
- Select your preferred input device
Sleep Prevention
While recording, the app prevents your Mac from going to sleep to avoid interrupted captures.
System Tray
The system tray icon shows:
- Next meeting title and countdown timer
- Today's remaining meetings in the dropdown
- Tomorrow's meetings for planning ahead
- Quick actions: Open Dial8, Settings, Quit
Calendar data refreshes every 5 minutes.
Local Calendar Integration
Access Exchange/Outlook calendars stored in macOS Calendar.app:
- Read events with attendees, locations, and conference URLs
- Create, update, and delete events
- Sync with the Dial8 calendar view
This is useful when your organization uses Exchange and you want calendar data without connecting via Microsoft OAuth.
Authentication
The desktop app uses the same account as the web app. OAuth flows (Google, Microsoft) open in your system browser and redirect back to the app automatically.