Sonari

Dictionary & AI transforms ​

Two features shape your transcript before it lands. Both are optional, and both run entirely on your Mac.

Custom dictionary ​

The custom dictionary is a list of find-and-replace corrections that runs on every transcript, deterministically, whether or not AI is available.

Use it for stable mishearings: a name, a product, or an acronym the speech model gets wrong the same way every time. For example, teach it:

  • clod code → Claude Code
  • son are → Sonari

Edit the list in Settings.

What it's good for, and what it isn't:

  • ✅ Corrections that are always the same mistake → the same fix.
  • ❌ It can't restore words the model dropped entirely. There's nothing to match.
  • ❌ It isn't meant for ambiguous common words whose correct form depends on context (like their / there).

AI transforms ​

An AI transform is a named output style that rewrites your (dictionary-corrected) transcript. Sonari ships several: Off, Clean up, Email, Message, and List. You can add your own.

Exactly one transform is active at a time. Switch it from Settings or the menu-bar panel:

  • Off applies no AI. Your dictionary corrections still run, but nothing else touches the text.
  • Clean up fixes grammar and punctuation and removes filler words.
  • Email, Message, and List reshape the same words into that format.

On-device, no cloud fallback ​

Transforms run entirely on-device through Apple's Foundation Models (Apple Intelligence), which require macOS 26. On earlier macOS, or if Apple Intelligence isn't enabled, your transcript (with dictionary corrections applied) is inserted unchanged. There is no cloud fallback, ever; nothing is sent anywhere.

Everything else in Sonari (dictation and your custom dictionary) works on macOS 14+ without Apple Intelligence.