Cleft on Mac is built for the keyboard. Hit a shortcut, talk for a minute, and your thought lands in your folder, your vault, or Notion before you’ve switched apps.Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://learn.cleftnotes.com/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
Global hotkey temporarily disabled. System-wide shortcuts are being refined and will return in a future update. For now, launch Cleft from Spotlight (⌘ + Space, type “Cleft”).
Start fast
Launch with Spotlight (⌘ + Space, “Cleft”), the Dock, or Launchpad.N— New voice note⌘ + N— New text noteShift + N— Continue last note⌘ + ⏎— Save note⌘ + R— Refresh⌘ + F— Find⌘ + /— Toggle filter⌘ + ,— Settings⌘ + .— Writing Style⌘ + W— Close window
Record a note
Hit N (or click +)
Press N with no note selected, click the + button, or pick File → New Voice Note from the menu bar.
What Mac is best at
Local folder sync (Plus)
Auto-export every note as Markdown to a folder on your Mac. Works with Obsidian, Bear, Logseq, or any vault.
Apple Shortcuts
Trigger Cleft from any Shortcut, Raycast command, or Alfred workflow.
Spotlight search
Cleft notes show up in system Spotlight. Find a thought from anywhere on your Mac.
Keyboard everything
Capture, edit, share, and send to Notion without touching the trackpad.
Mac moments worth stealing
Between meetings, before you forget
Hop out of a Zoom call, hit ⌘ + Space → “Cleft” → N, talk for 30 seconds while it’s fresh, ⌘ + ⏎ to save. The next meeting starts before the formatting finishes — and the note is waiting when you get back. Pair with Custom Instructions so post-meeting brain-dumps come back as decisions + follow-ups rather than a wall of text.Turn a meeting into a shareable summary
Record the meeting (or a recap right after), edit the summary with ⌘ + Shift + N, then:- ⌘ + Shift + S — Share via Mail, Messages, or any share-sheet app
- ⌘ + Shift + P — Generate a private link for collaborators
- Option + P — Push straight into Notion
- ⌘ + L — Add tags so it’s findable next quarter
Daily journal with append
One note per day, added to throughout. Use Shift + N to continue the last note instead of starting a new one — your morning intentions, midday wins, and evening reflection all stack into a single entry. Full setup in Daily Capture Routines and Appending to Notes.Sync everything to your Markdown vault
Plus subscribers can point Cleft at a folder on disk. Anything you record on Mac, iPhone, or Apple Watch lands there as Markdown — formatted, tagged, and timestamped.- Set it up: Settings → Integrations → Local Folder
- Obsidian-specific: Obsidian integration
- Other vaults: Exporting Notes
Automate the boring parts
Apple Shortcuts and App Intents expose Cleft’s actions to the rest of macOS. Some starting points:- Raycast / Alfred: Map a hotkey to “Start a Cleft voice note” so capture is one keystroke from anywhere.
- Calendar trigger: Auto-create a “Meeting prep” note 5 minutes before each calendar event.
- End-of-day: A Shortcut that copies today’s notes into your daily review doc.
Pull a thought back via Spotlight
Forgot which note had the quote you wanted? ⌘ + Space, type a phrase, and Cleft notes appear alongside Mail and Files. Click through and Cleft opens directly to that note.All keyboard shortcuts
Recording and notes
- N — New voice note (no note selected)
- ⌘ + N — New text note
- Shift + N — Continue last note
- ⌘ + Shift + N — Edit summary
- ⌘ + E — Toggle read/edit
- ⌘ + ⏎ — Save note
- ⌘ + T — Toggle summary / transcript
- C — Copy note (no note selected)
- ⌘ + R — Refresh
- Space — Pause / resume while recording
- Esc — Cancel recording
Editing
- ⌘ + B — Bold
- ⌘ + I — Italic
- ⌘ + K — Insert link
Sharing and tags
- ⌘ + Shift + S — Share note
- ⌘ + Shift + P — Share private link
- Option + P — Send to Notion
- ⌘ + L — Add tags
Filters
- ⌘ + / — Toggle filter
- ⌘ + Shift + [ — Previous filter
- ⌘ + Shift + ] — Next filter
View
- ⌘ + + — Zoom in
- ⌘ + − — Zoom out
- ⌘ + 0 — Actual size
Window
- ⌘ + M — Minimize
- ⌘ + Control + F — Full screen
- ⌘ + W — Close window
- ⌘ + Q — Quit Cleft
Window behaviour
Cleft uses one main window. Settings (⌘ + ,) and Writing Style (⌘ + .) open in their own windows so you can keep them visible while you work. ⌘ + W closes the window without quitting — Cleft stays in your Dock. Bring it back from the Dock, ⌘ + Tab, or Window → Notes in the menu bar.Audio
Input devices
Input devices
Pick your mic from the recording controls:
- Built-in microphone — works out of the box
- External USB mic — for studio-quality input
- AirPods and Bluetooth headsets — paired devices switch in automatically
Permissions
Permissions
macOS asks for microphone access the first time you record. If recording fails:
- Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone
- Make sure Cleft is allowed
- Restart Cleft after granting access
Appearance
Cleft follows your macOS appearance — Light, Dark, or Auto. Change it in System Settings → Appearance.Troubleshooting
Related guides
- Recording Voice Notes — mic technique, languages, recording length
- Custom Instructions — shape how Cleft formats your notes
- Keyboard Shortcuts — every shortcut across every platform
- Obsidian Integration — Mac-only Markdown vault sync
- Apple Shortcuts — automate Cleft from anywhere on your Mac
- iOS — the pocket sibling, where most capture happens
- iPadOS — what changes when you move to a tablet