ONE FREE, OPEN-SOURCE MAC APP

Speak. Explain. Present.
Keep your flow.

Dictation, reading, annotation and a stage for your phone. One app, a small menu bar companion, and keys that become second nature.

Built for real workflows.

A note. A quick explanation.
A live mobile demo.
Start with the thing you do every day.

Take the 10-minute trial

Everyday tools. One home.

Free · MIT licensed · macOS 14+ · Apple Silicon

VOICE + STAGEMARK, TOGETHER

Workbench Preview

Open the app to explore. Use the menu bar or your own shortcuts when you are in the middle of something.

Dictate

Speak, review and reuse your words. Built-in local recognition or your own compatible local server.

Read aloud

Hear a draft or save it as audio. Mac voices are included; optional Speko TTS can route automatically or use a selected compatible voice.

Annotate

Draw over a screen, explain on a board, or give the room a short break.

Present

Frame a mobile demo with a saved scene. Open QuickTime or iPhone Mirroring when that suits the job.

Get Workbench Preview ↓What’s in this Preview ↗

English dictation · no account needed for the tools · early access

Built for your Mac.Check Apple menu → About This Mac for an Apple M-series chip. Intel and Windows are not supported by this combined Preview. iPhone Mirroring requires a supported Mac, iPhone and region.

A SMALL TOOL, IN THE MOMENT

Draw attention. Then get out of the way.

A nine-second illustrated example.
Made-up content, with no sound.

A circle and arrow highlight the next step in a demo, then disappear so the conversation can continue. This is an illustration of the workflow, not a recording of the app.

01 / GET SET UP

One download.
Four useful starting points.

You do not need Xcode, a terminal or a developer account to use the Mac download. The iPhone and iPad Preview is in internal TestFlight testing, with public App Store review still pending. Explore the photo-to-Mac handoff in the provisioned Preview.

A Preview you can help shape.

This Preview is Developer ID signed, notarized by Apple and checked after packaging. It remains a Preview: read the release notes for remaining hardware and first-use checks.

About opening your download →

Workbench 2.0 Preview 4

Download for Mac ↓

Unzip and move Workbench Preview.app into your home folder’s Applications folder (~/Applications). In Finder, choose Go → Home and create that folder if needed. Quit older Workbench editions before testing the same shortcuts.
Open Workbench and choose Dictate, Read aloud, Annotate or Present a device. The built-in speech model prepares on first launch; its download can take a few minutes.
Try Keyboard to see your keys, change a combination and practise without activating a tool.

Your earlier Voice and StageMark data stays in place. Workbench imports a separate copy for this Preview. Future Preview updates keep that copy.

Download checksum

Want to introduce yourself? Inside Workbench, “Say hello to Ethan and Matt” opens an editable draft in your email app. It is optional, and you choose whether to send.

Connect dictation to Apple Shortcuts

Add Record Audio → Transcribe with Workbench → Create Note, or another text action. Apple owns recording and its Stop button. Workbench uses your selected speech engine and returns text.

Changing a model does not require rebuilding your workflow. Some local servers choose their model at startup; check your server’s instructions.

Share a mobile demo

Open Present a device for saved scenes and a USB device presentation. A USB iPhone must be connected, unlocked and trusted. Availability depends on the device and macOS.

iPhone Mirroring opens Apple’s separate app and uses a nearby locked iPhone on supported systems. Share that app window directly in your meeting. QuickTime also opens separately. Workbench does not embed or control either Apple app.

Opening your download

Use the linked GitHub Preview release and its checksum. Read its signing, notarisation and testing notes before opening.

Microphone access is requested when you start dictation. Accessibility is optional for automatic paste. Camera access is used only when you choose device capture. Drawing overlays alone do not need Screen Recording access.

If macOS reports a damaged or unsafe app, stop and report the exact message. Apple’s opening guidance explains the normal checks. A managed work Mac may need your IT team’s approval.

Updates and your data

To update, quit Workbench Preview and replace it with the next Preview download. There is no automatic updater yet. Saved text, scenes and settings live outside the application and survive replacement.

Removing the app does not remove its saved data. This Preview stores it under ~/Library/Application Support/Workbench Preview. Original Voice and StageMark files remain in their previous locations.

Built-in speech runs locally after model download. A local server may forward audio if you configure it that way. Optional Speko reading sends your selected text to its service. See privacy details.

02 / USE IT BEFORE YOU FIX IT

Ten minutes. One honest observation.

Use a blank note or a made-up demo.
Notice what you expected to happen.

Turn a thought
into a useful note.

Keep this page beside the installed app. The checks below track your trial; they do not control your microphone.

Record a speech observation →

Capture without preparing a perfect sentence.Open a blank TextEdit document. Dictate: “Bring the blue notebook tomorrow. Actually, bring the green one.” Stop and read what came back. Was the result faithful?Recover and reuse the original.Open Recent transcripts, choose a capture, then Original. Compare it with the cleaned text. Copy the capture into TextEdit. Could you find each action without hunting?Try the handoff.If you want automatic paste, enable it and grant Accessibility. Start from your blank TextEdit field using the shortcut shown in Keyboard. If delivery falls back to copying, is the explanation clear?Listen to what you wrote.Use Read aloud, then pause and resume. What interrupted your flow? Record one observation below—even if everything worked.

Explain something.
Keep your flow.

Open a blank slide or a harmless demo. Try Workbench’s Annotate tools, then return here with one thing you noticed.

Record a presentation observation →

Point out one thing.Choose Draw on screen and draw a circle. Press Escape to return to the underlying app. Try Undo, then Clear. Did entering and leaving drawing feel predictable?Keep a thought on a board.Open Whiteboard, draw a simple diagram, then press Escape. Reopen Whiteboard. Is your drawing there? Was it clear that Escape hides rather than deletes?Run a short break.Open the timer, start it, pause, close its window and reopen it. Are the state and remaining time easy to understand?Check the audience’s view, if you can.Share your entire display with a second device or person. Ask what they can see. If you cannot test this, leave it unchecked—local visibility is not audience verification.

Your trial progress stays on this page only.

03 / TELL US WHAT YOU NOTICED

“I expected…”
is a contribution.

You do not need to diagnose the code. Describe the moment, what you expected, and what actually happened.

Drafted only in this page’s memory. Copy it before closing. Nothing is submitted automatically. Opening GitHub sends the draft there for your review; posting requires a GitHub account.

Read the contributor guide →

04 / MAKE A SMALL THING BETTER

Bring your curiosity.
Or your coding agent.

Start with something you actually noticed. A clear bug report, a better instruction or a small interface improvement all count.

Read the contributor guide →

JavaScript is needed for the interactive trial and report builder. Downloads and guides still work. To hand off to an agent, share the contributor guide above and ask it to read CONTRIBUTING.md, choose a scoped issue, verify the native workflow, and open a tested PR.

Workbench starter issuesSetup, accessibility and everyday dictation Earlier StageMark discussionsPresenting, controls and real-world testing Improve this websiteApp and website share one source repository

Speak. Explain. Present.Keep your flow.