Sailvai Anchovy
Meetings stay on your Mac.
Notes write themselves.
Anchovy is a free, open-source app for Apple Silicon Macs. Hit Record, and it captures your mic plus the computer audio, transcribes and summarizes on-device, and saves a Markdown note next to the audio. No account. No minutes. No upload.
Free and open source (MIT) · Apple Silicon Macs · Audio never leaves your Mac
- 2026-09-26 14:1042:00 · Ready
- 2026-09-25 10:0231:15 · Ready
- 2026-09-24 16:4012:08 · Saved
- 2026-09-23 09:3028:44 · Needs models
2026-09-26 14:10
▶ audio.wav · note.md sits beside the audio
Summary
Shipped the local-first cut. Default models confirmed. Next: GitHub release.
Decisions
— Ship MIT, GitHub + App Store
— No cloud fallback
Action items
— Sign & notarize GitHub build
— Invite first users
Transcript
Kept in the same language as spoken…
One window. Two panes.
Nothing to babysit.
Left is recordings, newest first. Right is the selected note. Models and Settings replace the right pane — no extra windows.
Record mic + computer audio
Records the selected microphone plus what your Mac is playing. If computer audio is not allowed, records mic only and says so honestly.
Meeting nudge, not auto-record
When Zoom, Meet, or Teams starts and you are not recording, Anchovy asks once via notification + banner: Record or Not now. No silent recording.
Live source + size
Always shows the mic name and whether computer audio is recording, with elapsed time and file size updating as you record.
On-device notes
Summary, Decisions, Action items, and Transcript in one note.md, beside audio.wav. Title stays English; body keeps the spoken language.
Your folder, your tools
Point at an existing Obsidian vault or a new folder. Any Markdown reader works. No Obsidian plugin in this version.
Retry without drama
Every recording has a status: Saved, Needs models, Working, Ready, Failed. Failed explains why — out of memory, disk full, download cut — with Retry. Audio is always kept.
First open takes three steps.
Pick a notes folder
Default ~/Documents/Anchovy, or choose your Obsidian vault.
Allow mic + computer audio
Each permission says what it is for. Without computer audio, the other side of online calls is not recorded — and the app says so.
Download default models
Shows total size and progress. Choose Later and still record; notes wait until models arrive.
You pick the model. The app does the rest.
A curated recommendation list ships with the app. Download, load, and unload are handled locally. New small models arrive with app updates.
Runs speech first, unloads it, then runs summary — never both in memory. Comfortable on 16 GB; workable on 8 GB. Every future list entry is license-checked before it ships.
What Anchovy does
Same rule in both packages: no account, no upload. This version does not encrypt recordings or notes.
What this version does not do
- Silent auto-recording of meetings
- Always-on ambient recording
- Live captions or mind maps
- An Obsidian plugin
- Multi-track recording
- Speaker names stated as fact
- Intel Macs, iPhone, or Windows
Frequently asked questions
Which Macs are supported?
Apple Silicon Macs. Intel Macs are not in v1. 16 GB is comfortable; 8 GB works because the two models never load at the same time.
Does it join my meetings?
No. It records the mic and computer audio on your Mac. It never joins Zoom, Meet, or Teams and never adds a bot.
What if it misses a meeting starting?
Browser tabs or renamed windows can fool meeting detection. Manual Record always works and records the same way.
Why is the first download so big?
Local models are gigabytes. The app shows total size and progress, verifies files, and lets you defer the download — recording still saves audio.
Where do my notes live?
In the folder you choose, one subfolder per recording: note.md + audio.wav (or audio.m4a on Small quality). Regenerate asks before overwriting edits you made in Obsidian.
How much does it cost?
Free. MIT licensed. No transcription fees and no subscription for this app.
Get Sailvai Anchovy
Free and open source. Record on your Mac, keep the audio, take the Markdown with you.
Mac App Store build follows the same rule: no account, no upload.