Questions, answered.
Short answers for the first dictation and the things that can get in its way. No ticket queue, no chatbot.
The first five minutes.
Windows 10/11 · x64 · v0.2.0
Download and run
The installer includes the F16 model. No separate download, no account.
Install for your user
No administrator prompt. If SmartScreen warns, verify the SHA-256 first.
Hold Right Ctrl
Speak, release, and the words appear at the cursor in the app you are using.
The usual suspects.
Four checks that solve most first-run problems. None of them require a network connection.
SmartScreen warned
The installer is unsigned. Check the SHA-256, then choose More info → Run anyway if it matches.
No words appeared
Click into a text field first. Check Paste at the cursor in Settings → Dictation.
The wrong microphone
Settings → Audio. Pick the device and use the four-second level check.
The key didn’t start a take
Another app may own that key. Try a different preset in Settings → Dictation.
From install to first transcript.
If a question is not here, the GitHub issue tracker is the right place to ask. Include your Windows version and the Draft version.
Installing
The installer, the warning, and what ends up on disk.
Windows says it protected my PC.
The 0.2.0 installer is not code-signed yet, so SmartScreen may show a warning. If you trust the download and the SHA-256 on the download page matches, choose More info, then Run anyway. If you would rather not bypass the warning, build from source instead.
Do I need to download the model separately?
No. The Windows release installer includes the F16 Whisper large-v3-turbo model. There is no separate model download for the released installer. A build from source without the bundled model can fetch it once with
draftctl model install.Where does Draft install?
Under
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Draft, for your Windows user only. There is no administrator prompt. The Start Menu entry is created during setup, and the desktop shortcut is optional in the installer.Does it work offline?
Yes. Dictation does not use the network. The model is local, the inference is local, and the app makes no telemetry or update requests. The only disclosed exception is the one-time model download when you build from source without it.
How do I uninstall Draft?
Use Windows Settings → Apps → Draft, or the uninstall entry created by the installer. Uninstalling removes the app and shortcuts but keeps your settings, logs, history, and model under
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Draft4. Delete that folder separately if you want to remove the data too.Dictating
Keys, microphones, paste, and the optional live preview.
How do I dictate?
Hold Right Ctrl, speak, then release. The finished transcript is inserted at the cursor. Press Esc while recording to cancel the take.
How do I change the dictation key?
Open Settings → Dictation and choose one of the six presets: Right Ctrl (the default), Right Alt, F8, F9, Pause, or Scroll Lock.
Can I see words while I speak?
Yes, with Live preview in Settings → Dictation. It is off by default because each preview is another full pass on the GPU. The final transcript always comes from the complete clip.
Why isn’t the text pasting at my cursor?
Check Paste at the cursor in Settings → Dictation. Draft applies this setting per dictation, so a change takes effect without restarting. Make sure the cursor is inside a text field before you release the key.
How do I choose or test my microphone?
Settings → Audio lists your microphones and includes a four-second level check. If a saved device disappears, Draft falls back to the system default instead of failing silently.
Does Draft start when I sign in?
By default it starts in the tray at sign-in. You can turn that off under Settings → Dictation → Start at sign-in. The tray menu has Show, Hide, Paste last, and Quit.
Data and privacy
What is local, what is kept, and how to remove it.
Where does Draft keep my data?
Everything lives under
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Draft4: settings, logs, the model, and history.json. Nothing in that folder is synced. The privacy page lists each file and what it contains.Does Draft upload my audio?
No. Audio is captured only while the dictation key is held, transcribed on this machine, and discarded. There is no account and no cloud transcription.
How do I clear my local history?
Settings → Privacy → Local history → Clear. The store contains text and duration only; audio is never in it. The in-app History pane is not built in 0.2.0, but the bounded store and the
draftctl history commands exist.Is there telemetry or crash reporting?
No. Draft has no telemetry, analytics, crash reporting, or update pings. The app does not check for a new version behind your back.
Does uninstalling remove my history and model?
No. Uninstall removes the app and shortcuts, not your data. Delete
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Draft4 if you want the settings, logs, history, and model gone as well.This release
What 0.2.0 does not claim, and what comes next.
Why is there no accuracy number on this site?
Real-speech WER parity with the previous generation is still being measured. It is an open release gate, so Draft makes no accuracy claim ahead of it. The speed numbers shown are measured decode times, not an accuracy claim.
Why isn’t there a History screen?
It is not built yet. The bounded text-only history store and the
draftctl history commands are available today. A pane with search, copy, delete, clear, and retention controls is future work.How do updates work?
Manually. Download the newer installer from GitHub Releases and run it. Your settings and history stay under Draft4. There is no in-app updater in 0.2.0.
Does Draft run on macOS or Linux?
Not yet. Windows 10/11 x64 is the only supported target in 0.2.0. macOS and Linux shells are future work, not a download you can install today.
Why does the app feel early?
Because it is. Draft 0.2.0 is the first Windows build of a new Rust codebase, labelled as an early release. The core dictation loop, local model, settings, HUD, tray, and per-user installer work. Several secondary panes and gates are still open, and the site lists them plainly.
Report it in the open.
Draft is developed in public. Search the existing issues first, then open a new one with the details that let someone reproduce it.
- Your Windows version and Draft version
- Whether the backend is Vulkan or CPU, shown in Settings → Recognition
- What you did, what happened, and what you expected
- A screenshot, if it helps, but never a private transcript