Install
Paxhint is coming to the Mac App Store. Once it is installed, open it from Applications: its icon, a speech bubble with a check mark, appears in the menu bar.
Can't find the icon? On a MacBook with a notch it may be hidden behind it. Hold Command and drag a few other menu bar icons out of the bar to make room.
Connect to a server
Until a server is set up, the menu shows Connect to a server… instead of the Fast and Thorough switch. Click it, paste your Anthropic API key, or type the address of any server that speaks the Anthropic API, such as a proxy (without /v1), and press Return. For a local proxy the key is optional. Paxhint fetches the server's list of models; under Answer model pick one for Fast and one for Thorough. Start works without a server; only answers need one.
Microphone permission
If the menu says No microphone access, click the button under the status, or open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone and turn on Paxhint.
Screen & System Audio Recording permission
Paxhint needs it to hear the call audio played by your meeting app. If the menu says No screen recording access, open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen & System Audio Recording, turn on Paxhint, then quit Paxhint and open it again. macOS applies this permission only after a restart of the app.
Already on, but still no access? Turn the switch off and on again, then reopen Paxhint.
“Can't hear the interviewer”
The menu shows this after five seconds of silence on the interviewer's channel. Check that the call audio plays on this Mac, not on a phone or another device, and that the Screen & System Audio Recording permission is on. Use headphones, so the microphone does not pick up the interviewer from the speakers.
The first start takes a while
On first run Paxhint downloads the speech model, about 630 MB, and prepares it for the Neural Engine. This takes a few minutes and the menu shows a progress bar. Later starts take seconds.
Before an important call
Join your meeting from a second device, share your whole screen and check that the Paxhint panel does not appear on the other side. Remember that the menu bar icon is visible when you share the whole screen; share one window or tab if that matters to you.
Coming from AceIt
Paxhint was called AceIt up to version 1.0.0. Your settings, profiles and API key move over on first launch. macOS may ask once for access to the old Keychain item: click Always Allow. You can then delete AceIt from Applications.
What to send with a question
Your Paxhint version (shown next to the name in the menu), your macOS version, the meeting app you use, and what the status in the menu says. Settings… → Diagnostics shows the levels of both channels and the permission status.