Requirements
Can your Mac run Shelf?
Here is exactly what Shelf supports.
No guessing, no compatibility maze.
Shelf runs on macOS 14 and later, on Apple Silicon and Intel Macs. It is free and needs no account.
01 · The list
What Shelf needs.
02 · Permissions
What macOS will ask you.
Each permission powers one feature, can be refused, and can be revoked later in System Settings → Privacy & Security. The related feature stops. Everything else keeps working.
- Screen Recording
- For capturing screenshots.
- Accessibility
- For snippet triggers as you type. Password and secure fields are always ignored.
- Speech Recognition
- For on-device transcription of audio and video.
- Folder access
- Asked once for the folder your screenshots are saved to, usually the Desktop.
03 · Hardware
What changes with your Mac.
Shelf's understanding runs on device, using Apple's frameworks. Newer Apple Silicon Macs generally get through reading and transcription faster than older Intel Macs, and a larger library takes longer to process than a small one.
No specific timing is promised here, because it depends on your Mac and what you keep.
Not sure which Mac you have?
Apple menu → About This Mac shows your macOS version and your chip.
Stated plainly
Current limitations
- macOS only
- There is no iPhone, iPad or Windows version today.
- Older macOS is not supported
- Shelf relies on frameworks in macOS 14 and later, so earlier versions cannot run it.
- Transcription depends on macOS support
- On-device speech recognition needs to be available for your language on your Mac. Shelf will not send audio to a server instead.
Requirements should be a short list. Not a support article.
If your Mac is on macOS 14, you're set.
Download Shelf and keep the next thing you find.
Free. macOS 14 and later, Apple Silicon and Intel. No account.
Keep reading
Related pages
Shelf V3 is out now
Shelf V3 is the current build. Shelf does not use automatic updates, so download the latest build here and install it over your current version.
This is intentional. Shelf is built around a local-first, privacy-focused philosophy. An automatic updater requires additional background processes, network connections, update infrastructure, and another system with permission to modify the app. We prefer to keep Shelf’s network footprint and background activity as small as possible.
Manual updates keep the process explicit: Shelf only checks the internet when a feature actually needs it, and you decide when a new version is downloaded and installed.