A minimal macOS menubar app that records your voice and plays it back with a configurable delay.
- Record audio by pressing and holding a keyboard shortcut
- Playback with configurable delay (0-5 seconds)
- Customizable keyboard shortcuts
- Visual recording indicator
- Menubar-only interface (no dock icon)
- macOS 14.0+
- Xcode 15.0+
- Clone the repository:
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/EchoX.git
cd EchoX- Open the project in Xcode:
open EchoX.xcodeproj- Build and run (⌘R)
EchoX requires two permissions to function:
-
Microphone Access - Required for recording audio
- Grant when prompted on first launch
- Or enable in: System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone
-
Accessibility Access - Required for global keyboard shortcuts
- Enable in: System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility
- Add EchoX and toggle it on
Check permission status in the app's Settings window.
- Launch EchoX (waveform icon appears in menubar)
- Press and hold your shortcut key (default: Option+G)
- Speak while holding the shortcut
- Release to stop recording
- Audio plays back after the configured delay
Click the menubar icon → Settings to configure:
- Playback Delay - Time between recording and playback (0-5s)
- Keyboard Shortcut - Click to record a new shortcut
- Audio Input - Select your microphone device
- Permissions - Check and enable required permissions
EchoX does not have a traditional window or dock icon. After launching, look for the waveform icon in your menubar (top-right corner of your screen). Click this icon to access Settings and other options.
Both Microphone and Accessibility permissions must be granted for EchoX to work properly:
- Microphone - Required for audio recording
- Accessibility - Required for global keyboard shortcuts to function
You can verify both permissions are granted in the Settings window (menubar icon → Settings).
If the app shows "Accessibility: Denied" even after you have added EchoX to the Accessibility list in System Settings:
- Quit EchoX completely
- Verify EchoX is checked/enabled in: System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility
- Relaunch EchoX
The app should automatically restart when permission is granted, but a manual restart may be needed if the permission state is not updating correctly.
- Shortcuts not working - Verify Accessibility permission is granted
- No audio recording - Verify Microphone permission is granted
- Can't find the app - Look for the waveform icon in the menubar (top-right)
- Shortcut: cmd + shift + Z [configurable in settings]
- Delay: 0.5 seconds
- Audio: System default microphone
If you have any issues - create an issue on github so I can take a look at it.
Please ⭐️ the repo if you like it and if it's useful.
If EchoX is useful to you, consider supporting its development:
MIT