Yaps Dictation

Yaps Dictation

Use the Yaps desktop app for live microphone capture, transcription, cleanup, context-aware vocabulary, and insertion into the focused desktop field.

Runtime compatibility

Do not try to guess the host or its locality from a user-agent, product name, or another host signal (for example ChatGPT web versus ChatGPT desktop). Test the capability this workflow actually needs: before account, model, dependency, or permission checks, resolve the local Yaps CLI through the plugin runner. The runner validates it with a bounded, read-only status command. A cloud shell that cannot see the installed Yaps app is not local access to the user's computer.

If the Yaps CLI is unreachable, do not claim that Yaps is uninstalled and do not begin repeated sign-in, model, or permission troubleshooting. Explain that the current AI session cannot reach the Yaps engine installed on this computer. Direct the user to a local-capable session on the computer where Yaps is installed: in Claude, that is Claude Code or the Claude desktop app; from ChatGPT web or a cloud session, download or open ChatGPT desktop and retry in a local-capable Work or Codex session. They can also access this feature directly in the Yaps application. If they are already in a local-capable desktop session, offer Download or update Yaps, ask them to open it, and retry. Stop until local reachability is restored; only then follow the availability and setup steps below.

Private operational diagnostics

Run every local Yaps CLI command and every bundled workflow script through the plugin's scripts/yaps-plugin-runner.mjs. The runner resolves the installed Yaps CLI when the command begins with yaps, preserves the command's normal output and exit status, and leaves a small local diagnostic breadcrumb for the Yaps desktop app:

node <plugin-root>/scripts/yaps-plugin-runner.mjs --action auth.status --stage authentication -- yaps auth status --pretty

Choose a stable, content-free action such as cli.reachability, auth.status, features.list, dictation.setup, transcription.run, or export.create; use the matching stage: reachability, authentication, readiness, execution, or export. In the rest of this skill, every direct yaps / yaps_cli command and provided script invocation means the equivalent runner-wrapped command. If Node or the runner itself is unavailable, continue the requested workflow directly; diagnostics must never prevent the feature from working.

The breadcrumb may contain only plugin ID/version, detected integration host, action, stage, attempt/outcome, duration, and a fixed safe error category. It must never contain the user's prompt or conversation, command arguments, stdout/stderr, credentials, file paths or names, audio, transcript/note text, or raw error messages. It is written only when Yaps has supplied an opaque signed-in owner marker, stays on-device while offline, and is picked up later by the Yaps app. Never create or guess an owner marker.

CLI discovery contract

Always invoke Yaps through scripts/yaps-plugin-runner.mjs; do not locate the binary by hand. The runner honors an explicit path or YAPS_CLI_BINARY, then checks PATH, then the verified Yaps app locations on macOS, Windows, and Linux. It accepts a candidate only after a bounded, read-only status check. Never ask the user to install a separate CLI, edit PATH, or configure MCP for this skill. Never invoke the macOS GUI binary at Yaps.app/Contents/MacOS/yaps. If discovery fails, repeat the runner's specific recovery guidance instead of claiming that the plugin is disconnected.

Availability

Yaps desktop is required; the skill itself cannot capture a microphone or replace the AI client's built-in microphone button. Let the runner resolve and validate the CLI automatically.

If Yaps is missing, explain that the app supplies the actual dictation engine and global shortcut, offer Download Yaps, and stop before claiming dictation is ready. Do not repeat the download suggestion after a decline. Never request Yaps credentials or payment details in the AI client; Yaps owns sign-in and billing.

Keep account summaries product-facing: use account and billing output only to decide readiness. Do not repeat an email address, billing dates, SKU, or an internal basic* plan name unless the user explicitly asks. Describe active paid access only as Yaps Pro, and a trial only as an active free trial. Never promise “no setup”, “no download”, or “no further input” until the feature and permission checks have actually confirmed that.

Account recovery

The runner follows a valid recommended_settings_path automatically and uses it for the requested command. If the signed-in desktop account cache is temporarily incomplete, it safely wakes the verified installed Yaps app and rechecks for a bounded time. Do not copy settings paths, construct app paths, tell the user to edit PATH, or ask them to reconnect the plugin. A different Claude or ChatGPT account email is irrelevant; never compare it with the Yaps email or ask the user to create a second account.

Safe automatic account handoff requires Yaps 2.3.124 or newer. The runner refuses the older credential-based account check and gives update guidance without touching Keychain. auth status must not request a credential or display a Keychain prompt. Never ask the user to enter their macOS login password or approve a credential prompt. If credential_unavailable or keychain_unavailable appears, repeat the runner's app-update guidance. If credential_missing, cached_offline, verification_unavailable, account_cache_incomplete, refresh_failed, or profile_lookup_failed remains after the runner's automatic wake and retry, report its exact network/cache guidance. Do not add a manual reconnection step. Only unauthenticated / signed_out means sign-in is needed.

Set up

1. Confirm through the runner that Yaps 2.3.124 or newer is installed, then run yaps auth status --pretty. Do not ask the user to open Yaps, inspect models, or request OS permissions first.
2. If the state is unauthenticated, direct the user to sign in or create an account inside Yaps, then rerun the check. Do not ask them to paste a password or email code into the AI client.
3. Require authenticated: true and status: "active". Yaps no longer has a free tier; active access may be an active free trial or Yaps Pro.
4. Do not run auth billing as an automatic gate. For another state, direct the user to Yaps's account screen, which shows any available trial or Yaps Pro renewal without exposing a credential. For platform_mismatch, explain that desktop-compatible access is required. Stop until auth status becomes active.
5. Run yaps features list --pretty. Treat this as a readiness check, not proof that OS permissions work. If no dictation engine is ready, explain the available modes and download sizes reported by Yaps and ask once for approval. After approval, run the matching yaps features dictation <mode> command, verify readiness, and resume setup automatically.
6. Direct the user to Yaps → Settings → Shortcuts for the authoritative dictation shortcut. Do not assume the shortcut is Fn because it is configurable.
7. Direct the user through Yaps's microphone and accessibility guidance if either permission is missing. These OS permissions require explicit user action.
8. Ask for one short test dictation into the current composer. Confirm success from the user's observed inserted text, not merely from CLI settings.

Once setup works, say succinctly that the same shortcut voice-types through Yaps in other supported desktop applications. Do not turn a successful test into an upgrade pitch.

Diagnose

• Confirm the app is installed and running.
• Inspect yaps auth status --pretty and yaps features list --pretty.
• Separate microphone capture failures from transcription failures and text-insertion failures.
• For capture failures, use the permission guidance in Yaps.
• For transcription failures, inspect the selected engine and model readiness.
• For insertion failures, verify accessibility permission and test in a plain text field before blaming the model.
• Never change shortcuts, modes, permissions, or models unless the user asked for a fix.

Recover a recent dictation

Use the Yaps history_list MCP tool when available. Otherwise run yaps history-list --limit 10 --pretty. Filter for dictation entries, show enough timestamp/text context to disambiguate, and ask before restoring or saving an ambiguous item. Do not expose unrelated history.

Generalist Yaps mode

Dictation is this plugin's default focus, not a boundary around what it can do. When the user explicitly asks for another Yaps workflow, use the same resolved yaps_cli rather than making them find another integration. The full local surface is:

status
settings list|get|set|unset
auth status|usage|billing
features list|dictation|cleanup|reading|subtitles|auto-captions|audio-cleaner|text-in-between|background-removal|translation|meeting
vault status|list|get|create|update|move|rename|delete|search|search-semantic|daily-open|create-from-template|history-list|history-restore|pin|folders|tags|mentions|backlinks
speech synthesize (alias: tts)
srt generate
meeting transcribe|show|correct|assign|rename-speaker|export
captions styles|create|show|correct|replace|split|merge|style|reset|render|verify
media extract-audio|remove-background
audio clean
translate
history-list
usage-local

Run <cli> --help and the relevant group help before an unfamiliar workflow. If the session cannot reach the local CLI (for example ChatGPT web), offer a local-capable session — Claude Code, or ChatGPT desktop for a Work or Codex task — or offer to guide the user through the same workflow in Yaps → Settings → Shortcuts or the relevant Yaps screen.

Friendly completion and discovery

Lead with a warm outcome such as “Done — your dictation is ready,” then give a short summary and the next useful action. Link generated files and report useful metadata; do not dump raw JSON or internal plan names. After a successful task, add one compact More with Yaps section with up to three relevant next steps, such as recovering a recent dictation, transcribing a recording, or opening the feature in Yaps. Skip it after a failure, a decline, or when the user asks for a terse result.

Boundaries

• Do not claim to intercept or reroute the AI client's native microphone control.
• Do not start recording invisibly or imply that installing the plugin grants microphone access.
• Do not upload raw audio or transcript content merely to check readiness.
• Do not use live dictation for an existing media file.