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Troubleshooting

Read any banner at the top of the desktop app's window first: it reports hotkey and paste problems about 4 seconds after start.

If you use a coding agent on Linux, it can work through this for you with the troubleshooting skill.

Desktop

The hotkey does nothing

  1. Linux: your user isn't in the input group. The banner says the hotkey is off. Run sudo usermod -aG input $USER, then log out and back in. Until then, use the Talk button or middle-click the tray icon.
  2. Your keyboard doesn't have that key. The default is F14, which most keyboards lack. Set another in Settings.
  3. Another app reacts to the same key. Hebrish reads keys without taking them, so the key also reaches the app you're in. Pick one nothing else uses.
  4. The hotkey is a modifier, such as Right Ctrl. Pressing another key while holding it cancels the take, so Right Ctrl+C stays a shortcut.

The text doesn't appear

  1. On the Voice Typing tab, check that At the cursor is on. Clipboard and This window alone don't paste.
  2. Linux: a banner says transcripts go to the clipboard only. Hebrish can't press the paste keys. Log out and back in, then restart the app. On an AppImage, add the rule shown in Other Linux. If the package's rule file is missing: sudo apt install --reinstall hebrish.
  3. In a terminal, set Paste shortcut to ctrl+shift+v.
  4. Keep your cursor in the window until the text arrives. The paste goes to whichever window has focus at that moment.

The take isn't lost: it's in History, and Paste last transcription puts it in again. A Hebrew keyboard layout isn't a cause, because Hebrish pastes rather than types.

No microphone, or the level stays flat

  1. On the Voice Typing tab, pick the real mic in the Microphone card, rescan if needed, and use Test mic. The meter should reach the good zone when you speak.
  2. Check that the system sees the mic and that it isn't muted in your sound settings.
  3. A short take inserts nothing: Voice detection skips takes it judges silent. Raise the input level, or turn Voice detection off to test.

A model won't download

  • Not enough disk space: free some, or choose another folder under Where the models are stored.
  • A size or checksum error means the transfer was cut off or corrupted. Try again. The partial file isn't used.
  • Network errors: check that a proxy or firewall isn't blocking cdn.hebrish.app, then try again.

There's no tray icon

KDE shows it natively, and Ubuntu's GNOME shows it through its AppIndicator extension, on by default. On stock GNOME without that extension there's no tray. Closing the window leaves the app running, so start it again from the app menu to get the window back.

APT errors on Ubuntu

The package is built for Ubuntu 26.04 on amd64. On other releases, use the AppImage. The full list of APT errors and fixes is in the troubleshooting skill.

Benchmark this computer

To see how fast Hebrish runs here, open Diagnostics → Benchmarks…. It measures transcription speed, memory and CPU load on the reference file (the first Hebrish podcast episode, so your result compares directly with other computers), any audio file, or a recording. Only the figures are saved. Ubuntu 1.025 and later; not in the Windows build yet

Android

The floating mic's switch is greyed out

Android 13 and newer restrict apps installed from outside a store. Follow Turn it on.

The floating mic disappears

The phone stopped it to save battery. Let it run unrestricted.

The text didn't go in

Some web pages and custom editors refuse it. Hebrish holds the text: tap a field, then Insert on the floating mic or Insert last on the voice keyboard. With the floating mic it's on the clipboard too.

The first take is slow to start

The speech model is about 700 MB and is freed from memory when you're not using it, including when the screen turns off. It reloads when you focus a text field or start a take, which can take a few seconds.

It recorded from a different mic

Android decides in the end. If it gives Hebrish another mic, a message names both. Check that the mic is connected, then pick it with the mic name while dictating or rank it under Sound, microphone and buttons.

A Bluetooth remote doesn't work

Buttons need the floating mic on. See Buttons and automation.

Words come out wrong

  • Words appear when you aren't speaking, or quiet speech goes missing: change the Noise filter on desktop or Android.
  • Check the mic level and try a different model. See Choose a model.
  • For a name or term you use often, add it to the Dictionary.
  • For a Hebrew word it keeps missing, send the word.

Still stuck

Send a bug report through /feedback. Say which app and version you use (it's at the bottom of the window or home screen) and what you've already tried. Please don't include anything private from your transcripts.