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Install and uninstall Dictivo on Mac and Windows

Reference facts about the ways to install the Dictivo desktop app, how each one gets updates, and how to remove the app and the data it leaves behind.

Last updated

Applies to: Dictivo 0.3.57 on macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel) and Windows x64. Read from the app's source and the published app by the Dictivo team on 10 November 2026.

Short answer

On a Mac, install Dictivo from the disk image or with brew install --cask deepviewsdev/tap/dictivo. Both give the same signed and notarized app. On Windows x64, run the EXE or the MSI; the installer is not Authenticode-signed. To uninstall, move the app to the Trash or use Homebrew; on Windows, use Settings › Apps. Your settings, license files and models stay until you delete them.

Windows installer warnings · Set up your first local dictation

Install paths at a glance

The four ways to install Dictivo and how each one gets updates
Path Command or file Updates
Mac disk image Dictivo_<version>_universal.dmg from dictivo.app The app updates itself.
Homebrew cask The cask deepviewsdev/tap/dictivo The app updates itself. A Homebrew upgrade also works.
Windows EXE (per-user) The .exe installer from dictivo.app The app updates itself with the EXE installer.
Windows MSI The .msi installer from dictivo.app In-app updates use the EXE installer.

Mac: disk image

The Mac download is one universal app for Apple Silicon and Intel Macs. It is signed with an Apple Developer ID and notarized by Apple.

To install it:

  1. Download Dictivo for Mac from dictivo.app.
  2. Open the downloaded disk image (DMG).
  3. Drag Dictivo into Applications.
  4. Open Dictivo from Applications, not from the disk image.

Start at login needs Dictivo in Applications. If you turn it on while Dictivo runs from the disk image, the app asks you to move it to Applications first.

How the installers are signed · System requirements

Mac: Homebrew

Dictivo has its own Homebrew tap. The cask installs the same signed and notarized universal disk image as the download button on dictivo.app. It downloads the file from downloads.dictivo.app and checks its SHA-256 checksum.

To install it:

  1. Open Terminal.
  2. Run brew install --cask deepviewsdev/tap/dictivo.
  3. Open Dictivo from Applications.

Homebrew 6 and later trust a third-party tap only when you ask. Installing by the full name above trusts only this cask, not the whole tap.

Dictivo updates itself, also after a Homebrew install. Running brew upgrade --cask dictivo also works.

The Dictivo Homebrew tap

Windows: EXE or MSI

The Windows download is an x64 installer, as an EXE or an MSI. There is no ARM build.

The installer is not Authenticode-signed. SmartScreen or Microsoft Edge may warn before you run it.

To install it:

  1. Download the Windows EXE from dictivo.app.
  2. Run it. The EXE installs Dictivo for your user account only.
  3. Open Dictivo.

The MSI is an alternative installation format. It is not a way around a Windows warning or block. In-app updates install the EXE version.

If Windows warns about the installer or blocks it, use the Windows installation guide. It explains each warning and what to check before you decide.

Windows installer warnings and blocks

After installing

Open Dictivo and choose Set up Local. This starts the 14-day Local trial, with no account and no card.

Dictivo recommends a speech model for your hardware. Choose Download & set up. The first model download needs an internet connection.

On a Mac, allow the microphone when macOS asks. Accessibility and Auto paste let Dictivo paste the transcript into other apps.

The macOS permissions Dictivo asks for · Set up your first local dictation

Uninstall on a Mac

Removing the app leaves your settings, license files, history and downloaded models on the Mac. They are in these folders:

  1. Optional: in Settings › Account & Billing, click Remove license from this device. This frees one of your 3 device activations.
  2. Quit Dictivo.
  3. Drag Dictivo from Applications to the Trash. If you installed it with Homebrew, run brew uninstall --cask dictivo instead.
  4. To remove the folders above too: with Homebrew, run brew uninstall --zap --cask dictivo. It removes the app and moves the five folders to the Trash. Without Homebrew, delete the folders in Finder.
  5. Open Keychain Access, search for com.dictivo.desktop and delete the items it finds.

The Keychain items named com.dictivo.desktop hold backup copies of your licenses, the trial record and this device's id, so a reinstall can restore them. Homebrew's zap does not remove them. Delete the folders first: while the files exist, Dictivo writes the copies again at the next launch.

Settings › Privacy › Where your data lives on this device lists the folders Dictivo uses on your Mac.

Uninstall on Windows

Uninstalling removes the app. Your data stays in these places until you delete it:

  1. Optional: in Settings › Account & Billing, click Remove license from this device. This frees one of your 3 device activations.
  2. Quit Dictivo.
  3. Open Start › Settings › Apps › Installed apps.
  4. Find Dictivo, click More (…), then Uninstall.
  5. To leave nothing behind, delete the Dictivo folder and the com.dictivo.desktop settings folder, then remove the Credential Manager entries.

If you installed with the EXE, its uninstaller also removes Dictivo's Start at login entry and its switch in Startup apps.

Settings › Privacy › Where your data lives on this device lists the folders Dictivo uses on your computer.

Check a download

Every Dictivo installer is also published on GitHub, in the deepviewsdev/dictivo-releases repository. Each release there has the same DMG, EXE and MSI files as dictivo.app, and a SHA256SUMS file. The repository holds installers and release notes only. The app's source code is not public.

To check a file you downloaded from dictivo.app or from GitHub:

  1. On a Mac, open Terminal and run shasum -a 256 followed by the path of the file.
  2. On Windows, open PowerShell and run Get-FileHash followed by the path of the file.
  3. Compare the result with the line for that file in the SHA256SUMS file of the same version on GitHub.

A matching checksum shows that the file is the one Dictivo published. It does not make the Windows installer signed.

Dictivo releases on GitHub · How the installers are signed

All Dictivo docs

Test the task you actually do

Try all Local models for 14 days without a card or Dictivo account. Download a model, dictate a short email or note, then check the text in the app you normally use. Compare the same sentence and workflow before switching.

Download for Mac Download for Windows Review pricing and trial terms

Try your first sentence →

Windows x64. The installer is not yet code-signed; verify the download source before deciding whether to proceed.

Questions

Is the Homebrew version the same app as the download?

Yes. The cask downloads the same universal disk image from downloads.dictivo.app and checks its SHA-256 checksum. It is the same signed and notarized app.

Does Homebrew update Dictivo?

Dictivo updates itself, also after a Homebrew install, and the cask says so. A Homebrew upgrade also works.

Why does Windows warn about the installer?

The Dictivo installer for Windows is not Authenticode-signed. SmartScreen or Microsoft Edge may warn about a file without that signature. The Windows installation guide explains each warning.

Should I use the MSI or the EXE?

Use the EXE unless you need an MSI. The EXE installs for your user account, and in-app updates use it. The MSI is an alternative format, not a way around a Windows warning or block.

What does brew uninstall --zap remove, and what stays?

It removes the app and moves five Dictivo folders in ~/Library to the Trash: settings, caches, license files, history and downloaded models. The Keychain items named com.dictivo.desktop stay. Delete them in Keychain Access after the folders.

Does uninstalling free my license seat?

No. Before you uninstall, click Remove license from this device in Settings › Account & Billing. If you no longer have the device, email support@dictivo.app to release the seat.

Sources