superwhisper keeps crashing or will not open: how to find the cause, and where your dictation went

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If superwhisper crashes during a dictation, the dictation is usually not lost: it writes audio to disk while you record, so the entry appears in History and can be reprocessed. To stop the crashes, update first, then test with a cloud voice model. If the crash stops, your Mac was running out of memory for the local model. If the app will not open at all, check that you are on macOS 14 or later.

I built YapToText, a dictation app for the Mac, so read what I say about superwhisper with that in mind. Every fact about superwhisper here comes from its own documentation, read on October 11, 2026.

Download YapToText on the Mac App StoreThis app is completely free. You don't have to make an account. There are no subscriptions, no difficult downloads, and nothing is locked. Made for Apple silicon Macs. Source on GitHub.

On this page: 8 sections
  1. Isolate a crash
  2. If it will not open on a Mac
  3. On an older macOS
  4. Modes that will not save or that vanish
  5. Report it, or roll back
  6. What YapToText does when something dies mid-sentence
  7. The short version
  8. Questions

Isolate a crash

  1. Update: Check for Updates in Settings, Configuration.
  2. Switch the mode to a cloud Voice Model. Local models are the heaviest work the app does. If the crash stops, try a smaller local model such as Whisper Base, or close other memory-heavy apps.
  3. Test with the plain Voice to Text mode. If only one mode crashes, the cause is that mode's model or context settings. Rebuild it one setting at a time.
  4. Check free disk space. Local models and recordings need room, and a nearly full disk causes failures mid-write.

A crash that only happens with a local model is a memory problem, not a broken install.

If it will not open on a Mac

  1. Check your macOS version. Current releases require macOS 14 or later.
  2. Download it again from superwhisper.com and drag it into Applications, replacing the old copy. Your settings live in the superwhisper folder, not in the app.
  3. Restart the Mac and try again.
  4. If it crashes immediately at launch, email superwhisper's support with your macOS version and the crash report macOS offers.

On an older macOS

If your Mac cannot run macOS 14, superwhisper's docs point to an older release. Its appcast at superwhisper.com/appcast.xml lists previous versions with download links, and version 2.16.1 is the last for macOS 13.3 and later. Drag it into Applications. Your history, modes and settings are stored separately and stay intact. Older versions get no new features, models or fixes.

Modes that will not save or that vanish

If superwhisper cannot write to its folder, new modes fail to save. The docs name iCloud Documents syncing as a cause, because older installs kept the folder in Documents. The fix is to move it outside iCloud:

  1. Open Advanced settings in superwhisper's settings.
  2. Scroll to App folder location and click Change folder.
  3. Choose your home folder, or another place outside iCloud, and confirm.

The current default is a superwhisper folder in your home directory. Modes and vocabulary do not sync between devices by default. The superwhisper backup page covers moving that folder between Macs.

Report it, or roll back

  1. Turn on Error logging in Settings, Configuration.
  2. Reproduce the crash once.
  3. Use Report an Issue from History, and include the app you were dictating into, the mode and its models.

If the current version is unusable, the same appcast lists earlier releases to go back to. Uninstalling superwhisper covers a clean removal, and superwhisper not working covers failures that are not crashes.

What YapToText does when something dies mid-sentence

YapToText, the free Mac app I built, handles the same moment in a similar way. If the app or the Mac dies mid-sentence, the audio survives, and on the next launch it is transcribed, copied to the clipboard and filed in History as recovered after a crash. It ships one speech model inside the App Store download, so there is no model choice to get wrong for your Mac's memory. It needs an Apple silicon Mac with macOS 14 or later, and has no cloud model to fall back to. Recovering a lost dictation on a Mac covers each app's recovery.

Download YapToText on the Mac App StoreThis app is completely free. You don't have to make an account. There are no subscriptions, no difficult downloads, and nothing is locked. Made for Apple silicon Macs. Source on GitHub.

The short version

  • Lost a dictation in a crash. Look in History and reprocess it.
  • Crashes with a local model. Memory. Use a smaller model or a cloud one.
  • Will not open. macOS 14 or later, then a fresh download.
  • Older macOS. Version 2.16.1, from the appcast.
  • Modes vanish. Move the app folder out of iCloud.

If superwhisper changes these steps, open an issue on GitHub and I will update this page. Every one gets read.

Download YapToText on the Mac App StoreThis app is completely free. You don't have to make an account. There are no subscriptions, no difficult downloads, and nothing is locked. Made for Apple silicon Macs. Source on GitHub.

About the author. Ryleigh Newman is a developer whose hands make typing difficult and who dictates every day with YapToText, the app this site describes. Facts about other apps come from their own sites, with the date they were read. More about the project.

Sources

Questions

Why does superwhisper keep crashing?

Often a local model is using more memory than your Mac has free. Update, then test with a cloud voice model or a smaller local one such as Whisper Base.

Did I lose my dictation when superwhisper crashed?

Usually not. superwhisper writes audio to disk while you record, so the dictation appears in History and can be reprocessed.

Why won't superwhisper open on my Mac?

Current releases require macOS 14 or later. On an older macOS, install an earlier version from its appcast. Version 2.16.1 is the last for macOS 13.3.

Why do my superwhisper modes disappear?

superwhisper could not write to its folder, often because iCloud moved a folder in Documents. Change App folder location to somewhere outside iCloud.

How do I roll back superwhisper?

Previous releases are listed with download links at superwhisper.com/appcast.xml.