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Sujith S
Sujith S

Posted on • Originally published at meetily.ai

How to Install Meetily: Complete Desktop Setup Guide (Windows & macOS)

#productivity #privacy #ai #webdev

Want to take control of your meeting transcriptions with 100% privacy? This comprehensive guide will walk you through installing Meetily—a free, open-source AI meeting assistant that processes everything locally on your device.

What you'll accomplish:

  • ✅ Install Meetily on Windows or macOS in under 15 minutes
  • ✅ Configure audio capture for any meeting platform
  • ✅ Select the optimal Whisper model for your hardware
  • ✅ Set up AI summarization with local LLMs
  • ✅ Record and transcribe your first meeting

Prerequisites:

  • Windows 10/11 or macOS 10.15+
  • 8GB+ RAM (16GB recommended)
  • 10GB free storage space
  • Internet connection (for initial download only)

Why Choose Meetily?

Before we dive into installation, here's what makes Meetily special:

  • 100% Privacy: All processing happens locally—your meeting data never leaves your device
  • Free & Open Source: MIT licensed, no subscriptions or per-user fees
  • Bot-Free: Invisible to meeting participants (no "Meetily Bot" joining calls)
  • Works Offline: Internet only needed for initial setup
  • Platform-Agnostic: Works with Zoom, Teams, Meet, Discord, any meeting software
  • 8,100+ GitHub Stars: Trusted by privacy-conscious developers worldwide

Part 1: Installation

Option A: Install on macOS

Method 1: Homebrew (Recommended)

Homebrew is the easiest installation method for macOS users.

Step 1: Open Terminal

  • Press Cmd + Space, type "Terminal", hit Enter

Step 2: Install Homebrew (skip if already installed)

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
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Step 3: Add Meetily Tap

brew tap zackriya-solutions/meetily
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Step 4: Install Meetily

brew install --cask meetily
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Step 5: Launch Meetily

open -a Meetily
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Troubleshooting macOS Security:
If macOS blocks Meetily with "App cannot be opened because the developer cannot be verified":

xattr -c /Applications/Meetily.app
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Then try opening again. This removes the quarantine flag from the downloaded app.

Method 2: Manual Download (.dmg)

Step 1: Download Installer

  1. Visit Meetily GitHub Releases
  2. Look for the macOS .dmg file in the latest release (v0.1.1)
  3. Download and unzip if needed

Step 2: Install Application

  1. Double-click the .dmg file
  2. Drag Meetily icon to Applications folder
  3. Eject the installer disk image

Step 3: Launch Meetily

  1. Open Applications folder
  2. Double-click Meetily
  3. If security warning appears, right-click → "Open" → Confirm

Option B: Install on Windows

Method 1: EXE Installer (Recommended)

Step 1: Download Installer

  1. Visit Meetily GitHub Releases
  2. Download meetily_0.1.1.1_x64-setup.exe (latest version: v0.1.1)
  3. Save to Downloads folder

Step 2: Prepare for Installation
Before running the installer:

  1. Right-click the downloaded .exe file
  2. Select "Properties"
  3. Check "Unblock" checkbox (if present)
  4. Click "OK"

Step 3: Run Installer

  1. Double-click meetily_x64-setup.exe
  2. If Windows Defender SmartScreen appears:
    • Click "More info"
    • Click "Run anyway"
  3. Follow installation wizard:
    • Accept license agreement
    • Choose installation directory (default recommended)
    • Create desktop shortcut (optional)
    • Click "Install"

Step 4: Launch Meetily

  1. Click "Finish" in installer
  2. Meetily launches automatically
  3. Or: Find in Start Menu → "Meetily"

Troubleshooting Windows Defender:
Windows Defender may flag new releases. This is normal for open-source software without code signing certificates. You can:

  1. Click "More info" → "Run anyway" (safe for official releases)
  2. Add exception in Windows Defender if needed
  3. Verify download hash matches GitHub release (for extra security)

Option C: Build from Source (Advanced Users)

For developers who want to customize Meetily:

Prerequisites:

  • Rust toolchain (rustup)
  • Node.js 18+
  • Python 3.10+
  • Git

Build Steps:

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/Zackriya-Solutions/meeting-minutes.git
cd meeting-minutes

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build application
npm run tauri:build

# Run application
npn run tauri:dev
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Detailed build instructions: GitHub Documentation

Part 2: Initial Configuration

Once Meetily launches, you'll see the setup wizard.

Step 1: Welcome & System Check

The wizard verifies:

  • ✅ Sufficient disk space (10GB+)
  • ✅ Memory requirements (8GB+ RAM)
  • ✅ Audio permissions granted
  • ✅ FFmpeg availability (installed automatically if missing)

Click "Next" when all checks pass.

Step 2: Choose Transcription Engine & Model

Meetily offers two transcription engines—a unique feature no other open-source meeting assistant has:

Option 1: Whisper Engine (OpenAI Whisper via whisper-rs)

  • Best For: Maximum accuracy, broad language support (99+ languages)
  • Processing: Established, well-tested models
Model Size RAM Usage Speed Best For
Tiny ~75MB ~1GB Very Fast Quick notes, testing
Base ~140MB ~1-2GB Fast Casual meetings
Small ~460MB ~2-3GB Medium General use
Medium ~1.5GB ~4-5GB Slower High accuracy needed
Large v3 ~3GB ~8-10GB Slowest Professional/critical meetings

Option 2: Parakeet Engine (NVIDIA NeMo via ONNX)

  • Best For: Speed and efficiency—optimized for fast transcription
  • Performance: Designed for real-time transcription on modern hardware
  • Accuracy: Competitive accuracy comparable to Whisper models
  • Memory: More efficient with Int8 quantization (~1-3GB RAM)
  • Processing: Significantly faster transcription with lower resource usage

Which Should You Choose?

  • Choose Whisper if:

    • You need maximum accuracy (medical, legal, critical meetings)
    • You require 99+ language support
    • You have powerful hardware and can afford slower processing

  • Choose Parakeet if:

    • You have older/slower hardware (8GB RAM or less)
    • You need real-time transcription without lag
    • Speed is more important than the last 1-2% accuracy
    • You want lower CPU usage and battery consumption

Recommendations:

  • 8GB RAM, older CPU: Choose Parakeet (much faster)
  • 8GB RAM, newer CPU: Choose Whisper Small or Parakeet
  • 16GB RAM: Choose Whisper Medium or Parakeet
  • 16GB+ RAM, GPU: Choose Whisper Large v3 for maximum accuracy
  • Testing Meetily: Start with Parakeet to see how fast it is!

Select your engine and model, then click "Download". The model downloads once (no internet needed afterward).

Step 3: Configure Audio Sources

Microphone Selection:

  1. Click "Microphone" dropdown
  2. Select your input device:
    • Built-in Microphone (laptops)
    • External USB microphone
    • Headset microphone
  3. Test: Speak and watch the level meter

System Audio Capture:
This captures audio from your meeting platform (Zoom, Teams, etc.).

macOS:

  • Meetily uses BlackHole or similar virtual audio device
  • If not installed: Click "Install Audio Driver"
  • Follow prompts to install virtual audio device
  • Restart Meetily after installation

Windows:

  • Meetily uses Windows WASAPI (built-in)
  • Click "Enable System Audio"
  • Grant permissions if prompted
  • No additional software needed

Test Audio Capture:

  1. Play a YouTube video or music
  2. Check "System Audio" level meter
  3. Verify both microphone and system audio show levels

Step 4: Storage Location

Choose where Meetily saves your transcripts:

Default Locations:

  • macOS: ~/Documents/Meetily/
  • Windows: C:\Users\[YourName]\Documents\Meetily\

Custom Location:

  • Click "Change" to select different folder
  • Choose cloud-synced folder (Dropbox, OneDrive) for automatic backup
  • Or external drive for extra privacy

Storage Structure:

Meetily/
├── meetings/
│   ├── 2025-11-05_team-standup/
│   │   ├── transcript.md
│   │   ├── summary.md
│   │   └── audio.mp3
│   └── 2025-11-05_client-call/
│       └── ...
└── settings.json
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Step 5: AI Summarization (Optional)

Meetily can generate AI summaries after each meeting. This step is completely optional—transcription works without AI summaries.

Option 1: Local LLM with Ollama (Recommended for Privacy)

Step 1: Install Ollama

  1. Visit ollama.ai and download for your platform
  2. Install Ollama following their instructions
  3. Verify installation: Open terminal and run ollama --version

Step 2: Download a Model

# Recommended lightweight model (800MB)
ollama pull gemma2:2b

# Or for better quality (4.7GB)
ollama pull llama3.2:latest
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Step 3: Start Ollama Server

ollama serve
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Keep this terminal window open while using Meetily. The server runs at http://localhost:11434

Step 4: Configure in Meetily

  • Open Meetily → Settings → Model Settings
  • Select provider: Ollama
  • Enter model name (e.g., gemma2:2b or llama3.2:latest)
  • (Optional) Custom endpoint if not using default

Option 2: API-Based LLMs
If you prefer cloud LLMs, Meetily supports:

  • Anthropic Claude: Settings → Model Settings → Provider: Claude → Enter API key
  • OpenAI GPT: Settings → Model Settings → Provider: OpenAI → Enter API key
  • Groq: Settings → Model Settings → Provider: Groq → Enter API key (free tier available)
  • OpenRouter: Settings → Model Settings → Provider: OpenRouter → Enter API key

Note: Using API-based LLMs means your meeting transcripts are sent to third-party servers for summarization.

Option 3: Skip for Now

  • You can enable AI summaries later in Settings → Model Settings
  • Transcription works perfectly without AI summaries
  • Manual review of transcripts works fine initially

Click "Finish" to complete setup!

Part 3: Recording Your First Meeting

Before the Meeting

1. Launch Meetily

  • Open from Applications (Mac) or Start Menu (Windows)
  • Ensure it's running (icon in menu bar/system tray)

2. Join Your Meeting

  • Open Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, Discord, etc.
  • Join meeting as normal
  • No special setup needed per platform

3. Start Recording

  • In Meetily, click "Record" button
  • OR use keyboard shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+R (Win) / Cmd+Shift+R (Mac)

During the Meeting

Real-Time Transcription Display:

Recording in progress...

[10:05 AM] Speaker 1:
Good morning everyone, let's start with our product updates.

[10:06 AM] Speaker 2:
Sure, I can begin. We've made great progress on the authentication feature...
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Controls:

  • Pause: Temporarily pause recording (excludes segments from transcript)
  • Bookmark: Mark important moments (adds timestamp marker)
  • Stop: End recording (triggers AI summary)

Performance Monitoring:

  • CPU usage indicator
  • Memory usage
  • Transcription lag (should be <2 seconds)

After the Meeting

1. Stop Recording

  • Click "Stop" button in Meetily
  • Or use keyboard shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+S / Cmd+Shift+S

2. AI Summary Generation (if enabled)

Processing summary...
- Analyzing transcript
- Extracting key points
- Identifying action items
- Detecting decisions

Summary complete! (takes 10-60 seconds)
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3. Review & Export

  • View transcript in Meetily
  • Edit speaker names if needed
  • Export to Markdown
  • Copy to clipboard for pasting elsewhere

Part 4: Platform-Specific Configuration

Google Meet

No special setup needed!

  • System audio capture works automatically
  • Just click "Record" in Meetily before/during meeting

Tips:

  • Use Chrome or Edge (better audio routing)
  • Ensure "Use original sound" is enabled in Meet settings

Zoom

Configuration:

  1. Open Zoom → Settings → Audio
  2. Enable "Original Sound for Musicians"
  3. Disable "Suppress background noise" (optional, for better accuracy)

Recording:

  • Start Meetily recording BEFORE joining Zoom call
  • Or start after joining (may miss first few seconds)

Microsoft Teams

Configuration:

  1. Open Teams → Settings → Devices
  2. Test your microphone and speakers
  3. Disable "Noise suppression" for better transcription accuracy

Note: Teams' noise suppression can filter out background speakers. Disable for meetings where you need to capture all participants.

Discord

Works perfectly with system audio capture!

  • No special configuration needed
  • Captures all voice channels
  • Real-time transcription during gaming sessions or community calls

Slack Huddles

Configuration:

  1. Join Slack Huddle
  2. Start Meetily recording
  3. System audio captures Huddle audio automatically

Part 5: Advanced Configuration

GPU Acceleration (For Faster Transcription)

If you have an NVIDIA or AMD GPU:

Check GPU Availability:

  • Meetily → Settings → Performance
  • Look for "GPU Detected: [Your GPU]"

Enable GPU Acceleration:

  • Toggle "Use GPU for Transcription"
  • Restart Meetily
  • Speed improvement: 3-10x faster

Supported GPUs:

  • NVIDIA: GTX 1060 or newer
  • AMD: RX 580 or newer
  • Apple Silicon: M1, M2, M3 (built-in)

Custom Whisper Models

Want to fine-tune Whisper for your industry terminology?

1. Train Custom Model

2. Import to Meetily

  • Settings → Models → "Import Custom Model"
  • Select your .pt model file
  • Name it (e.g., "Medical Terminology")

3. Use Custom Model

  • Before recording, select from model dropdown
  • Meetily uses your custom model for transcription

Keyboard Shortcuts

Customize shortcuts in Settings → Shortcuts:

Action Default (Mac) Default (Win)
Start Recording Cmd+Shift+R Ctrl+Shift+R
Stop Recording Cmd+Shift+S Ctrl+Shift+S
Pause Recording Cmd+Shift+P Ctrl+Shift+P
Bookmark Cmd+Shift+B Ctrl+Shift+B
Open Meetily Cmd+Shift+M Ctrl+Shift+M

Application Settings

Notification Preferences:

  • Settings → Preferences → Enable/disable recording notifications
  • Control which events trigger notifications
  • Respect Do Not Disturb mode

Storage Locations:

  • Settings → Preferences → View storage paths
  • Database location: Where meeting metadata is stored
  • Models directory: Where transcription models are cached
  • Recordings folder: Where audio and transcripts are saved

Analytics:

  • Settings → Preferences → Analytics consent toggle
  • Opt in/out of usage analytics
  • Helps improve the app without compromising privacy

Part 6: Troubleshooting Common Issues

Issue 1: "No Audio Detected"

Symptoms: Recording starts but no transcription appears

Solutions:

  1. Check Audio Permissions:
    • macOS: System Preferences → Security → Microphone → Enable Meetily
    • Windows: Settings → Privacy → Microphone → Allow Meetily
  2. Test Audio Sources:
    • Settings → Audio → Test Microphone
    • Speak and verify level meter moves
  3. Restart Audio Devices:
    • Unplug and replug headset/microphone
    • Restart Meetily

Issue 2: "Transcription Too Slow"

Symptoms: Real-time transcription lags 10+ seconds behind speech

Solutions:

  1. Use Smaller Model:
    • Switch from Large → Medium or Small
    • Settings → Model Settings → Select smaller Whisper model
  2. GPU Acceleration (Automatic):
    • GPU acceleration is automatically enabled if compatible hardware is detected
    • macOS: Uses Metal (built into Apple Silicon)
    • Windows: Uses CUDA (NVIDIA) or ROCm (AMD) if available
  3. Close Other Apps:
    • Free up RAM and CPU
    • Close Chrome tabs, video editors, etc.
  4. Try Parakeet Engine:
    • Faster than Whisper with lower resource usage
    • Settings → Model Settings → Switch to Parakeet

Issue 3: "Model Download Fails"

Symptoms: Whisper model download stuck or fails

Solutions:

  1. Check Internet Connection:
    • Ensure stable internet
    • Large v3 is 3GB download (takes time)
  2. Manual Download:
    • Download from Hugging Face
    • Settings → Models → "Import Model" → Select file
  3. Clear Cache:
    • Settings → Advanced → "Clear Model Cache"
    • Retry download

Issue 4: "Meetily Won't Launch"

Symptoms: Double-clicking icon does nothing

macOS Solutions:

# Check if app is blocked
xattr -d com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Meetily.app

# Check for errors
/Applications/Meetily.app/Contents/MacOS/Meetily
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Windows Solutions:

  1. Run as Administrator:
    • Right-click Meetily → "Run as administrator"
  2. Check Event Viewer:
    • Windows → Event Viewer → Application logs
    • Look for Meetily errors
  3. Reinstall:
    • Uninstall via Control Panel
    • Download fresh installer
    • Install again

Issue 5: "Poor Transcription Accuracy"

Symptoms: Many words transcribed incorrectly

Solutions:

  1. Upgrade Whisper Model:
    • Base → Small or Medium
    • Accuracy improves significantly
  2. Improve Audio Quality:
    • Use external microphone (not laptop built-in)
    • Reduce background noise
    • Move closer to microphone
  3. Disable Noise Suppression:
    • In Zoom/Teams settings
    • Noise suppression can confuse Whisper

Part 7: Next Steps

Optimize Your Workflow

1. Set Up Ollama for Local AI (If Not Done Already)

  • Complete privacy: AI summaries without cloud APIs
  • Install from ollama.ai
  • Pull recommended model: ollama pull gemma2:2b
  • Start server: ollama serve
  • Configure in Meetily → Settings → Model Settings

2. Create Meeting Templates

  • Settings → Templates → "New Template"
  • Pre-fill meeting types (standup, client call, etc.)
  • Automatic file naming and folder organization

3. Export Workflows

  • Notion: Export Markdown → Import to Notion
  • Obsidian: Save to Obsidian vault folder
  • Google Docs: Copy transcript, paste directly

Join the Community

Upgrade to Teams (Optional)

For 2-100 users, Meetily Organizations tier offers:

  • Central server for team transcript sharing
  • Admin dashboard for user management
  • Managed deployment by Zackriya team
  • Extended support

For 100+ users, Meetily Enterprise adds:

  • Server-side AI model hosting (larger models)
  • Custom infrastructure (AWS/Azure/on-premise)
  • GDPR/HIPAA managed compliance
  • 24/7 dedicated support

Request Demo →

Frequently Asked Questions

How much disk space do I need?

Estimates per hour of meeting:

  • Audio file (MP3): ~50-100MB
  • Transcript (Markdown): ~50-200KB
  • Whisper models (one-time): 75MB - 3GB

For 10 meetings/week:

  • ~5GB/month for audio
  • Models: 1-3GB one-time download

Tip: Enable "Delete audio after transcription" to save space while keeping transcripts.

Can I use Meetily on multiple computers?

Yes! For the free individual tier:

  • Install on multiple devices
  • Transcripts stored locally on each device
  • Use cloud storage (Dropbox/OneDrive) to sync transcripts

For Organizations tier:

  • Central server syncs across all team devices
  • Transcripts accessible from any authenticated device

Does Meetily work on Linux?

Not yet. Native Linux support is actively being developed and will be available in a future release.

Current supported platforms:

  • ✅ Windows (native installer)
  • ✅ macOS (native installer or Homebrew)
  • ⏳ Linux (coming soon - on the roadmap)

What languages does Meetily support?

Whisper supports 99 languages including:

  • English, Spanish, French, German, Italian
  • Portuguese, Dutch, Polish, Russian
  • Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Arabic, Hindi
  • And many more!

Accuracy is best for English, with strong performance for other major languages.

Is my meeting data really private?

100% yes for the individual tier:

  • Processing: All happens locally on your device
  • Storage: Transcripts saved to your chosen folder
  • Network: No data sent to internet (except if you use API-based AI)
  • Verification: Open source code can be audited

Conclusion

Congratulations! You now have Meetily installed and configured. You're ready to:

✅ Record meetings with complete privacy
✅ Get accurate AI transcriptions
✅ Generate automatic summaries
✅ Export to your favorite tools
✅ All without cloud subscriptions or data uploads

Get started:

  1. Join your next meeting
  2. Click "Record" in Meetily
  3. Review transcript and summary after
  4. Enjoy privacy-first meeting intelligence!

Need help?

Related Guides:

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