---
title: "What you need to run Recordstead"
description: "The Mac, the macOS version, the memory and the free space Recordstead needs, and what it does on a Mac that only just clears the bar. Installing it is a separate page."
updated: "2026-10-14"
canonical: https://docs.recordstead.app/getting-started/requirements
---

# What you need to run Recordstead

Recordstead does all of its work on your Mac, so what your Mac can do is what
Recordstead can do. There are four things to check.

## An Apple Silicon Mac

Recordstead ships as an Apple Silicon build. An Intel Mac cannot run it.

## macOS 26 or later

Earlier versions are not supported and the app will not launch on them.

## 8 GB of memory, and what 16 GB adds

8 GB is the supported minimum. Recording and transcription work there, and the
smaller summary model runs, more slowly.

At 16 GB and above Recordstead offers a larger summary model, which writes
better summaries. Nothing is blocked below that; the choice is simply not offered.

## Free space, in two parts

Recordstead downloads its models the first time it needs them, so the space it
wants is the model plus room to work:

| What | Size |
|---|---|
| Speech recognition and speaker separation | about 0.7 GB, fetched automatically |
| Live Transcript speech model | about 0.7 GB, downloaded when you first use [Live Transcript](https://docs.recordstead.app/recording/live-transcript) |
| Summary model, smaller | 3.3 GB, downloaded on request |
| Summary model, larger, offered at 16 GB and above | 5.2 GB, downloaded on request |
| Working room for recordings | about 4 GB |

A summary model is offered only when there is room for it plus that working
room, so a full Mac is told rather than filled.

## Let the app answer for your Mac

The setup window opens on a step titled **Your Mac can do all of this**, which
checks your actual machine and says, per capability, **Ready now**, **Works, but
slowly on this Mac**, or **Needs more memory than this Mac has**. The line
beginning **Checked for this Mac: ** names the chip, the memory and the free
space it read.

Nothing there blocks you. It tells you what to expect.

## Result

You know whether your Mac qualifies, and which parts will be slow if it only
just does.

## Related

- [Install Recordstead](https://docs.recordstead.app/getting-started/install)
- [Record your first meeting](https://docs.recordstead.app/getting-started/first-recording)