Use Luxel from first launch to final export.

Install Luxel

1. Install and launch Luxel.
2. Keep the app in a stable location before granting permissions.
3. Open Luxel from Finder or Launchpad.
4. Look for the Luxel status item in the macOS menu bar.

Luxel requires macOS 26.0 or later. Luxel runs from the menu bar, so the menu bar item is the main place to start captures and open settings.

First capture

1. Open Luxel from the menu bar.
2. Choose a target from Target, or use Area to draw a custom region.
3. Enable System Audio, Microphone, or Camera only if the recording needs them.
4. Click Record Source, Record Area, or Record Audio.
5. Stop recording from the menu bar status controls, active recording controls, or shortcut.

Enable prompts

1. Open Settings > Recording.
2. Turn on Notify When Speech Is Detected.
3. Read the disclosure, then choose Enable to opt in.
4. Allow notifications first, then allow microphone access.
5. Choose System Default or a specific microphone.

Turn on Launch at Login if you want the feature available after you sign in. Detection works only while Luxel is open.

Choose what happens

When Luxel detects a cue, the notification offers Start Recording and Dismiss. Start Recording begins one audio-only recording with the selected microphone. Dismiss does nothing, and opening the notification activates Luxel without recording.

Focus modes and other macOS notification settings may delay or hide the prompt. A prompt is a convenience, not a guarantee that Luxel recognizes a conversation.

Set up Replay Buffer

1. Open Settings > Replay Buffer.
2. Enable Replay Buffer and approve the first-use consent prompt.
3. Choose a length: 30 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes, or 5 minutes.
4. Choose 24 FPS or 30 FPS.
5. Turn on Include System Audio only when clips need Mac audio.
6. Choose whether clips open in the editor or use the quick export destination.

Use it from the menu

1. Start Replay Buffer from the menu bar control.
2. Wait until the status moves from starting to buffering.
3. Click Export to save the selected recent duration.
4. Use Start and Stop to arm or disarm the buffer.
5. Use the Clip Replay Buffer shortcut or luxel clip for the same action.

Draw a selection

Click Area to open the full-screen selection overlay. Drag to draw a region, resize it with handles, or use Full Display to select the display. The minimum selection is 32 by 32 pixels.

Size presets include 1280 by 720, 1920 by 1080, and 800 by 600. Aspect ratio choices include Free, 16:9, 4:3, 1:1, 9:16, and 21:9.

Useful controls

• Choose countdown, stop-after, audio, camera, ratio, and size controls.
• Toggle microphone and camera when permissions allow it.
• Use the loupe for precise edges.
• Dim other displays or restore the last selection from Presets settings.
• Open Focus settings from the notification reminder if you want fewer interruptions.

In the editor

1. Open a recording with audio in the editor.
2. Use the transcript preview to generate or review transcript text.
3. Search transcript text or select transcript spans to jump playback.
4. Leave Segment Transcript Turns enabled for automatic turn grouping.
5. Turn it off in Settings > Transcripts for faster raw transcripts on long recordings.

Identify and manage speakers

1. Enable Identify Speakers in Settings > Transcripts.
2. Generate a transcript to separate and label each detected voice locally.
3. In the Speakers card, use Auto detection or set an Exact speaker count or Range, then re-run detection.
4. Play voice examples, name a detected speaker, save it as a Known Speaker, attach it to an existing profile, or ignore it.
5. Future transcripts can match saved Known Speakers automatically.

Voice profiles and speaker processing stay on your Mac.

From the command line

luxel transcribe demo.m4a > demo.txt
luxel transcribe demo.mp4 --output demo.json --format json --overwrite
luxel transcribe demo.mp4 --locale en_US --semantic-turns --diarize

Plain text is printed to stdout by default. Use --format json for full turn-segmented transcript data, including speaker labels when --diarize is enabled.

Pair with Luxel

luxel pair
luxel doctor

Pairing opens a visible approval prompt in Luxel. The app and CLI store separate copies of the credential in macOS Keychain. Disable command-line control or revoke a paired client at any time in Settings > Command Line.

Common examples

luxel record --display main --fps display --countdown 3
luxel record --active-window --fps 120
luxel toggle --last-area
luxel stop
luxel clip --seconds 30
luxel latest --reveal
luxel preferences

Media examples

luxel record --active-window --preset "Default" --save-to ~/Movies/Luxel
luxel editor ~/Movies/demo.mp4
luxel convert demo.mp4 demo.webm
luxel convert demo.mp4 demo-av1.mp4 --format av1
luxel convert demo.mp4 demo.gif --start 2 --duration 5 --fps 15 --width 800 --height 450
luxel convert demo.mp4 demo.mov --format prores422 --quality high
luxel export request.json output.webm --overwrite --json
luxel transcribe demo.m4a > demo.txt
luxel transcribe demo.mp4 --output demo.json --format json --diarize --overwrite

Agent skills

Install Luxel Skills to teach compatible coding agents how to use the full CLI or create focused WebM evidence for reviews.

npx skills add https://github.com/rawcontext/luxel-skills
npx skills add https://github.com/rawcontext/luxel-skills --skill luxel
npx skills add https://github.com/rawcontext/luxel-skills --skill luxel-evidence

Choose luxel for command reference and operations, or luxel-evidence for an intentional recording and attachment workflow.

View Luxel Skills on GitHub.

Folder access

Luxel can use your Movies folder, its configured recordings folder, and folders you approve in the app. A terminal path never bypasses the App Sandbox.

luxel access add ~/Desktop/Exports
luxel access check ~/Desktop/Exports/demo.mp4
luxel access list
luxel access revoke <grant-id>

access add opens Luxel's folder picker. The folder you select there is the folder the app receives permission to use.

Security and privacy

Each invocation uses an authenticated, short-lived connection on127.0.0.1. Luxel rejects unpaired clients, stale requests, replayed nonces, modified request bodies, and non-loopback endpoints. The CLI never receives Luxel's security-scoped bookmarks and never processes media itself.

URL scheme

Luxel registers the luxel:// URL scheme. Starting captures and clipping the replay buffer can require confirmation unless a caller has been granted access; commands like stop, preferences, and latest are allowed by default.

luxel://record?target=display&display=main&fps=display&countdown=3
luxel://record?target=activeWindow&preset=Default
luxel://toggle
luxel://stop
luxel://clip?seconds=30
luxel://preferences
luxel://latest?reveal=true

x-callback URLs

Automation commands accept x-success and x-error callback URLs. Successful file-producing commands append filePath, recording starts append recordingID, and failures append errorMessage.

Use the URL scheme directly for x-callback automation.

Quick presets

Export presets can be added, duplicated, deleted, renamed, and assigned as the Quick Recording preset. Presets support format, size rule, frame rate, destination, and post-action. Preset destinations are Recordings Folder or Clipboard. Quick presets expose GIF, MP4, HEVC MP4, ProRes 422 MOV, ProRes 4444 MOV, and APNG; WebM and AV1 remain available from editor and CLI export.

Replay Buffer

Replay Buffer settings control the enable toggle, clip length, 24 or 30 FPS, system audio inclusion, Resume on Launch, and whether clips open in the editor or quick export destination.

Command Line

Command Line settings enable external control, open the CLI repository, revoke paired clients, and manage folders the app may use for command-line requests.

System behavior

System settings cover the menu bar timer, notification reminders, launch at login, updates, and acknowledgements.

Supported locales

• English
• German
• Spanish
• French
• Italian
• Japanese
• Korean
• Vietnamese
• Simplified Chinese
• Portuguese (Brazil)
• Portuguese (Portugal)

Permission prompts

Camera, microphone, screen capture, and speech recognition prompts appear in your selected language. Luxel requests each permission only when the matching feature is enabled or a recording starts.

Luxel follows your macOS language setting automatically.