Keyboard shortcuts shown below are Windows defaults. On macOS, check the shortcut shown in TalkBar or its settings; configurable shortcuts can be changed there.

Every recording starts in the New session window. You pick what kind of session it is, where the audio comes from and how many people will talk, then click Start session. Everything else is optional and has sensible defaults.

Ways to start

Click New session in the title bar.
Click Start session on the Sessions page or on Home.
Click Start on a scheduled session in Upcoming sessions. The window opens with that session's prepared setup. (Start in a reminder, or on a session about to begin in the Up next strip, starts recording right away.) See Scheduling and preparing.
Use the session bar (see below).

Only one session can record at a time. If another session is recording, the window shows Recording in progress with Open live session. Stop that session first, or click Schedule for later.

The New session window

The window has four parts. Use the step bar at the top to jump between them. Template is always open; the other three expand when you click them.

Template

Option	What it does
Template cards	A session template is a type of session, such as Meeting, 1:1, Interview or Voice Note. It sets the summary sections, AI instructions and default audio and speaker settings. Pinned templates come first. Click More… to search every enabled template by category, or Manage templates… to open template settings.
Sections	The summary sections this template writes. Click Customize to switch sections on or off, or Add section to borrow a section from another template. These changes apply to this session only. Click Done when finished.
Audio	Microphone (your voice), System audio (the sound your computer plays, such as the other side of a call) or Mic + System (both).
Upload audio file	Builds the session from an existing recording instead. See Importing recordings.
Speakers	How many people you expect: Just you, You + 1, Small (2–4) or Large (5–8). This helps TalkBar tell voices apart.
Speakers at start	The expected voices as slots, starting with You. Use the buttons next to it to add or remove slots. Click a slot to type a name, or type `@` to pick a saved person. New voices fill free slots in order; you can rename or combine speakers later.
Intelligence	Which AI writes the timeline and summary. Default uses your configured model; open its menu to pick another model for this session. Private AI runs the session on built-in local models only (see below).
Topics and Source	Tag the session with topics, and note where it comes from, such as a video or meeting link.

If you change Audio or Speakers away from what the template suggests, Reset to template default puts them back.

For Large (5–8), TalkBar needs a larger speaker model. If it isn't downloaded, the window says so and offers Download. Without it, TalkBar separates up to 4 speakers. See Speakers.

Private AI for one session

Choose Private AI in Intelligence to keep this session's AI on your computer. The window title then reads This session will run on Private AI, and the recording screen shows a shield icon. The setting is permanent for that session: its summaries are always written by built-in local models.

Private AI needs a downloaded built-in local model. If you don't have one, add it in Settings → Private Local AI. See Private AI Mode and Local models.

Project and Series

Option	What it does
Project	Files the session under a project. Choose New project… to create one.
Series	Adds the session to a session series. Choose New series… to create one.
Defaults	Appears once you pick a series. Save current setup as defaults makes this window's choices the starting point for the series' next sessions. Copy latest and Copy from a past session… copy the setup of a session already in the series.

Prep & context

Attach what the AI should know about during the session. You can read these items while you record, and they help with recall and summaries.

Option	What it does
People	Add people from your contacts. They are attached to the session for context.
Knowledge deck	Add cards from your knowledge cards. They light up when they come up in conversation.
Documents	Add documents from your document library.
Prepare / Open meeting prep	Opens the full preparation page for notes, document scans and drafts to review. For a session that isn't scheduled yet, Prepare saves it as a prep first. See Preparing for a session.

AI & privacy

Option	What it does	Default
Summary language	The language of the summary, the timeline and the AI title. Auto follows the language spoken. Click More… to pick from 16 languages.	Auto
Summary length	Short, Standard or Detailed. Affects the summary only, not the timeline.	Standard
Privacy	What TalkBar may do with this session's knowledge. See the table below.	Normal

The Privacy modes:

Mode	What happens
Normal	Live recall, knowledge suggestions and search all work.
Session only	Live recall works, but this session won't feed search or suggestions later. Cards you add stay with this session.
No auto cards	No cards pop up during the session. Ask AI and search still work; knowledge suggestions are off.
Sensitive	Recall, Ask AI, suggestions and search are off for this session. Cards you add stay with this session.

Privacy modes never stop the recording, transcript or summary from being saved.

Defaults

At the bottom of the window:

Save as my defaults remembers the current choices. They pre-fill the window next time, when nothing more specific applies (such as a series' own defaults or a prepared session).
Reset to defaults puts the window back to your saved defaults.

You can also choose a default template in Settings → General → Session defaults. See General settings.

Start, prepare or schedule

Button	What it does
Start session	Starts recording now and opens the recording screen.
Prepare	Saves the setup as a session to prepare for and opens its prep page.
Schedule for later	Turns the setup into a scheduled session. See Scheduling and preparing.
Cancel	Closes the window without starting.

If Start session is unavailable, look for one of these notices:

The speech recognition model is not ready. Download the speech model, or click Open voice settings. See Voice settings.
An audio import is running — wait for it to finish, or schedule the session for later.
Recording in progress — another session is recording.
On the Free plan, the workspace has reached its session limit. Move an old session to Trash to free a slot. See Plan limits.

The session bar

The session bar is a small window that stays on top of your other apps, in the top-right corner by default. Press Ctrl+Alt+B to show or hide it.

When nothing is recording, it asks Start a session? Pick a Template: and an Input: (Mic, System or Mic + System), then click Start session.
While a session records, it becomes a compact live view. See The session bar while recording.

Session detection

TalkBar can notice when a conversation starts near your microphone and offer to record it. The session bar then shows Sounds like a conversation — start a session? with a short snippet of what it heard. Click Start session, Skip detection for a while, or turn detection off from the bar.

Detection is on by default. Change it, the skip duration, and the bar's shortcut, position and number of transcript lines in Settings → General → Session detection. Detection never starts recording by itself, and nothing it hears is saved.

Session details

The page of a finished session: summary, action items, transcript, notes and knowledge, plus how to edit speakers, redo the summary and manage audio.

Templates and skills

Session templates decide how TalkBar captures and summarizes each kind of session; skills are reusable AI chat prompts. Use the built-ins or make your own.

Starting a session