Real-time AI writing help in every app on your Mac. Two steps below are required — the Gatekeeper note and the Accessibility permission — so please read them before you start.
Until the app is notarized, macOS may say it "cannot be opened because Apple cannot check it for malicious software." This is expected for an un-notarized build. To open it the first time:
Open the downloaded .dmg and drag WriteCrisp into your Applications folder. Launch it (clearing Gatekeeper as above). It runs in your menu bar, ready whenever you need it.
WriteCrisp needs Accessibility access to capture your selection and paste results back into the app you're in. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility and turn on WriteCrisp (macOS usually prompts you on first use). Without this permission the global hotkey and paste-back won't work — the app falls back to clipboard-only.
Open Settings (the first-run wizard, or the menu-bar icon → Settings). In the Provider tab pick your service — any OpenAI-compatible endpoint, Anthropic Claude, or Azure AI Foundry — enter your Base URL, API key, and model, and run the connection test.
Your key is encrypted at rest in the macOS Keychain and is sent only to the provider you configured.
A fresh install has no writing shortcut yet. Open Settings → General to record a writing shortcut and an explain shortcut — or use the menu-bar menu's Improve selection / Explain selection. The onboarding "Enable Explain" button wires up Alt + E.
WriteCrisp is distributed directly (not via the Mac App Store), because the App Store sandbox can't allow the cross-app keystroke simulation the paste-back relies on.
Ready to write? The full desktop guide walks through every mode and result view.