Getting Started with Dottie on Mac: First 10 Minutes

Getting Started with Dottie on Mac: First 10 Minutes

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You already know Dottie is a Mac AI agent, not another chat window. This page is the first 10 minutes on an Apple Silicon Mac: download, first launch, one model path, one permission, one real task.

If you wanted a category ranking instead, start at best AI assistants for Mac. If you wanted voice depth, jump to the voice control guide after minute 10. The Mac app source, if you want to read it instead of install it: Dottie Desktop for Mac is open source. Coming from Claude Desktop: Dottie vs Claude on Mac. Computer use is still beta on Pro and Max (help center, 2026-10-08). On macOS 15 or later it works in background windows and does not take your pointer by default. It does not call Finder.

TL;DR

MinutesDo thisDone when
0–2Download the zip from the landing pageDottie.app is in Applications (or wherever you dropped it)
2–4Open it. Let first-launch on-device models finishChat window opens; you can type
4–6Pick a model path: local, BYOK, or Dottie ProOne path replies to a hello
6–8Enable one tool category you will actually useThat permission is on; the rest stay off
8–10Run one Mac task (calendar, a file find, or a folder tidy)Something on the Mac changed that you did not click

Before you start

Requirements are strict. Dottie will not install on Intel.

  • Apple Silicon (M1 or later)
  • macOS 15.4 or newer
  • Disk space for the first-launch on-device models (about 2 GB)
  • Optional: an API key if you want BYOK (xAI, OpenAI, Anthropic, or Cerebras)

On Intel, use a chat client or a local runner instead. Dottie is not the product for that hardware.

The app is free. Optional Dottie Pro is $20/month for managed models. It does not unlock the 134 tools. Cumulative downloads are 1,574 as of 2026-10-10 (api.dottie.ai). Latest desktop 2026.9.14.

Minutes 0–2: download

  1. Open the Dottie landing page. The demo, requirements, and Pro link live there.
  2. Download the zip. Direct asset: Dottie.zip.
  3. Unzip and move Dottie.app to Applications.
  4. Open it. If Gatekeeper asks, that is a normal first-open of a GitHub-signed desktop app.

There is no Mac App Store listing. There is no account required for local or BYOK.

Minutes 2–4: first launch

First launch downloads the default on-device models for speech and local chat (about 2 GB). Stay on a network until that finishes. After that, the local path can run offline.

You should see a chat surface and access to Settings. Type hello before you grant any tools. A reply means the model path is alive. A hang usually means the download is still running, or you picked a cloud path with no key.

Three local servers sit on localhost (nothing is exposed by default):

ServerRole
GatewayChat, tool calls, streaming
AudioSpeech recognition and TTS
LLMOn-device models when you choose local

Longer architecture: What Is Dottie Desktop.

Minutes 4–6: pick one model path

You do not need all three today.

PathUse it whenCost
Local (MLX / Ollama)Privacy or offlineHardware time only
BYOKYou already pay xAI, OpenAI, Anthropic, or CerebrasYour existing API bill
Dottie Pro ($20/mo)You want managed models and no key plumbing$20/month, same email as in-app register

A small local model is enough to move files and read a calendar. Save frontier cloud models for hard reasoning. If the local path is Ollama, 0.40.0 (2026-09-25) runs supported architectures on MLX by default on Apple Silicon. GitHub Latest on 2026-10-10 is 0.40.2, published 2026-10-08. When to stay on that path versus a key: local AI vs cloud AI on Mac. Local setup beyond the default download: run local AI models on Mac.

Prefix /think later if you want slower multi-step reasoning before tool calls. Skip it in minute five.

Minutes 6–8: grant one permission

Every tool category starts off. That is the product, not a missing setup step.

Pick the job you will run in minute 10 and enable only that category:

First taskEnable
“What’s on my calendar today?”Calendar
“Find PDFs I downloaded this week”Files
“Open Safari and go to GitHub”App control (and Safari if asked)
“Draft an email to Alex saying I’ll be late”Mail (sending still follows your confirm rules)

Leave Mail, Messages, screen, and Terminal off until you have a reason. Destructive steps still ask. Dottie is not a silent root shell.

Minutes 8–10: one real Mac task

Type or speak one of these. Voice is optional in the first 10 minutes.

Safe first tasks

  • “What’s on my calendar today?”
  • “Find PDFs I downloaded this week”
  • “How much free disk space do I have?”

One-step automation

  • “Create a folder on my Desktop called Inbox and move today’s screenshots into it”
  • “Open Notes and make a note titled First Dottie task”

You are done when the Mac changed. A paragraph of advice with no file move, no event, and no app launch is a chat client. That is not this product. The split is spelled out in AI agent for Mac.

Voice, if you want it now

Three modes. All can stay on-device.

  1. Push-to-talk. Hold the hotkey (check Settings for the current binding; landing copy documents Option+Space for dictation), speak, release.
  2. Chat mic. Mic in the Dottie window. The utterance is an agent message with whatever tools you enabled.
  3. Wake word. “Hey Dottie” from anywhere. On-device phrase detection; a floating overlay offers Send, Edit, or Dismiss.

Full walkthrough: voice control guide. You can finish the first 10 minutes on text only.

What not to do in minute one

  • Do not enable every permission “so it works.” You will not remember what you granted.
  • Do not start with “clean up my whole disk.” Start with one folder you can undo.
  • Do not judge local models on a long essay. Judge them on a file move.
  • Do not skip the landing page and grab a random GitHub tree. Releases live at dottie-desktop-releases.

After minute 10

Next jobRead
What to ask next50 things to ask Dottie on your Mac
Hands-free voiceControl your Mac with voice
Siri vs a Mac agentSiri alternative for Mac
What this replaces (and what it does not)I Replaced Spotlight, Alfred, and Siri with One Mac App
Coming from Alfred workflowsBest Alfred workflows for Mac
Offline / Ollama / MLXRun local AI models on Mac
Ollama vs LM Studio on Apple SiliconOllama vs LM Studio
Multi-model chat client vs Mac agentBoltAI vs Dottie
More than one-shot commandsAutomate your Mac with AI
How Dottie sits next to ChatGPT and RaycastDottie vs other Mac AI tools
Product definitionWhat Is Dottie Desktop

Frequently Asked Questions

What Mac do I need to get started with Dottie?

Apple Silicon (M1 or later) and macOS 15.4 or newer. Intel Macs are not supported. First launch downloads about 2 GB of default on-device models for speech and local chat.

How long does Dottie take to set up on a Mac?

About 10 minutes if the first-launch model download is already cached or on a fast network: install, pick a model path, enable one permission, run one task. The model download is the only step that can stretch past that.

Do I need an account or Dottie Pro to start?

No. Local and BYOK work with no Dottie account. Optional Dottie Pro at $20 per month is managed models only. It does not unlock the 134 tools.

Which model should I pick in the first 10 minutes?

Local if you want privacy and a zero-config hello. BYOK if you already pay OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI, or Cerebras and want a stronger model on day one. Pro if you want managed models and no key plumbing.

Why are all Dottie permissions off after install?

Deny-by-default is the security model. Enable the one category you need for the first task. Mail, Messages, screen, and Terminal can wait.

Can I start with voice instead of typing?

Yes. Push-to-talk, the in-window mic, and the Hey Dottie wake word are available immediately. Text is enough to prove the agent works. See the voice control guide for the three modes.

Where do I download Dottie for Mac?

From the dottie.ai landing page, or the latest Dottie.zip on the dottie-desktop-releases GitHub repo. There is no Mac App Store listing.

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