Getting started with Lyra

Lyra takes about two minutes to set up. Here is every step, and why each one is there.

What you need

A Mac with Apple Silicon (M1 or later). Intel Macs aren't supported.
macOS 14 Sonoma or newer.
Free disk space for the writing model: about 1.6 GB on Macs with 8 GB of memory, and about 3.5 GB on Macs with 12 GB or more.
An internet connection for the one-time model download. After that, Lyra works offline.

Install Lyra

Download Lyra and open the file.
Drag Lyra into your Applications folder.
Open Lyra from Applications. It lives in your menu bar, at the top right of your screen, not in the Dock.

If you open Lyra straight from the download or your Downloads folder, it offers to move itself to Applications. Say yes. Running it from Applications keeps updates and permissions working properly.

Prefer Homebrew?

brew install --cask lyra-mac/lyra/lyra

Allow Accessibility

Lyra works inside other apps. To read the text field you are typing in, and to write a suggestion back into it when you accept one, macOS requires the Accessibility permission. It is the only permission Lyra asks for.

Click Open Accessibility Settings in Lyra's setup window.
System Settings opens at Privacy & Security → Accessibility.
Drag Lyra into the list (or switch it on if it's already there). You may be asked for your Mac's password.

Lyra notices the change by itself; there's no need to restart it.

Lyra does not ask for Input Monitoring, Screen Recording or Full Disk Access. It never writes into password fields.

Two quick practice steps

Setup then shows you the two things Lyra does, in a practice box: fixing your writing as you type, and changing the tone of a selection with ⌘⌘. You can skip either. Last, Lyra asks for your name, then you're done.

The model download

Lyra writes with a private model that runs on your Mac, and downloads it once after you sign in. The menu bar icon shows the progress as a percentage.

Macs with 8 GB of memory get a 1.1 GB model.
Macs with 12 GB or more (including 16 GB Macs) get a larger, sharper 3 GB model.

Suggestions start as soon as the download finishes. Nothing you type is sent anywhere while you wait. If you subscribe to Lyra Cloud, cloud suggestions work straight away.

Your first suggestion

Open any app you write in: Notes, Mail, Slack, WhatsApp, Gmail in your browser.
Type a sentence with a small mistake, for example thx for sending the deck, i will reveiw it tmrw, then pause.
A small Refine marker appears beside your cursor. Press Tab to see the suggestion, and Tab again to use it.

Don't want it? Just keep typing and it goes away. More on how suggestions work →