Language
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|
| Language | Auto | The language for dictation |
Microphone
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|
| Microphone Selection | Auto | Automatically choose the best microphone |
| Preferred Mode | Auto | Prioritize certain microphone types |
Microphone modes
| Mode | Behavior |
|---|
| Auto | Hermes picks the best available microphone |
| AirPods | Prefer AirPods when connected |
| Headphones | Prefer any connected headphones |
| Built-in | Always use the Mac’s built-in microphone |
| Manual | Use a specific microphone you select |
Selecting a specific microphone
- Set Preferred Mode to Manual
- Choose your microphone from the dropdown
- The selected microphone will always be used when available
Audio processing
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|
| Mute speakers during dictation | Off | Silence system audio while recording |
Text processing
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|
| Remove Filler Words | Off | Remove “um”, “uh”, “like”, etc. |
| Code Mode | Off | Preserve code syntax during dictation |
Remove filler words
When enabled, common filler words are automatically removed:
- “um”, “uh”, “er”
- “like”, “you know”, “basically”
- “so”, “actually” (when used as fillers)
AI Formatting also removes filler words. This setting applies an additional cleanup layer before AI processing.
Code mode
Enable this when dictating code or technical content. Code mode:
- Preserves technical terms exactly
- Reduces aggressive punctuation
- Maintains formatting characters
