Cloud Sync Vocabulary Across Devices

Keep your custom vocabulary in sync across all your Apple devices using iCloud.

HyperWhisper can sync your custom vocabulary to iCloud so the same words, names, and replacements are available on every Mac and iPhone signed into your Apple account. Only your vocabulary list travels over iCloud — transcripts, recordings, and other settings stay on each device.

Cloud sync is off by default. You turn it on per device.

Enabling iCloud Sync

macOS

1. Open Settings

   Click the HyperWhisper menu bar icon, then choose Settings.

2. Go to the Vocabulary section

   Select Vocabulary in the Settings sidebar.

3. Turn on iCloud Sync

   Enable the iCloud Sync toggle. HyperWhisper will show an alert titled Quit HyperWhisper to apply with a Quit HyperWhisper button and a Later button. The change takes effect the next time you open the app — the app does not relaunch automatically.

iOS

1. Open Settings

   Tap the gear icon to open HyperWhisper Settings.

2. Find iCloud Sync

   Scroll to the iCloud Sync section and enable Sync vocabulary with iCloud.

3. Relaunch

   A notice appears confirming the change takes effect the next time you open HyperWhisper. Close and reopen the app.

Repeat these steps on every device you want to keep in sync.

The toggle must be enabled independently on each device. Turning it on for your Mac does not automatically enable it on your iPhone, or vice versa.

How Sync Works

Once enabled, HyperWhisper stores your vocabulary in a CloudKit container (iCloud.com.hyperwhisper.hyperwhisper) backed by NSPersistentCloudKitContainer. Apple’s CloudKit infrastructure handles propagating changes across your devices in the background.

• What syncs: Your custom vocabulary entries — the phrase, replacement text, and sort order.
• What does not sync: Transcripts, recordings, modes, and all other settings. These remain local to each device.
• When sync happens: Changes you make on one device propagate as soon as the device has an internet connection and your iCloud account is active.

Offline Behavior

You can add, edit, and delete vocabulary entries while offline. HyperWhisper saves changes locally and uploads them to iCloud the next time a connection is available.

If you add the same word on two different devices while both are offline, CloudKit delivers both records after reconnecting. HyperWhisper automatically detects and removes the duplicate — keeping one copy of the word and deleting the extra record. On macOS, this deduplication pass runs the first time you open the Vocabulary view in a session, so open it once after reconnecting to trigger the cleanup.

Turning Off iCloud Sync

Toggle iCloud Sync off in the same settings location. After relaunching, the app switches to a local-only store. Your existing vocabulary remains on the device; it is no longer updated from or pushed to iCloud.

Troubleshooting

Vocabulary is not appearing on another device.

• Confirm iCloud Sync is enabled on both devices (see Enabling iCloud Sync above).
• Make sure both devices are signed into the same Apple ID and iCloud is enabled in System Settings (macOS) or Settings → [your name] (iOS).
• Allow a minute or two after relaunching — initial sync can take a moment on a fresh install.

I see duplicate entries after syncing.

This can happen if the same word was added on two devices while offline. On macOS, HyperWhisper runs a deduplication pass the first time you open the Vocabulary view in a session and removes the extras automatically — open that view once after reconnecting. If duplicates remain, delete one manually from the Vocabulary list.

iCloud Sync is enabled but the app is using local storage.

If CloudKit fails to initialize (for example, because iCloud is unavailable or the account is not configured), HyperWhisper falls back to a local-only store automatically rather than blocking you from using vocabulary. Check that iCloud is signed in and has available storage, then relaunch the app.