FAQ
Short answers to the questions that come up most often.
Basics
What is Fluent best at?
AI help right where you work on your Mac: rewriting selected text, drafting replies, summarizing pages and files, and running the workflows you repeat as Actions. It also takes dictation in any app, keeps longer conversations in the chat window, and lets you ask a Council of models when one answer isn't enough.
Does Fluent work with Firefox?
Yes, from Fluent 2.0.1: the tab in Firefox's front window is attached with its whole page, as in Safari and Chrome. Firefox can't be scripted, so its other tabs can't be attached and the Browser integration doesn't control it. Zen, LibreWolf, Waterfox, and Firefox Developer Edition and Nightly work the same way.
Do I need an API key to use Fluent?
No. Cloud providers such as OpenAI or Anthropic need one, but you can also use:
- An AI subscription you already pay for, such as ChatGPT or Claude (see below)
- Local models, downloaded in Settings → Models
- Apple Intelligence, on macOS 26 with Apple Intelligence turned on
Can Fluent work offline?
Yes, with local models or Apple Intelligence. Dictation also runs on your Mac once its models are downloaded. Cloud and subscription providers, web search and many integrations need the internet.
Fluent checks your license online from time to time, so connect at least once a week.
How do I migrate my license key to another Mac?
Open the License Manager and sign in with the email you used to buy Fluent. Remove the old Mac there, then enter your license key on the new Mac. The License Manager also shows your license key if you've lost it, and lets you add seats.
My license comes with a year of updates. What happens after it?
A Basic license can come with a year of updates instead of lifetime ones. Settings → General shows until when they run. Fluent keeps working, and Check for Updates… offers every version released in that year. A version released later asks for the upgrade to lifetime updates instead of opening, and links to the newest version your license includes. Upgrade… next to the date opens the License Manager, where you buy the upgrade.
Models
Can I use more than one provider?
Yes. Set up as many as you like and switch models per chat or per action. Star the models you use most in Settings → Models to keep them in Favorites.
Can I use my ChatGPT, Claude or Copilot subscription instead of an API key?
Yes. Open Settings → Models, choose the provider under Subscription Providers, click Install CLI if it isn't installed, then Sign In and approve in your browser.
| Provider | Uses your |
|---|---|
| Claude Code | Claude Pro or Max subscription |
| Codex | ChatGPT Plus, Pro or Business subscription |
| Antigravity | Google AI Pro or Ultra plan |
| GitHub Copilot | GitHub Copilot subscription |
There's no per-token bill: requests count against your plan's limits. The provider's page in Settings shows how much of each limit you've used and when it resets. Fluent's tools and integrations keep working.
What is NanoGPT, and how do I get the discount?
NanoGPT is a pay-as-you-go service with many models behind one account, and an official Fluent partner. Open Settings → Models, choose NanoGPT under Partners, and click Get 10% Discount in the API key section. It takes you to NanoGPT and sets up a discounted API key for Fluent. You need a NanoGPT account and a Fluent license.
Once the discount applies, the NanoGPT section shows Discount: 10% next to your balance and a Top up link. Reply details show what each NanoGPT answer cost.
What is the difference between Local (MLX) and a custom provider such as Ollama or LM Studio?
Local (MLX) runs models inside Fluent on Apple Silicon, with no other app needed. Ollama, LM Studio, Open WebUI and similar tools run models in their own app, and Fluent connects to them as a custom OpenAI-compatible provider.
How do I set up Ollama or LM Studio?
Start the app's local server first. Then either:
- Ask in any chat: "set up Ollama", and Fluent connects and tests it
- Or, in Settings → Models, click + (Add Custom Provider) in the toolbar, enter the API Base URL and turn on Optional API key
| App | API Base URL |
|---|---|
| Ollama | http://localhost:11434/v1 |
| LM Studio | http://localhost:1234/v1 |
Can you recommend the best models?
Usually the latest ones: they are trained better and designed with past flaws in mind. No model is best at everything, though: one can be excellent at writing and weak at tasks that use tools.
Chat Window And Council
What's the difference between the Smart Panel and the Chat UI?
| Smart Panel | Chat window | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A panel over the app you're in | A window with a sidebar of all your chats |
| Best for | Quick work on what you selected: rewrite, reply, summarize, insert the result | Longer conversations, finding past chats, scheduled actions, Council |
| Open it | ⌥Space, or your shortcut in Settings → Shortcuts | Toggle Chat UI in the menu bar, or a shortcut you set under Chat UI shortcut in Settings → Shortcuts |
Both use the same History. Press ⌘E to switch between them. See Chat.
What is Council?
Council asks several models the same question. They review each other's answers without knowing who wrote which, and a chairman model writes the final answer. Click Council in the chat window's sidebar to start one. See Council.
Why don't I see my Councils in the Smart Panel?
Councils live in the chat window. They are in its sidebar and search, but not in the Smart Panel's history menu.
Voice
Can I dictate with Fluent?
Yes. Turn on Enable voice dictation in Settings → Voice. Then press the dictation shortcut (⌃⌥Space unless you change it) in any text field and speak: the words appear as you talk, cleaned up by a local model. See Voice.
What is Ask Fluent?
Press the dictation shortcut with no text field focused, and speak a request instead: "what's on my calendar tomorrow?". By default, the answer streams into the floating badge. In a text field, When dictating in a text field in Settings → Voice decides what the shortcut does:
| Option | What happens |
|---|---|
| Dictate | Your words are typed into the field |
| Ask Fluent | Your words become a prompt in the Smart Panel |
| Ask Fluent, insert reply | Fluent's answer is typed into the field |
Does my voice leave my Mac?
No. Speech recognition and polishing run on your Mac. Ask Fluent sends what you asked to your model, like a typed request.
Actions And Workflow
What is the difference between Actions, Context, Memory, and Integrations?
| What it is | Example | |
|---|---|---|
| Actions | Saved prompts and workflows you run again | "Fix Grammar" on the selected text |
| Context | What you're looking at: selected text, the front app, browser tabs, files | Summarize the tab in front |
| Memory | What Fluent learns about you and your files, kept on your Mac | Your diet when you ask for a recipe |
| Integrations | Tools Fluent can use, through MCP | Web Search, Finder, Calendar |
When should I use Variables instead of Memory?
Use Variables for short fixed values you insert on purpose, such as a language, a company name, or a repeated phrase. Use Memory for what Fluent should know and bring in when it's relevant: facts about you, preferences, project notes, documents.
Can actions run in the background?
Yes:
| How | Where |
|---|---|
| Run in Background | Right-click an action in Settings → Actions |
| On a schedule | See the next question |
| From a link | Add background=true to a fluent:// link, see Deep Links |
| After closing the Smart Panel | Turn on Keep requests running in background in Settings → Smart Panel |
The menu bar lists running and finished actions, and a notification arrives when one finishes.
Can I schedule things in Fluent?
Yes. Set a schedule in the action editor, or ask in any chat: "run my Daily Summary action every weekday at 8:30". Scheduled actions appear in the chat window's Scheduled view and, by default, notify you when they finish.
Memory And Integrations
Do I need Integrations (MCP) to use Fluent?
No. Fluent is already useful for writing, rewriting, and context-aware tasks without them. Integrations add tools such as web search, files, app integrations, and automation.
Does Memory require MCP?
Memory is one of Fluent's built-in integrations: turn on Memory in Settings → Integrations. That one switch covers all of it, from learning to saving and using what it learned. No external server is needed.
How does Memory learn?
- From what you say: "remember that I'm vegan", "from now on, answer in British English". With Save new memories automatically on (the gear in Settings → Memory), Fluent also keeps lasting details you mention in passing, such as where you live.
- From your files: add files and folders in Settings → Memory, or ask in a chat: "add this to Taxes". Fluent learns what each one is about and learns it again when a file changes.
- From Finder: right-click files or a folder and choose Add to Memory. Turn it on first with Turn On… next to Finder right-click menu in the gear in Settings → Memory.
Each reply shows what Memory used or saved. Saving needs a model that can use tools, so Apple Intelligence never saves memories.
What does Memory never save?
Passwords, PINs, API keys, tokens, card and bank account numbers, and one-time codes, even when you ask. Religion, sexual orientation, political views, criminal history and medical diagnoses are saved only when you ask. Text from attachments, pasted text and pages is never saved on its own.
Permissions And Privacy
Do I need Accessibility permission?
Yes. It is the one core permission: global shortcuts, selected text, app context, the page in your browser's front tab, and typing dictation into other apps. Shortcuts start working as soon as you grant it, with no restart. Other permissions, such as Microphone for dictation or Calendar for the Calendar integration, are asked for only when a feature needs them.
Does Fluent collect my data?
No. Fluent sends no analytics, telemetry or crash reports, and Memory and History stay on your Mac. See Privacy Principles.
Where are API keys stored?
In the macOS Keychain. When you connect a service by asking Fluent in a chat, you paste the key into a field under the reply, so no model ever sees it.
Can I keep Fluent away from certain apps?
Yes. Add them in Settings → Blacklist, and Fluent's shortcuts and text selection stay inactive there.