Install Iris on your Mac

Checking for the latest build...

This takes about 10 minutes. Do it somewhere quiet, because the setup asks you to speak.

You need: a Mac with an Apple chip (M1 or newer) and macOS 13 or later. To check, click the Apple menu at the top left, then About This Mac. Next to "Chip" it should say Apple M1, M2, M3 or newer. If it says Intel, write to support@irisforu.com first.

Download and install #

  1. On your Mac, open the welcome email from Iris Alpha and click the Mac download link. If the page asks you to sign in, type your email, then the 6-digit code we send you.

    Screenshot: welcome email with the Mac download linkScreenshot coming soon

  2. Your browser downloads a file called Iris.dmg. Open your Downloads folder and double-click it.

  3. A window opens with the Iris icon and an Applications folder. Drag the Iris icon onto the Applications folder.

    Screenshot: the Iris disk window, dragging Iris onto ApplicationsScreenshot coming soon

  4. Wait for the copy to finish. Then you can close that window. In Finder's sidebar, click the eject button next to "Iris".

  5. Open your Applications folder and double-click Iris.

  6. macOS asks: "Iris" is an app downloaded from the Internet. Are you sure you want to open it? Click Open.

    Screenshot: the macOS "downloaded from the Internet" questionScreenshot coming soon

Sign in #

  1. A window says Sign in to Iris. Type your email and click Send code.

  2. Check your email for a 6-digit code from Iris. Type it in. There is no password. If you are new, the code also creates your account.

    Screenshot: the Sign in to Iris window with the code boxScreenshot coming soon

First-run setup #

The setup is short. Each step makes you do something and shows you that it worked.

  1. This is Iris. The first screen says that Iris is an AI assistant and you are not talking to a person. Click Set her up.

  2. Can she hear you? macOS asks if Iris can use the microphone. Click Allow. Then say anything. The bars move when your voice reaches her. Click She can hear me.

    Screenshot: the microphone step with moving barsScreenshot coming soon

  3. Teach her your voice. Say the three phrases on screen, one at a time: "Iris, hello", "Hey Iris", "Iris, are you there?". She shows what she heard. If she heard something else, like "virus", she learns that this is how your voice comes through.

  4. Ask her something. Say: "Iris, what time is it?" She answers out loud.

  5. Stopping her. Say "stop" while she is talking and she stops mid-sentence.

  6. What she is good for. Read the two short lists, then continue.

  7. Here she is. Iris appears on your desktop, and the setup points out the Iris icon in the menu bar at the top of your screen. Click Start using Iris.

    Screenshot: Iris on the desktop and the Iris icon in the menu barScreenshot coming soon

Permissions Iris asks for, and why #

macOS asks for each permission the first time Iris needs it, so some of these appear later, not during setup. Iris only does what you ask, but she needs these to do it.

Permission Why Iris needs it Where to turn it on
Microphone To hear you when you say her name. System Settings > Privacy & Security > Microphone
Accessibility To control apps for you: press keys, click, switch tabs, type a WhatsApp message. System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility
Screen Recording (called "Screen & System Audio Recording" on newer macOS) To read what is on your screen, so she can help with what you are doing, for example notice an error message. System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen Recording
Automation ("Iris wants access to control...") To work with a specific app, like Terminal, Spotify, Music or Mail, when you ask. Click Allow when asked. Later: System Settings > Privacy & Security > Automation
Contacts, Calendars, Reminders Only when you use those features: messaging people by name, "what's my day", "remind me to...". Click Allow when asked

To turn on Accessibility or Screen Recording yourself: open the setting above, find Iris in the list, and switch it on. If Iris is not in the list, click +, choose Iris from Applications, and switch it on. macOS may ask you to quit and reopen Iris after you change Screen Recording.

You can also say "Iris, open accessibility settings" and she opens the right page for you.

Read What Iris sees to learn what happens with what she hears and reads.

Iris updates herself #

You only install once. Iris checks for new versions in the background, downloads them, and asks if you want to restart now or later. See Updating.

If it doesn't work #

  1. "Iris is damaged" or "Iris can't be opened." Move Iris from Applications to the Bin, download it again from the welcome email, and repeat the steps. If macOS still blocks it, open System Settings > Privacy & Security, scroll down, and click Open Anyway next to the message about Iris.
  2. The bars do not move in the microphone step. Open System Settings > Privacy & Security > Microphone and switch Iris on. Then quit Iris (menu bar icon > Quit Iris) and open it again.
  3. The sign-in code does not arrive. Check your spam folder. Wait 30 seconds, then click Send a new code. A code works for 10 minutes, and only the newest code works.
  4. She does not answer when you say her name. Check the microphone is not muted: click the Iris icon in the menu bar and look at Mute microphone. Then run Setup and microphone check... from the same menu.
  5. She says she can't do something because of a permission. Turn on the permission from the table above, then ask again.
  6. Still stuck? Report it on the Report a bug page. Install and launch failures count as real bugs. Or write to support@irisforu.com with what you saw, your macOS version, and a screenshot if you can.