CleatBrowse the handbook
Requirements and permissions
Cleat needs macOS 15 or later on Apple silicon; translation and dictation need macOS 26. The assistant works on either. Every permission, and the feature behind it.
Requirements
macOS 15 or later on Apple silicon. It is a 12 MB download and 50 MB on disk, most of which is the MLX engine behind the built-in assistant, and it idles at 0.0% CPU.
Two features need macOS 26: on-device translation through the Translation framework, and dictation through SpeechAnalyzer. The assistant uses Apple Intelligence on macOS 26 where the Mac supports it and has it turned on; on any other Mac it uses the built-in model, which runs on the GPU through MLX after a one-time download of 290 MB to 880 MB.
Permissions
Each is requested the first time a feature needs it.
| Permission | Needed for |
|---|---|
| Accessibility | Pasting from clipboard history, snapping windows, snippet expansion, menu bar search |
| Calendars | Agenda |
| Reminders | Reminders |
| Contacts | Contacts |
| Automation (Notes) | Notes search |
| Full Disk Access | Optional: Notes body snippets |
| Microphone | Dictation |
| Screen Recording | Copy Text from Screen |
The welcome screen, reachable as Welcome Screen in the palette, shows which are granted. All of them can be removed in System Settings › Privacy & Security.