Troubleshoot
Almost everything comes down to one of three things: microphone access, audio routing, or which transcription mode you're in. Work down this list and you'll usually be back in a minute. When something does go wrong, the Verbative output panel (View → Output → Verbative) is the first place to look.
Microphone & audio
Grant microphone access to your editor
Verbative captures audio through VS Code, so your OS attributes the permission prompt to Visual Studio Code (or VSCodium), not to Verbative. If you never saw the prompt, enable your editor under System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone (macOS) or Settings → Privacy & security → Microphone (Windows) and restart it. This is the single most common fix.
Using AirPods or another Bluetooth headset?
Bluetooth headsets have two profiles: a high-quality stereo one with no microphone, and a telephone-quality one with a mic. Verbative opens the mic the way FaceTime and Zoom do so the headset switches to the mic profile — but if it doesn't hand over cleanly, the mic delivers silence and the wake word never fires.
To check: open Audio devices in the panel and switch input to your built-in microphone. If that works, the headset is the culprit — reconnect it, or keep the built-in mic selected for voice.
The voice loop
You said “listen” but nothing happened
First confirm the listener is on and you heard “listening” back. If you're in cloud transcription mode, the prompt is dictated through Claude Code CLI's own voice input, so the Claude Code CLI must be running in the integrated terminal and your ~/.claude/keybindings.json must bind a ctrl+<key> to voice:pushToTalk (Verbative adds ctrl+t for you on install). In local mode none of that applies — Verbative transcribes on-device and types the prompt straight into the CLI.
No live transcript while you dictate
The in-panel live transcript is a local-mode feature — that's where whisper.cpp runs on your machine, so Verbative can show the words as you speak. In cloud mode Claude Code CLI does the transcription and the text appears in the CLI instead. Switch Transcription to Local (on-device) in the panel if you want the live transcript (and the edit-before-send box).
Account & platform
Your plan or quota looks off
Free-tier daily limits — hands-free loops, Verbative Shots and Advisory Board reviews — reset at 00:00 UTC; the panel shows what's left for the day. The channel, parallel-agent and Mechanics caps are fixed maximums on Free, not daily, so they don't reset. If you just upgraded and still see the free tier, choose Sign in / Upgrade → Sign out and sign back in to refresh your license.
Windows or Linux
Verbative runs on macOS and Windows. Linux is on the roadmap — follow the changelog to hear when it lands. (The standalone Verbative Voice dictation app is macOS-only for now.)
Still stuck?
Email info@verbative.de with a quick note on what you expected versus what happened, and paste the contents of the Verbative output panel if you can — that's usually all we need to help.