Getting Started

Ayumi is available for free on the App Store for both macOS and iOS.

Note

Ayumi requires iOS 26 or macOS 26 (Tahoe) or later.

Installation

1. Download Ayumi from the App Store
2. Launch the app

Initial Setup

On first launch, Ayumi will ask you to select a folder for storing your journal entries.

Choosing a Folder

• Select a folder on your iCloud Drive to enable automatic sync across devices
• Alternatively, choose any local folder on your device
• The folder will contain your Markdown files and attached media

Tip

If you already use Obsidian, you can point Ayumi to a folder inside your Obsidian vault. Entries will be fully compatible.

Folder Structure

Ayumi organizes entries by date:

YourJournalFolder/
├── 2026/
│   ├── 01/
│   │   ├── 01/
│   │   │   ├── morning-thoughts.md
│   │   │   └── morning-thoughts.assets/
│   │   │       └── photo.jpg
│   │   └── 15/
│   │       └── weekly-review.md
│   └── 02/
│       └── ...

Each entry is a standard Markdown file with YAML frontmatter for metadata. Attached files are stored in a .assets/ folder alongside the entry.

Record Your First Entry

Your first entry can be spoken. Transcription runs on your device out of the box, so there is no account or API key to set up.

1. Tap the microphone button next to New Entry at the bottom of the journal
2. Tap Start Recording and allow microphone access when asked
3. Talk about anything — what happened today, what’s on your mind
4. Tap Stop & Transcribe

The recording is transcribed in the background and appears in your journal as an entry, titled from its opening sentence. The first time, Ayumi downloads Apple’s speech model for your language; after that, transcription works offline.

Tip

Not sure what to say? See What Is Voice Journaling? for prompts.

Or Write One

1. Tap New Entry (or press Cmd+N on macOS)
2. Write your thoughts in Markdown
3. Location and weather data are captured automatically
4. Save with Cmd+Return (macOS) or the Save button

Settings

Settings you rarely change live in one place:

• iOS: tap the More button (…) at the top right of the journal, then Settings
• macOS: Ayumi > Settings (Cmd+,)

Section	What it holds
Transcription	Transcription profiles and API keys
Agents	Personas for Live
Journal Folder	The current folder, and Reset Folder to choose a different one. Resetting only makes Ayumi forget the folder; your entries stay where they are.
About	Links to this documentation and to the App Store review page, and the app version

On macOS, Transcription and Agents are tabs of the Settings window; Journal Folder and About are on the General tab.

Note

Older versions put Transcription Settings, Agent Settings and Reset Folder directly in the More menu instead of under Settings.

What’s Next

• Writing Entries — Learn about entry features
• Voice Recording — Record and transcribe voice memos, no setup required
• Gemini API Setup — Optional: reshape recordings with your own API key