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Storage Settings controls the audio files that HyperWhisper writes to your disk. It sets the folder for new recordings, the file format that HyperWhisper keeps after a transcription, and the automatic cleanup of old recordings.

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Open Storage Settings

Click the HyperWhisper menu bar icon. Then click Settings. Then click Storage in the sidebar.

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Recordings Folder

The Recordings Folder card shows the folder that HyperWhisper writes new recordings into. The default folder is: To select a different folder, click Choose… and select the folder. HyperWhisper creates the folder if it does not exist.
A change to this setting applies to new recordings only. HyperWhisper does not move the recordings that are already on your disk. The audio of an older History entry stays in the previous folder, and playback continues to read it there.

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Show the folder

The Show recordings folder row opens the current folder in your file manager. The button is Show in Finder on macOS, Show in Explorer on Windows, and Open recordings folder on Linux. HyperWhisper creates the folder first if it is not there.
On Windows, HyperWhisper tests that the folder is writable at each start. If your folder is not writable — for example, an external disk that is not connected — the app moves to the first folder in this list that works: your Documents folder, the folder of an earlier build, your Downloads folder, then a temporary folder. The app writes the reason in the log.
On Linux, a folder change applies after you save the settings and restart HyperWhisper. Existing History entries keep their original absolute audio paths.Linux also tests the folder before it accepts it. The folder must be an absolute path, must not be the filesystem root, and must not be a symbolic link. HyperWhisper then writes and deletes a probe file to prove that only your user account can write there. If a test fails, HyperWhisper keeps the previous folder and shows the reason.

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Compress recordings to M4A

The Compress recordings to M4A toggle controls the format that HyperWhisper keeps after a transcription completes. HyperWhisper always records to WAV and always transcribes the WAV file. The conversion starts after the transcription completes, so a failed conversion cannot lose a transcript. When the conversion completes, HyperWhisper points the History entry at the new M4A file.
The toggle is on by default.

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Max recording duration

This picker sets the longest recording that HyperWhisper permits. At the limit, the recording stops and HyperWhisper transcribes the audio that it captured. The options are 20 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, and Off. The default is 1 hour. This picker is on macOS only. Windows and Linux have a fixed limit of 20 minutes that you cannot change.
On Linux, the 20-minute limit applies to a batch recording and to a streaming session. At the limit, HyperWhisper stops the session and reports the reason as interaction.recording_duration_limit_reached, or interaction.streaming_duration_limit_reached for a streaming session.
For the stored value and the backup key, see Advanced Settings.

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Automatic cleanup

This card deletes the recordings that are older than an age that you set. Automatic cleanup deletes the transcript record and its audio file.
The card is Enable automatic deletion. Turn the toggle on. Then give a number and select Minutes, Hours, or Days.A Next check line shows the countdown to the next automatic cleanup.
Automatic cleanup deletes your audio files and your transcripts permanently. HyperWhisper does not move them to the Trash or the Recycle Bin.