Hi everyone, I'm Victor, the developer of Tapelark. Thank you to Michael Hansen and the AppleVis team for pointing me to the right place to introduce it here. I'm posting this myself, so please take it as a developer introduction and a request for feedback.
What it does
Tapelark is a Mac app (macOS 14.4 or later, Apple silicon and Intel) that records audio into a personal library.
- Radio: search a public directory of internet radio stations, listen, and record a station so each song is saved as its own file, named and tagged from the station's song titles. You can also schedule a show to record at a set time.
- Apps and browser tabs: record the sound of a music app or a browser tab; long recordings are split into tracks.
- Podcasts: subscribe to podcast feeds; new episodes are downloaded automatically.
- Formats: recordings are saved as AAC, Apple Lossless, FLAC or WAV, with tags and cover art. Radio recordings keep the station's own format.
- Menu bar: a menu bar item shows the recording status and the last saved track, and turns red while recording.
- Privacy: everything stays on your Mac. There's no account, no telemetry and no uploading.
Accessibility
- Every control has a VoiceOver label and can be reached from the keyboard. Automated tests check this on every screen in English and German, along with VoiceOver's reading order in every dialog.
- VoiceOver announces what happens without you having to look for it:
- when a recording starts and stops;
- when a track is saved ("Saved: title");
- when a recording stops on its own, and why (for example the 10-minute limit or low disk space);
- when a scheduled recording starts;
- whether a licence key was activated.
- Keyboard shortcuts (the main ones are also in the menu bar, with their shortcut next to them):
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Command-1 to Command-4 | Switch between Record, Radio, Podcasts and Library |
| Command-R | Start or stop recording |
| Shift-Command-S | Start a new track while recording (Split Now) |
| Command-F | Search in the section you're in (Edit menu > Search: radio stations, podcasts, library) |
| Option-Command-N | New scheduled recording (Recording menu > New Schedule…) |
| Option-Space | Play or pause a podcast |
| Option-Command-Left/Right Arrow | Skip back or forward in a podcast |
| Command-? | The built-in user guide (English and German) |
- The keyboard's play/pause key, Control Center's Now Playing and the Dock icon's menu also control radio and podcast playback.
- Status colours keep their contrast in light, dark and Increase Contrast, and animation stops when Reduce Motion is on.
- Known gaps: [KNOWN GAPS]
Licence activation
After buying, you get an e-mail with your licence key and an activation link. Clicking the link opens Tapelark with a standard macOS alert asking whether to activate; Return confirms. Or open Settings (Command-Comma), choose Licence, paste the key into the labelled key field and choose Activate. VoiceOver says whether it worked.
Pricing
A 14-day free trial with every feature; until you buy, each recording stops after 10 minutes, during the trial too.
- Tapelark: €39 (€29 launch price until 31 October)
- Tapelark Pro: €79, adds window video recording and AI voice and picture enhancement
Both are one-time purchases for one person on all their Macs. Download at tapelark.com.
I'd love feedback from VoiceOver users, especially on scheduling recordings and browsing the library. I'll answer questions here and post updates in this topic.
Victor