Onboarding
Step-by-step guide to the first-launch macOS onboarding wizard, permissions, and when capture starts.
Last updated: 28 April 2026
Overview
The first time you launch Overshow, a native macOS onboarding wizard walks you through four steps: Intro → Permissions → Demo → Ready. Capture is paused for the whole wizard so nothing is recorded until you have finished (or explicitly started capture afterward, depending on how you complete the flow).
To enable document indexing, go to Settings → Documents after onboarding. That tab is only visible when the document_watch feature flag is enabled.
Work through the screens in order. You can return later to many settings from the app if you skip or defer something.
Welcome
You see a short introduction to what Overshow does and how local processing fits in. Continue when you are ready to sign in.
Sign in
Choose Google, Microsoft, or email-based sign-in, depending on what your organisation uses. This links the desktop app to your Overshow account for licensing and device management. Complete authentication in the system or in-app browser as prompted.
Enable permissions
macOS asks for access one category at a time. Each step explains why it matters for you: better recall, richer context, and accurate transcripts. not generic “the app needs this.”
Screen Recording
This helps give you better answers by letting Overshow capture system audio — the other participants you hear in a meeting (audio only). In the meeting-focused public beta this is what the Screen Recording permission is used for; the beta does not record your screen. Without it, Overshow can still capture your microphone but not the other speakers, so meeting transcripts will be one-sided. (Screen content capture and OCR exist in Overshow but are not part of the public beta.)
Accessibility
This helps give you better answers by allowing Overshow to read UI structure and labels where the system permits it, so search can tie results to windows and controls you actually used.
Microphone
This helps give you better answers by capturing audio for on-device transcription. Spoken meetings and dictation become searchable alongside screen text.
Calendar (optional)
This helps give you better answers by aligning captures with meetings and surfacing pre-meeting context when you enable those features. You can skip or limit this if you prefer not to connect your calendar.
Grant only what you are comfortable with; you can change these later in System Settings. See Permissions for paths and revocation.
Demo mode
If offered, demo mode shows how search and Ask behave using sample or guided content so you can explore before your own captures accumulate. You can skip this if you want to go straight to live use.
Go (completion)
The final step confirms setup and points you to the main app. After you finish, start or resume capture from the product controls when you are ready. If anything failed during onboarding, resolve permissions or sign-in from settings and try again.