Help & Support
Everything you need to get the most out of Tephra.
Getting Started
Tephra turns your voice into structured, searchable Markdown notes. Here's how to get up and running.
On first launch, Tephra downloads a small speech recognition model to your device. This only happens once and enables fully offline transcription.
Tephra needs microphone access to record. Location access is optional — if granted, your city and country are tagged to each note.
In Settings, pick whether to save notes to iCloud Drive (syncs across devices) or local storage (this device only).
Tap the record button, speak your thought, tap again to stop. Tephra handles the rest.
Recording Notes
Creating a new note
Tap the record button to start capturing audio. Speak naturally — Tephra works best with conversational speech. Tap the button again to stop recording. Your note will be transcribed, formatted, and saved automatically.
Appending to an existing note
Long-press any note in your list, then select Append from the context menu. Record your addition — it will be formatted and appended to the end of the selected note.
Deleting a note
Long-press any note and select Delete. You'll be asked to confirm before the note is permanently removed.
Tip: Tephra works great for meeting notes, journal entries, ideas on the go, or anything you'd rather speak than type.
AI Formatting
When connected to the internet and with AI enabled (via Pro subscription or your own API key), Tephra sends your transcription to an AI model that:
- Generates a descriptive title
- Cleans up punctuation and grammar
- Structures the text with headings and paragraphs
- Adds topic tags for easy filtering
- Outputs clean Markdown ready for any editor
Without AI (offline or free tier), notes are saved as plain transcriptions with basic formatting.
Supported languages
Tephra supports transcription in multiple languages. You can change the transcription language in Settings. The AI formatting works with any language supported by the underlying model.
Storage & Syncing
iCloud Drive
When iCloud Drive is selected, notes are saved to Tephra's iCloud container and automatically sync across all your Apple devices. Your notes appear as standard .md files that you can open with any Markdown editor — Obsidian, iA Writer, Bear, or any text editor.
Local storage
If you prefer to keep notes on-device only, select local storage in Settings. Notes are saved to the app's Documents folder and are not synced to iCloud.
Changing storage location
You can switch between iCloud and local storage at any time in Settings. Existing notes remain in their original location — only new notes use the updated setting.
Subscriptions & Pricing
Free
On-device transcription, local formatting, and unlimited note storage. No AI features. No account required.
Tephra Pro
Adds AI-powered formatting via our server. Notes are transcribed on-device, then the text is sent to our secure server for intelligent formatting, title generation, and tagging. Available as a monthly or annual subscription with a 7-day free trial.
Managing your subscription
Subscriptions are managed through Apple. To cancel or change your plan, go to iOS Settings → Apple ID → Subscriptions → Tephra. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period.
Bring Your Own Key (BYOK)
Advanced users can connect their own API key from a supported AI provider instead of subscribing to Pro. This gives you full control over your AI costs and provider choice.
Supported providers
- OpenAI — GPT-4o Mini
- Google Gemini — Gemini 2.0 Flash
- Anthropic — Claude 3.5 Haiku
- Groq — Llama 3.3 70B
Setup
Tap the gear icon on the main screen.
Toggle on "Use my own API key" in the Advanced section.
Tap the Provider row and select from the list.
Paste your key into the API Key field. It's stored securely in the iOS Keychain and never leaves your device.
Tip: Groq offers a generous free tier and is the fastest provider. Great for trying out AI formatting without any cost.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Audio is transcribed entirely on your device using a local AI model. The audio file is deleted immediately after transcription. Only the text transcript is sent to an AI provider for formatting — and only if you have AI enabled.
Yes. Transcription works fully offline after the initial model download. Without an internet connection, notes are saved with basic formatting instead of AI-enhanced formatting.
Absolutely. Tephra saves standard Markdown files with YAML frontmatter. If you save to iCloud Drive, just point your Obsidian vault to the Tephra folder. Tags, titles, dates, and locations all appear as frontmatter metadata.
Pro uses our server to handle AI formatting — you pay a flat subscription and we cover the AI costs. BYOK lets you use your own API key from OpenAI, Gemini, Anthropic, or Groq — you pay the provider directly based on your usage (typically a few cents per note).
Yes. Your API key is stored in the iOS Keychain — Apple's hardware-backed encrypted credential storage. It never leaves your device and is never transmitted to our servers.
Go to iOS Settings → Apple ID → Subscriptions → Tephra and tap Cancel. Your Pro features remain active until the end of the current billing period.
Refunds are handled by Apple. Visit reportaproblem.apple.com and select the Tephra purchase you'd like refunded.
Tephra supports transcription in over 15 languages including English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and more. You can change the language in Settings.
Still need help?
If you couldn't find an answer here, we're happy to help.
Email us at
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