# Yap — full documentation > Generated from the same Markdown source as https://cadence.host/yap/docs.html — do not edit by hand. > Yap is a macOS 26 app where your slides composite over your live camera. You present like a streamer; one recorded take reframes into a 16:9 video and a 9:16 Reel. The create → present → record loop, every effect, and the privacy model are below. ## Yap _Yap is a macOS app where your slides composite over your live camera. The create, present, record loop, and what you need to start._ Yap is Keynote that lives over your live camera. You are the background of your own talk, your slides ride on top, and the result exports as both a 16:9 video and a 9:16 Reel. The loop: Create (by talking or by hand), Present (over your live camera), Record (one take, both shapes). ### How Yap works **Create** a deck by hand or by talking to the AI builder. Open the AI pane and start building right away. Yap includes free credits out of the box, no key required. When those run out, add your own Anthropic key for unlimited use and full model choice. **Present** over your live camera in a window, full screen, or to a projector. Switch layouts mid-talk: Full (camera fills the frame with a content card), PiP (small camera inset over your media), Split (side-by-side), or media-only. **Record** one take with a single button. Export when you're done and Yap reframes that take into a **16:9 cut** (1920x1080) and a **9:16 cut** (1080x1920). One take, two finished files. ### What you need - **macOS:** 26 Tahoe or later - **Mac:** Any Mac with a camera (built-in, USB, or iPhone via Continuity Camera) - **Anthropic key:** Optional. Free credits are included. Add your own key when you want unlimited use. - **AI image generation:** Optional. Requires Apple silicon with Apple Intelligence enabled. Ready? [Install Yap](#install), then [build a deck with AI](#ai). --- ## Install Yap _Download the DMG, drag Yap to Applications, and grant Camera and the other permissions as Yap asks for them._ ### Download Get Yap from [cadence.host/yap](https://cadence.host/yap). Open the disk image, drag Yap into Applications, and launch. Sparkle keeps it updated automatically. To check manually: **Yap menu → Check for Updates.** > **Beta/Gatekeeper:** if macOS blocks the first launch, right-click Yap in Applications, choose **Open**, then **Open** again. One time only. ### First launch Yap walks you through four screens on first open: 1. **Welcome.** A quick intro. Press Return or click **Continue**. 2. **How it works.** The core loop: build a deck, present over your camera, export 16:9 and 9:16. Click **Continue**. 3. **Turn on your camera.** Click **Turn on camera** and grant access when macOS asks. Skip it here and Yap prompts automatically at the end of onboarding. 4. **Choose your Yap folder.** Default is `~/Documents/Yap`. Leave it or pick a different location, then click **Let's go.** After onboarding, Yap opens a built-in Welcome deck. Reopen it anytime from **Help**. ### Permissions Yap asks for each permission the first time it needs it, never all at once. | Permission | When Yap asks | | --- | --- | | **Camera** | Onboarding step 3, or automatically at onboarding finish if you skipped the button | | **Microphone** | First time you use live captions or start a session recording | | **Speech Recognition** | Alongside the microphone prompt, when captions first start | | **Screen Recording** | Only when you tap **Record This View** in the presenter panel | ### Requirements - **macOS:** 26 Tahoe or later (hard minimum) - **Camera:** Built-in, USB/Thunderbolt external, or iPhone via Continuity Camera - **AI image generation:** Apple silicon + Apple Intelligence enabled --- ## Slides _A slide composites your camera with one media item, one line of text, and one entrance effect. Layouts, text styles, media types, and build-on-previous._ A slide is the stage. It combines your live camera, one piece of media, a line of text, and one entrance effect into a single moment. Build slides by hand in the editor, or talk to the [AI](#ai) and let it draft the deck for you. ### Layouts | Layout | What it does | | --- | --- | | **Full** | Camera fills the frame; media floats as a card on top. | | **Picture-in-Picture** | Media fills the frame; you shrink to a chip in any corner. | | **Split** | Camera and media share the frame side by side (stacked in portrait). | | **Media only** | Media fills the frame; your camera stays live but hidden. | The stage morphs between layouts without a cut. You can switch layouts live while presenting. See [Present](#present). ### Text Each slide has one text field and a style. | Style | Position | | --- | --- | | **Headline** | Centered, bold, scales to fit. | | **Lower third** | Bottom-left name strip, broadcast style. | Toggle text off to hide it without losing your copy. Re-enable it any time and the text is still there. ### Media One item per slide. - **Image** - Any common format. GIFs loop automatically. PNG transparency lets your camera show through the cutout. - **Web** - A live page, fully interactive on air. Click it, scroll it, play video right in the frame. - **Video** - Per-slide autoplay and loop toggles. ### Text effects Each slide plays one entrance effect when text appears. Fourteen ship ready: Slam, Scale up, Star Wars, Zoom punch, Bounce, Typewriter, RGB split, Sparkle, Fire, Glitch, Neon, Film burn, and Drip. The default is no animation. See [Text effects](#effects). ### Green screen and captions Two per-slide toggles. **Green screen** cuts you out of your background in real time so media shows behind you. No actual green screen needed. **Live captions** print your words as subtitles at the bottom of the frame, on-device with no network required. Turn them on per slide or leave them off. Both are covered in detail in [Present](#present) and [Live captions](#live-captions). ### Build on previous A slide can inherit the previous slide's media and layout, so you layer only new text on top. The media panel locks; you write the next line, pick its style, and choose how it enters. Like build bullets in Keynote, with your camera and media held. The slide card shows a small arrow when build on previous is on. Chain as many as you need. --- ## AI deck-builder _Describe a deck in plain language and Claude builds it live. Free credits to start, then add your own Anthropic key for unlimited use._ Open the AI pane, describe what you want ("make me a 5-slide deck about sleep and creativity"), and Claude builds it live, slide by slide, on the canvas. Each slide appears as it's added or edited. You're watching the real deck take shape, not a preview. ### Free to start, then your key Yap ships with free AI credits. Open the AI pane and start building, no key needed. When your free credits run out, or if you want unlimited use and full model choice, add your own Anthropic key in the chat pane or in Settings -> AI. With your key, requests go directly to your Anthropic account and are billed there. Get a key at [console.anthropic.com](https://console.anthropic.com). Free credits use fast, lower-cost models. Your own key unlocks your choice of Sonnet, Opus, or Haiku. ### What it can do - **Build a deck from scratch** - describe the topic and Claude writes, structures, and lays out every slide. - **Edit what's there** - ask it to reorder, rewrite, or cut slides by describing the change. - **Set a slide to a live web page** - say "show the Yap homepage on slide 3" and it wires the URL in. - **Generate an illustration** - on Apple silicon with Apple Intelligence enabled, Claude can generate an on-device image and drop it onto a slide. Not available on Intel Macs. - **Drop in a reaction GIF** - ask for emphasis or humor and it picks one. ### Surprise me Tap **Surprise me** and Claude picks a topic and builds a full deck with a real arc: hook, build, payoff. It asks one optional question first so you can steer the topic or vibe, then runs. Say "go" to skip straight to the build. ### Restore any step Hover any AI message in the chat and a **Restore to here** button appears. One click rolls the deck back to exactly that point. When a build finishes, a **Ready to play?** card appears at the bottom. Tap it to jump straight into Present mode. ### What stays private > Only your prompt and slide text go to Claude. Your camera, photos, and recordings never leave your Mac. With free credits, requests go through Cadence's server (which holds the managed key). With your own key, requests go straight to Anthropic. Either way, only text leaves your Mac. See [Privacy](#privacy) for the full policy. --- ## Text effects _Fourteen entrance effects for your slide text. What you see live is exactly what exports._ Each slide's text can enter with one effect. It plays once as the text appears, then the text sits clean. What you see live is exactly what lands in your export. Shipped text effects: - **Slam** (transform) — Punches in hard. - **Scale up** (transform) — Grows into frame. - **Star Wars** (transform) — Crawls into the void. - **Zoom punch** (transform) — Snap zoom. - **Bounce** (transform) — Drops and bounces. - **Typewriter** (reveal) — Types letter by letter. - **RGB split** (shader) — Chromatic split resolves clean. - **Sparkle** (shader) — Shimmer sweep + twinkles. - **Fire** (shader) — Flame licks up, settles clean. - **Glitch** (shader) — Digital tear-in. - **Neon** (shader) — Tube glow + flicker. - **Film burn** (shader) — Warm projector burn. - **Drip** (shader) — Columns melt down. ### All 14 effects | Effect | What it does | | --- | --- | | **None** | Text appears instantly, no animation. | | **Slam** | Drops from above and shakes on landing. | | **Scale up** | Scales in from small with a blur that resolves to sharp. | | **Star Wars** | Rises from below at a perspective tilt, then stands upright to face you. | | **Zoom punch** | Snaps in from oversized with a quick overshoot. | | **Bounce** | Drops from above and bounces on impact. | | **Typewriter** | Reveals characters one by one. | | **RGB split** | Chromatic color offset that closes to clean. | | **Sparkle** | Shimmer sweep with glinting twinkles. | | **Fire** | Procedural flame rises through the text. | | **Glitch** | Horizontal tears and digital-noise blocks. | | **Neon** | Glowing edge fill with a soft outer halo. | | **Film burn** | Warm grain, exposure flicker, and a scorch bloom. | | **Drip** | Text melts downward, then resolves clean. | ### Applying one Open **Text Effects** in the slide inspector (between Text and Media). Tap a row to apply it. The preview plays immediately on the canvas. Tap the same row again to replay. Effects are per slide and do not affect other slides. ### Coming soon **Confetti** and **Shatter** appear grayed out at the bottom of the list and are not live yet. --- ## Present _Enter present mode, choose a window, full screen, or a projector, switch layouts live, and keep a private presenter panel. Includes green screen._ Hit **Present** and the editor swaps for a full-canvas stage that composites your live camera and the current slide. You are on screen with your content, not beside it. ### Start presenting | Shortcut | Action | | --- | --- | | ⌥⌘P | Present from beginning | | ⇧⌥⌘P | Present from current slide | The menu bar **Present** menu and the toolbar **Present** button do the same. Press **Esc** or the panel's **End** button to stop. ### Window, full screen, or projector By default, Present opens in a window. To go full screen, choose **Present full screen** from the toolbar **Present** dropdown. Connect a projector and Yap routes the stage there full screen automatically. Your presenter panel stays on your laptop; the projector only sees the stage. To present over Zoom or Meet: start presenting, share the Yap window in your call, and turn your call's camera off. > If your displays are in Mirror mode (System Settings > Displays), Yap presents in-window instead of routing to the external screen. ### Switch layouts live | Key | Action | | --- | --- | | ⌘1 | Full (slide inset over camera) | | ⌘2 | PiP (camera corner, slide behind) | | ⌘3 | Split (camera and slide side by side) | | ⌘4 | Media Only (camera hidden) | | Space | Cycle through all four | | → / ← | Next / previous slide | ### Presenter panel A private floating window shows your next-slide preview, the per-slide inspector, camera switcher, and the record buttons. It is excluded from screen capture, so sharing the stage window keeps your controls private. See [Record](#record) for details on the two record buttons. ### Green screen Toggle **Green screen** in the slide inspector to cut your background and float you in front of the slide's media. No green backdrop or color keying needed. The segmentation runs on-device. The cutout shows live. **Record This View** keeps the cutout in the captured file. Multi-format Export re-composites from your raw camera, so the full background appears there for now. For the cleanest cutout, use even light and a plain background. ### Keyboard controls | Key | Action | | --- | --- | | → | Next slide | | ← | Previous slide | | Space | Cycle layout | | ⌘1–⌘4 | Jump to a specific layout | | E | Edit slide text in place | | H | Hide camera and all overlays | | Esc | End session | --- ## Live captions _On-device subtitles of your speech, pinned to the bottom of the stage. A per-slide toggle._ Live captions transcribe what you say and pin the text as a subtitle at the bottom of your stage. Useful for sound-off viewing or accessibility. Transcription runs on-device through Apple's Speech framework, so your audio stays on your Mac. ### Turning them on Captions are off by default and are a per-slide setting. Open the slide inspector and flip the **Live captions** toggle. Captions run only while you are presenting a slide that has them enabled, and stop when you move to an uncaptioned slide. ### What you need - **Microphone:** Required. Prompted the first time captions start, not at launch. - **Speech Recognition:** Required. Prompted at the same time as the microphone. - **Language:** English only. --- ## Record _Two recorders. Record Session for a take you reframe into 16:9 and 9:16 later. Record This View for a quick baked clip of exactly what is on screen._ Both recorders live in the presenter panel. Pick by what you want back: a flexible take to shape later, or a quick baked clip. ### Record Session Record Session captures a raw take (camera + mic + your slide timing) and saves it inside your deck. After the session, export it into a 16:9 video, a 9:16 Reel, or both from a single performance. The take travels with the deck automatically. Move it, copy it, share it. - **Button:** "Record Session" in the presenter panel - **Requires:** Camera + Microphone permissions - **Mic prompt:** First time only, at the moment you hit Record - **Output:** Saved inside your deck package - **Screen Recording needed:** No When the session stops, press **⇧⌘E** (or File > Export Reels & Video) to produce finished clips. See [Export](#export). ### Record This View Record This View captures exactly what is on screen to a flat `.mp4`. Effects are already baked in. One shape, no post-processing. - **Button:** "Record This View" in the presenter panel - **Requires:** Screen Recording (System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen Recording) - **Output:** `~/Documents/Yap/Recordings/YAP .mp4` - **Session Recording needed:** No > If Record This View does nothing the first time, open System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen Recording, toggle Yap on, and restart the app. ### Which one | Goal | Recorder | | --- | --- | | Post a 16:9 and a 9:16 from one take | Record Session | | Reframe or adjust aspect after the fact | Record Session | | Quick clip of exactly what is on screen | Record This View | --- ## Export _Record once, export a 1920x1080 video and a 1080x1920 Reel from the same take. Each is reframed, not cropped._ Record your session once. From that single take, export a **1920x1080** cut for YouTube or Zoom, a **1080x1920** cut for Reels or TikTok, or both at once. ### Reframed, not cropped For each shape, Yap recomputes the full layout from scratch. Your camera fills its zone, and text resizes to fit. Nothing is letterboxed or center-cropped from the other format. ### Export a take Press **Shift-Cmd-E**, or go to **File > Export Reels & Video.** Pick a recorded session, toggle the **16:9** and **9:16** chips (both are on by default), then press **Export**. When rendering finishes, Finder opens on the output files. Files land in your Yap Recordings folder, named like: ``` My Session (16x9).mp4 1920×1080 My Session (9x16).mp4 1080×1920 ``` - **Shortcut:** Shift-Cmd-E - **Menu:** File > Export Reels & Video - **Output folder:** ~/Documents/Yap/Recordings/ - **Formats:** 16:9 (1920x1080) and/or 9:16 (1080x1920) > **v1 limits:** Green-screen slides export your real background (the live cutout is preview only). Web slides export a snapshot. In-slide video exports a still. For any of those, use **Record This View** in the presenter panel instead. --- ## Files _Decks save as portable .yap files, autosave continuously, keep version history, and carry their recordings with them._ ### Your decks A deck saves as a `.yap` file. It looks like a single file in Finder but carries everything inside, including images, videos, and recordings. Hand someone the `.yap` file and everything travels with it. ### Autosave There is no Save command. Yap saves about a second after you stop editing. Unnamed work lands in `Autosave.yap` in your Yap folder and is restored on next launch. **Save a Copy** (`⌘⇧S`) prompts for a name, writes to that file, and switches autosave to it going forward. Your original file is left as last saved. ### Version history Yap captures restore points as you work. Save one on demand or browse the full list. | Action | Shortcut | | --- | --- | | Save Version Now | `⌥⌘S` | | Version History | `⌥⌘H` | **Version History** lists every restore point with date, time, and slide count. Hit **Restore** on any row to roll back. Yap snapshots your current state first, so restoring is undoable. ### Where files live - **Default:** ~/Documents/Yap - **Change in:** Settings -> Files - **Recordings:** Session takes live inside each deck ### Welcome deck On first launch, Yap opens a built-in sample deck that walks through layouts, effects, the AI builder, and the record-once / two-cuts workflow. Reopen it any time from **Help -> Open the Welcome Deck**. --- ## Privacy _Only your AI prompt and slide text ever leave your Mac. Camera, photos, and recordings stay local._ > Only your prompt and slide text go to Claude. Your camera, photos, and recordings never leave your Mac. ### What leaves your Mac When you use the AI builder, Yap sends your typed message and a text summary of your slides to Claude. With free credits, that request goes through Cadence's server using a managed key, tagged with an anonymous install ID (a random number, no personal info). When you add your own Anthropic key, it goes straight to Anthropic. Either way, only text leaves your Mac. ### What never leaves - **Camera frames:** Never sent or uploaded - **Photos and images:** Pixels stay on your Mac - **Generated images:** Created on-device; not uploaded - **Reaction GIFs:** Local only - **Recordings:** Written to your Mac; never synced anywhere - **.yap files:** Your decks stay on disk - **Person segmentation:** Runs on-device via Apple Vision - **Image generation:** Runs on-device via Apple Intelligence (Apple-silicon only) - **Live captions:** On-device speech recognition when your Mac supports it Your Anthropic key (if you add one) is stored locally on your Mac. ### Analytics Usage analytics are content-free and optional. Each event carries only your anonymous install ID and app version. No deck text, no images, nothing camera-derived. Opt out any time in Settings. Full policy: [cadence.host/yap/privacy.html](https://cadence.host/yap/privacy.html). --- ## Troubleshooting _Fixes for the common issues: black camera, missing captions, AI, recording, and green-screen quality. Plus quick answers._ #### Camera preview is black Grant Camera in **System Settings → Privacy & Security → Camera**, then switch back to Yap. No relaunch needed; the camera starts the moment Yap comes to the front. If another app is already using the camera, quit it and try again. > **Turn camera off when backgrounded** (Settings → Camera, on by default) pauses the camera when Yap loses focus and resumes it when Yap returns. This is intentional. #### Captions are not showing Both permissions must be enabled: 1. **System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone**, then turn Yap on. 2. **System Settings → Privacy & Security → Speech Recognition**, then turn Yap on. Either one missing will prevent captions from running. #### The AI is not responding Yap includes free AI credits. Open the AI pane and start building with no key required. When the free credits run out, add your own Anthropic key in **Settings → AI** (keys start with `sk-ant-`). If a key is rejected, check the key format and your account credit at [console.anthropic.com](https://console.anthropic.com). Your key is stored locally on your Mac. #### Record This View will not start Grant **Screen Recording** in **System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen & System Audio Recording**, then try again. Record Session (the `.yapsession` format) does not need Screen Recording permission. #### Green-screen cutout looks choppy The cutout is on-device segmentation computed per camera frame in real time. Even lighting and a plain background produce cleaner edges. Close other GPU-heavy apps to free up more GPU for a better frame rate. > The green-screen effect is live-only. Exported MP4s use the raw camera feed. To capture the effect in a recording, use **Record This View** from the presenter panel. ### Common questions **Do I need a green screen?** No. Yap uses on-device person segmentation, not chroma key. Any background works. **Does my camera feed go to Claude?** No. The AI receives only text: your message plus the deck's text and structure. No video, images, or camera frames are ever sent. **Do I need Apple Silicon?** macOS 26 (Tahoe) or later is required for all features. Apple Silicon (with Apple Intelligence enabled) is needed only for on-device AI image generation. Everything else runs on any macOS 26 Mac. **Are captions powered by Apple Intelligence?** No. They use Apple's built-in Speech framework, on-device, English only. **Where are my files?** Decks are `.yap` packages saved to `~/Documents/Yap` by default (change in Settings → Files). Recordings live inside the `.yap` package and stay on your Mac. **Why are there two record buttons?** Record Session saves raw footage as a `.yapsession` file inside your deck. Use the Export sheet (⇧⌘E) afterward to render separate 16:9 and 9:16 MP4s from one take. Record This View captures the window as it looks on screen, immediately, to a single MP4 with all effects baked in. **How do I send feedback?** Use **Send Feedback** in the app menu. It opens a form that emails the team directly. --- ## For agents _Machine-readable docs for AI agents: llms.txt, the full Markdown, and the feature manifest._ Yap ships machine-readable docs alongside this page for agents and workflows that consume documentation programmatically. ### Machine-readable endpoints - **[/yap/llms.txt](/yap/llms.txt):** Compact index: feature names, section anchors, one-line descriptions - **[/yap/llms-full.txt](/yap/llms-full.txt):** Full documentation as clean Markdown in one file - **[/yap/features.json](/yap/features.json):** Structured inventory of every named feature and effect ### One-line definition Yap is a local macOS 26 app that composites a live camera feed with slides (text, images, web pages, video) and exports each take as both a 16:9 video and a 9:16 Reel. No server, no cloud sync. The in-app AI builder runs on free credits out of the box; add your own Anthropic key when the free allowance runs out for unlimited use.