Questions
Does MiniPrompter collect anything about me?
No. Nothing at all.
MiniPrompter has no analytics, no tracking, no crash reporting and no account. Your scripts are read from your disk and never leave your Mac.
The two links in the app — online help, and the donation link — hand a web address to your browser. That is your browser making the connection, not MiniPrompter.
The app does count how many times you have opened it, so it can say thank you once and then never again. That number is stored on your Mac and is never sent anywhere.
MiniPrompter makes exactly one connection of its own, and this is it. Once a day it reads a small file at miniprompter.app/appcast.xml to see whether a newer version exists. The request carries nothing about you, your Mac or your scripts — it asks for a file and reads the answer. Turn it off in Settings › General › Check for updates automatically, and check by hand any time from the MiniPrompter menu.
Why does MiniPrompter never ask for any permissions?
Because it was built not to need any. No camera, no microphone, no accessibility access, no screen recording.
Even the shortcuts that work while other apps are in front use an older part of macOS that asks for nothing, rather than the keyboard-watching approach most apps reach for. That was a deliberate trade: it means every combination has to include Control or Option, and in exchange you never see a permission prompt.
Why is the fill light not as bright as a real ring light?
Because it is a screen. A display puts out around 500 nits; a ring light puts out far more.
Think of it as a fill light. In a dim room it lifts the shadows off your face and makes a visible difference. In a bright one you will barely notice it. See the Fill light page for how to get the most out of it — the short version is that width matters more than brightness.
My keys do nothing.
Almost certainly, MiniPrompter is not the app in front. Click the script window once. It glows faintly around the edge when your keys will reach it.
If you want to control it while Zoom or OBS is in front, turn on Settings › Shortcuts › Use the shortcuts below in any app.
The fill light disappeared.
If you are on an Apple silicon Mac running macOS 26.2 or later, Apple's own Edge Light has probably come on with your camera, and MiniPrompter has stood aside rather than lighting you twice. Settings › Fill Light says so when it happens.
Otherwise check Enable Fill Light — it is in the menu-bar icon, the View menu and Settings › Fill Light — and that the brightness slider is not at the bottom.
How do I keep it out of my recording?
Capture a window rather than the whole screen. The Recording page explains why that is the only reliable answer on modern macOS, and what to do in OBS, Zoom and QuickTime.
Can I use it with a beam splitter?
Yes. Settings › Text has Flip the text left to right, which is what a beam splitter needs. Leave it off otherwise.
How do I get new versions?
MiniPrompter checks for itself, once a day, and tells you when one is ready. You click Install, it downloads, and the app restarts on the new version.
To check right now, open the MiniPrompter menu and choose Check for Updates…. To stop the daily check, turn off Settings › General › Check for updates automatically — the menu item still works when you want it.
Every version is signed and notarized by Apple, and MiniPrompter refuses to install one that is not.
Where does MiniPrompter keep my script?
Two places, both on your Mac.
Whatever is on screen is saved continuously to ~/Library/Application Support/MiniPrompter/, so a crash or a sudden quit never loses your words. Saving with ⌘S writes a normal Markdown or text file wherever you choose.
If you opened a Word or RTF file, ⌘S offers Save As instead of overwriting it. MiniPrompter strips a document down to headings and body text on the way in, and writing that back over your original would throw away everything else in it.
Can I have it in my language?
English and Canadian French, so far. MiniPrompter follows whichever you have set in System Settings › General › Language & Region, with no switch of its own to remember.
Does it cost anything?
No. It is free, there is nothing to unlock, and there never will be. If it saves you an afternoon, there is a Buy Me a Coffee link in the About box, in the Help menu, and in Settings › General. It is the same page that covers BackupTempo and DiskMapper.