Connect Google Calendar

Open Settings → Integration → Google Calendar and follow the connection flow. Shadow uses event names, times, meeting links, and participant lists to match a recording with the right event.

Calendar settings let you:

  • match only events that contain meeting links;
  • show the next event in the menu bar;
  • show upcoming events above Meetings;
  • notify you one minute before an event.

Review the connected Google account and calendars. Calendar data is account data and may leave your Mac to provide synchronization and matching features.

Calendar edits normally arrive through automatic change notifications. While Shadow is running, awake, online, and connected to Google Calendar, it checks the server's change number every three minutes to recover missed delivery to your Mac. It fetches events only when that number advances. Failed updates retry automatically with increasing delays. A separate full refresh every 30 minutes recovers changes whose provider notification never reached Shadow. Sleep, connection failures, and Google rate limits can delay updates.

Meeting settings

Open Settings → Meeting to configure:

  • the Quick start and stop shortcut;
  • Autopilot mode;
  • Smart Screenshot and hidden-screen alerts;
  • automatic meeting titles;
  • speaker diarization and optional speaker tags;
  • transcription behavior when the Mac is busy;
  • whether Shadow comes to the front when Listening starts;
  • your vault location;
  • audio saving and retention under Audio, plus separate screenshot retention under Smart screenshot. Each retention control shows its current storage usage.

Some capture settings are locked while Listening is active. Stop Listening before changing them.

Action settings

Open Settings → Action to configure Quick Access, voice-capture behavior, sound effects, and Action-history retention. Edit individual Skill inputs, prompts, display modes, and shortcuts from Skills → Action.

Current default shortcuts

  • Quick start and stop: Control + Shift + S
  • Quick Access: press Control twice
  • Voice Typing: Fn (Globe) for users who receive the current onboarding default

Your saved shortcuts can differ. Shadow preserves existing custom bindings during upgrades. If a shortcut conflicts with macOS or another app, choose a different modifier combination in Settings or the Skill editor.

To remove a Meeting, Quick Access, or individual Action Skill shortcut, select Custom first if the control has a preset dropdown. Click the shortcut field to start recording, then press Esc. The field returns to Click to set, and the shortcut stays unassigned after you restart Shadow. Individual Action Skill controls without a dropdown show the shortcut field directly.