Install Aria

Download Aria from the latest release. Releases run on Apple Silicon Macs with macOS 15 or later, and on x86_64 Linux.

Mac

With Homebrew, this installs Aria and links the aria command:

brew install --cask farhad-shabani/tap/aria

If Aria is already in Applications, add --force to replace it. Then open Aria to finish setup, as in step 3 below.

Without Homebrew:

1. Download the macos-arm64 DMG.
2. Open it and drag Aria to Applications.
3. Open Aria from Applications. It appears in the menu bar and opens its setup window. Express Setup uses the defaults; Customize… lets you choose engines and models.

To use the aria command in a terminal too, add this line to ~/.zshrc, then open a new terminal:

export PATH="/Applications/Aria.app/Contents/Helpers:$PATH"

Continue to Mac dictation.

Linux

Run:

curl -fsSL https://github.com/Farhad-Shabani/aria/releases/latest/download/install.sh | bash

The installer checks the download, installs the aria command in ~/.local/bin, and starts setup. If it reports that ~/.local/bin is not on your PATH, add it in your shell’s startup file.

Aria needs a systemd user session for its background service and ALSA (libasound2) for audio. For copying text, run it in your graphical desktop session. For speech output, install a system voice:

sudo apt-get install espeak-ng

Continue to terminal dictation.

Setup

The Mac app and the Linux installer both start setup. To run it again:

aria setup

Choose Whisper for a first transcription. Setup can download its model. For speech output, the system voice needs no model. You can leave optional features at their defaults. Choosing a chat agent does not contact it; an agent account is needed only for Ask.

Setup saves ~/.aria/config.yaml, downloads the models you select, and starts Aria’s background service. It backs up a hand-written configuration as config.yaml.bak before updating it. If a model download is interrupted, rerun setup to resume it.

To check the result:

aria doctor

Doctor reports configuration, model-path, and service problems. It does not record audio to test microphone permission.

Update or remove

On a Mac, choose Quit Aria from its menu, replace Aria in Applications with the copy from the new DMG, and open it. To remove Aria, quit it and move it to the Trash. With Homebrew, run brew upgrade --cask aria or brew uninstall --cask aria.

On Linux, rerun the install command to update. To remove Aria:

curl -fsSL https://github.com/Farhad-Shabani/aria/releases/latest/download/install.sh | bash -s -- --uninstall

Removing Aria leaves your models and ~/.aria in place. To delete saved dictations, use the history controls first.

Build from source

To build Aria yourself, follow Get started in the README. just app builds the Mac app into clients/build/mac/Build/Products/Release/. A source build runs from its checkout, so keep that folder in place.