BoltAI 2

Name: BoltAI 2
Rating: 95 (42 reviews)

Write, code, learn with Al

Platform

Mac

macOS

13.5 or later

Size

109.3 MB

Version

2.13.6

Languages

English

Overview

BoltAI is a native AI client for Mac. Instead of opening a browser tab every time you need ChatGPT, you trigger it with a hotkey, use it right where you are, and get back to work. Keyboard shortcuts, inline actions, and custom prompts — AI that fits into your day, not around it.

Chat with documents, images, and selected text
Use AI without switching apps
Build custom agents and reusable workflows
Run AI tasks with keyboard shortcuts

BoltAI 2 features

Chat with context

Drop in files, paste screenshots, or reference selected text to get answers that match your situation. BoltAI picks up on what you're working on and responds accordingly, making interactions feel less generic and more useful.

Work without switching windows

Trigger AI tasks with keyboard shortcuts and inline actions. Select text, press a hotkey, and run a prompt without leaving your current app. BoltAI stays out of your way until you need it.

Build reusable workflows

Save custom assistants with specific instructions, voice settings, and model preferences. Create prompt templates and workflow actions for tasks you repeat often. Over time, your setup shapes itself around how you actually work.

Keep your conversations off the cloud

Your conversations stay local on your Mac by default and aren't used for training. Bring in chat history from other tools if you want continuity, but your data remains under your control throughout.

Ratings and reviews

95%

42 user ratings

Sandro Wefel
Jun 20, 2026
It works well, but - lacks synchronisation - does not work with OpenWebUI API endpoint
PZ
Jun 18, 2026
All in all great, but can we get an update to use at least opus 4.8? Or how would I fix these settings locally? "thinking.type.enabled" is not supported for this model. Use "thinking.type.adaptive" and "output_config.effort" to control thinking behavior. UPDATE: It is still not working, this is quite disappointing. Opus-4.6 and .4.7
Response from Developer
Jun 18, 2026
Hi PZ. I think I found the issue. Can you disable/reset the Thinking Budget option, and only use the new Thinking Effort when using Opus 4.8? Anthropic stops supporting the thinking budget option for Opus 4.8. I will enforce this in the app soon. Here is a quick screenshot on how to do it: https://cleanshot.com/share/wxG5fC1P Thanks for your patience.
MJ
Jun 9, 2026
Kept asking for accessibility permssions over and over and over while I was using a number of different applications but NOT BoltAI. On 1st run I deleted the universal shortcut and deliberately did not give it permissions. I can copy and paste back and forth when I need to, thanks. But it really wanted those permissions. It also asked for microphone permissions when I clicked "read aloud" to get it to read out a very short answer (single sentence, just wanted to hear what it sounded like). Why? It is going text-to-speech, so no need for microphone access. A related "Why?" is that the preferences are set to use the built in Apple Speech to Text engine ... why not use the built in Text to Speech as well? Either way, it doesn't need permission to listen to my microphone to speak. Fix the un-needed permissions grab and I'll try it again.
Response from Developer
Jun 18, 2026
Sorry again for the frustrating first run, and thanks for calling it out. You were right that this was confusing. I looked into it, and it doesn’t appear that BoltAI was asking for permissions unnecessarily just to read text aloud. It was most likely a bad default and confusing setup around the AI Workflow feature. - Accessibility: you may have triggered the AI Workflow Palette instead of the Instant Chat Bar. It had a separate `Control + Space` shortcut that had to be disabled in Settings > Shortcuts. I’ve fixed this for new users. - Microphone: I can’t reproduce Read Aloud asking for mic permission. The speaker button should not need mic access. The mic button next to Send is Voice Input, and that does require mic / speech permission. - Read Aloud: you were right that the default provider was bad. It defaulted to OpenAI instead of Apple’s built-in speech. I’ve fixed that too. I wrote more here: https://go.boltai.com/permissions I'm happy to help. My email [email protected]
tartar
Jun 9, 2026
goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood
Response from Developer
Jun 10, 2026
Thank you!