ENFR

Verbinal Thought — Help & Support

Verbinal Thought is a native Mac workbench for high-level system design thinking. You converse, capture your reasoning as Thoughts (markdown notes you can tag, link, and arrange), and compose them into specs, assumption ledgers, assertion lists, and handoff briefs. It is a thinking tool — it helps you reason about what you're building. It does not write your source code.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need an API key?

No. Verbinal Thought is fully usable offline with no account and no API key. You can create projects and Thoughts, write and edit in markdown, tag and link Thoughts, arrange them on the canvas, search, and export — all with no network connection.

AI is optional. The in-app chat partner only activates once you add your own provider key. There is no sign-up, no Verbinal account, and no trial gate.

Which AI models does it use?

Chat uses OpenAI today on a bring-your-own-key basis — you supply your own OpenAI API key in Settings (⌘,), and the app talks directly to api.openai.com over HTTPS. We operate no proxy or server in between; requests go straight from your Mac to OpenAI under your key.

We run no model of our own. If you don't add a key, the chat partner simply stays inactive and the rest of the app works normally.

Does it write code for me?

No. Verbinal Thought is a thinking tool, not a coding tool. By design it does not:

  • generate or complete source code,
  • read your repository,
  • run your tests or build anything,
  • produce a finished system design from one click.

The AI is a thinking partner: it challenges assumptions, proposes alternatives, surfaces contradictions, and helps you structure your reasoning. If a code block appears in your output, it's text you put inside a handoff brief — not something the tool generates for you.

Where is my data stored? Is it private?

Everything is local-first. Your Thoughts live in a single SQLite database inside the app's own sandboxed container on your Mac:

~/Library/Containers/com.codebg.Verbinal.apps.thought/Data/Library/Application Support/verbinal-thought/data.sqlite

Your API keys are stored in the macOS Keychain, never in plain files. There are no Verbinal accounts, no cloud sync we operate, no analytics, no tracking, and no telemetry. The only network traffic is what you explicitly enable: chat requests to your AI provider, and — only if you opt in — cloud dictation (see below).

Because storage is a local file, you own your backups: copy the database file or export your projects. There is no online archive or data-recovery service. Full details are in the privacy policy.

Is my dictation private?

Yes, by default. The mic button transcribes with Apple's on-device Speech framework — audio stays on your Mac (Apple may fall back to its own cloud only for languages without on-device support). macOS prompts for microphone permission the first time you use it.

You can optionally switch the dictation backend to Cohere in Settings → Speech-to-text and supply your own Cohere key. In that mode only, recorded audio is uploaded over HTTPS to api.cohere.com for transcription. Verbinal Thought never receives or stores your audio — it goes directly to Cohere under your key. Apple on-device is the default; you have to choose Cohere deliberately.

How do I export my work?

Select a project, then use File → Export Project. The fastest path is Choose Format… (⌘⇧E), which previews what gets written and lets you pick a format. Individual formats are also listed in the menu:

  • Markdown — plain .md, plus dialects for Obsidian, GitHub, and Pandoc
  • HTML — single .html or an HTML site bundle (.zip)
  • PDF
  • .vthought — the lossless bundle (round-trips back into the app via File → Import .vthought…, ⌘⇧I)
  • JSON snapshot and CSV tables
  • Canvas as PNG / SVG
  • Diagram outlines: Mermaid (.mmd), Graphviz DOT (.dot), OPML outline

You can also right-click any node on the canvas to Copy it (as Markdown, Wikilink, or JSON), Export Thought…, or Share Thought…. Files are written to a location you pick via the standard macOS save panel — exports never leave your Mac unless you put them somewhere shared.

How do I connect Claude Desktop (external agents)?

External agents are off by default. To let a tool like Claude Desktop propose changes to your Thoughts:

  1. Open Settings → External Agents (⌘,).
  2. Turn on Allow external agents. This opens a local socket inside the app's sandbox container.
  3. Next to Claude Desktop, click Set up… to reveal the configuration snippet, then Copy it.
  4. Paste it into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json and restart Claude Desktop.

The snippet points Claude Desktop at the embedded helper bundled inside the app, which forwards requests to the running app over a local, filesystem-scoped socket. The helper has no network access of its own.

Two gates protect you, and both must be on:

  • Gate 1 — the Allow external agents toggle, which opens the socket.
  • Gate 2 — a per-session approval sheet that appears when an agent first tries to connect. You approve or deny each session.

Agents propose; you commit. Changes surface as reviewable diffs you accept or reject; destructive operations (delete, archive, unlink) always require an extra explicit confirmation. On the approval sheet you can choose to remember a client (and revoke it later in Settings → External Agents), which lets its safe, reversible proposals apply without review — destructive verbs still always require your confirmation.

Tip: For a stable Claude Desktop setup, run the installed app from /Applications rather than a development build, so the helper path doesn't change. The setup popover warns you when the path is unstable.

Troubleshooting

The AI chat isn't responding

  • Add or check your OpenAI key. Open Settings (⌘,) → OpenAI and confirm the status reads “Key loaded from Keychain.” Use Show key to verify it, and re-paste if needed.
  • Confirm you're online. Chat needs a connection to api.openai.com; offline, only the AI features pause — the rest of the app keeps working.
  • Check your provider account. An expired key, a billing issue, or a rate limit on the OpenAI side will surface as an error. Verify the key works in your OpenAI dashboard.
  • Remember chat is optional — if you never add a key, the chat panel stays inactive by design.

Dictation (the mic button) isn't working

  • Grant microphone permission. On first use macOS prompts for the mic; if you declined, enable it in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone for Verbinal Thought. Speech recognition permission is requested the same way.
  • Check the backend in Settings → Speech-to-text. The default is Apple (on-device when supported) and needs no key.
  • If you selected Cohere, dictation needs a valid Cohere key and a connection to api.cohere.com. Use the Test button next to the Cohere key field to validate the key, model, and network path. Switch back to Apple to dictate offline.
  • Adjust Auto-stop after silence if recording cuts off too early or runs too long.

Claude Desktop says the MCP service is unavailable

  • Enable Gate 1. Open Settings → External Agents and turn on Allow external agents — the socket is closed until you do.
  • Keep Verbinal Thought running. The helper forwards to the live app; if the app is quit, there's nothing to connect to. Launch it first.
  • Re-copy the config snippet. In Settings → External Agents, next to Claude Desktop click Set up…, then paste a fresh snippet into claude_desktop_config.json and restart Claude Desktop. If you'd been running a development build, the helper path can change between rebuilds — use the app installed in /Applications for a stable path.
  • Approve the session. When the agent connects, accept the per-session approval sheet (Gate 2).

Where does my data live (and how do I back it up)?

Your data is a single SQLite file in the app's sandbox container:

~/Library/Containers/com.codebg.Verbinal.apps.thought/Data/Library/Application Support/verbinal-thought/data.sqlite

To back up, copy that file, or export your projects (the .vthought bundle is lossless and re-imports cleanly). API keys live in the macOS Keychain, not in this file. There is no cloud copy — if you delete the file, the data is gone.

A few handy shortcuts

ActionShortcut
New Project⌘⇧N
Export Project → Choose Format…⌘⇧E
Import .vthought…⌘⇧I
Print Project…⌘P
Dictate (Toggle Mic)⌘⇧M
Switch right panel: AI Chat / Thought / Project⌘1 / ⌘2 / ⌘3
Show Archived⌥⌘A
Open Settings⌘,

You can also send selected text from any app into Verbinal Thought via the macOS Services → Send to Verbinal Thought menu.

Getting support

Copyright © 2026 Serhii Zautkin.