1. Install
Download Linda.dmg, open it and drag Linda to Applications. The DMG is signed and notarized by Apple, so it opens without warnings. You need a Mac with Apple silicon (M1 to M5) and macOS 26.
2. Choose who thinks
- On this Mac: free and private. Linda recommends an assistant for your chip and memory and downloads it once (from 1.7 GB).
- Online: fastest and smartest. Paste a key from OpenRouter, OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Groq, Mistral or DeepSeek; you pay the provider for what you use.
- Advanced: use Ollama, LM Studio or mlx-lm if you already run them.
Not sure? Start on this Mac; you can switch in Settings › Assistant at any time. See Local AI on your Mac.
3. Share a folder
Each task keeps its files in its own folder and sees nothing from other tasks. For tasks that belong together, like a month of bills, start a project on the folder where they live: its tasks work there.
4. Two permissions
Microphone, so you can hold a key and speak (your voice stays on the Mac), and Accessibility, so the talk key and Linda's browser work while you use other apps.
Want Linda in your own Chrome, with your sign-ins? Add the Linda extension from the Chrome Web Store; Linda offers it during setup and in Settings › Browser.
5. Your first task
Press ⌥ Space anywhere, or hold Right Option and talk. Try one of these:
Make an expense sheet with a total from the receipts in Accounting Compare prices for a 27 inch 4K monitor on three shops and put them in a note Check the price of the Aeron chair and tell me if it drops below €1,200
Linda shows each step in one short line. It stops for a sign-in, a choice, or an approval before anything is sent, bought, deleted or posted. When it's done, tap Every month to make it a routine, or Remember to keep a preference.