Themes & Appearance
Customize StarWhisper's recording circle to match your style. Change the size, opacity, colors, and animations to make it blend with your desktop or stand out when you need it.
Circle Customization
These settings control the floating recording circle that sits on your desktop. Find them in Settings → Basic tab.
Size & Visibility
| Setting | Range | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Circle Size | 10–200 px | 70 px | Diameter of the recording circle |
| Opacity | 0–100% | 40% | Transparency when idle (100% = fully opaque) |
| Always on Top | On/Off | On | Keep circle above all windows |
| Show Status Tooltip | On/Off | Off | Display recording status text above the circle |
Pulsation
The circle pulses with a breathing animation that responds to audio input while recording.
| Setting | Range | Default | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pulsation Amplitude | 0–10x | 10x | How much the circle grows/shrinks (0 = no pulsation) |
| Pulsation Speed | 10–500 ms | 10 ms | How quickly the circle responds to audio changes |
Circle size, opacity, and pulsation settings in the Basic tab
Activation Sounds
Play a sound when recording starts. Choose from several built-in options in Settings → Basic → Activation Sound.
| Sound | Description |
|---|---|
| None | Silent — no sound plays |
| Ding | Short metallic chime |
| Star | Bright sparkle sound |
| Chime | Soft bell tone |
| Beep | Simple electronic beep |
| Whoosh | Smooth transition sound |
Preview Before Selecting
Use the Play button next to the dropdown to preview each sound before selecting it.
Theme Presets
Themes change the gradient colors of the recording circle across all its states (idle, recording, transcribing, error). StarWhisper includes 14 built-in themes.
Free Themes (3)
- Modern — Purple gradient (default)
- Classic — Blue gradient
- Light — Soft white/gray
Pro Themes (11) PRO
- Dark — Deep charcoal
- Twilight Bloom — Pink/purple sunset
- Electric Blue — Vibrant neon blue
- Sunset Glow — Orange/red warm tones
- Ocean Depths — Teal/navy gradient
- Emerald — Green jewel tones
- Magenta Burst — Hot pink/magenta
- Lime Fresh — Bright green/lime
- Midnight — Deep dark blue
- Arctic — Cool icy blue/white
Glow Animation
Enable or disable the ambient glow effect around the circle. The glow color matches your current theme and pulses gently.
Choose from 14 theme presets or create your own custom theme
Custom Theme Editor PRO
Create your own unique theme by selecting the "Custom" preset. The custom editor lets you define gradient colors for every circle state.
Circle States
Each state can have its own 3-color gradient:
| State | When Active | Default Colors |
|---|---|---|
| Idle | Waiting for input | Your chosen idle colors |
| Recording | Actively capturing audio | Typically red/orange tones |
| Local Transcription | Processing with local Whisper | Typically blue/purple tones |
| API Transcription | Processing with cloud API | Typically teal/green tones |
| Error | Something went wrong | Typically red tones |
Real-Time Window Styling
When using real-time transcription, customize the floating text window:
| Setting | What It Controls |
|---|---|
| Background Color | Window background |
| Text Color | Transcription text color |
| Border Color | Window border |
| Font | Font family (System Default, Segoe UI, Arial, Verdana, Tahoma, Georgia, Courier New, Consolas, Calibri) |
Live Preview
As you adjust colors, a live preview circle updates in real-time. Use the state dropdown to preview how each state looks with your custom colors.
Settings Window Theme
Toggle between light and dark mode for the settings window itself using the theme toggle in Settings → Basic. This is independent of the circle theme.