Skald · Support · Install & troubleshooting

Support.

If something’s broken or unclear, file an issue on github.com/ivshestakov/skald.app/issues or email hello@panic-kit.com.

Install

01: Download Skald-X.Y.Z.dmg from the latest release.
02: Double-click the DMG to open it. A window appears with the Skald icon and an Applications shortcut.
03: Drag the Skald icon onto the Applications shortcut.
04: Eject the disk image. Open Applications, double-click Skald — it puts an icon in your menu bar.

Accessibility permission

On first launch Skald asks for Accessibility permission. This is what lets it paste the translation into the app you were typing in — without it, Skald can show you the translation in its own panel but can’t paste anywhere else.

You can grant it later in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility. Toggle Skald on. You’ll need to do this once per major macOS update.

Auto-updates

Skald checks for updates daily via the Sparkle framework, reading the appcast at panic-kit.com/skald/appcast.xml. When a new version is available, you see a standard “Update Available” prompt — click Install and Skald downloads, replaces itself, and relaunches.

Manual check: menu-bar icon → Check for Updates…

Engines & API keys

Apple & Google: No setup. Apple is on-device — first use triggers a one-time model download. Google uses the public translate.googleapis.com endpoint.
DeepL & Claude: Bring-your-own-key. Get a key from deepl.com or console.anthropic.com, paste it into Settings → Model. Keys live in the system Keychain and are never logged or sent anywhere except to the engine itself.

Troubleshooting

Hotkey doesn’t open the panel: Usually a conflict with another app that grabbed the same combo first. Open Settings → Shortcuts and rebind to something else.
Pastes into the wrong app: Skald pastes into whichever app had focus just before you opened the panel. Workaround: open the panel directly in the target app.
“DeepL says quota exceeded”: The free DeepL API tier is 500,000 characters/month. Check usage at deepl.com → Account → Usage.
Apple engine fails on first use: Apple’s on-device translation needs to download the model for each language pair on first use. This requires a network connection. ~50–100 MB per pair, one time.

Uninstall

01: Quit Skald (menu-bar → Quit).
02: Drag /Applications/Skald.app to the Trash.
03: Optional cleanup: defaults delete com.ivshestakov.skald and remove keychain items via Keychain Access → search for “Skald”.

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