ParrotingGuide · About 3 minutes
Get a free Gemini API key
Parroting’s “AI cleanup” and rewriting need an AI service. Google’s Gemini has an ongoing free tier that you can sign up for directly in Taiwan, and it is usually enough for everyday dictation and rewriting. Follow the four steps below and you can start in three minutes.
Open the key page and sign in
Open aistudio.google.com/api-keys in your browser and sign in with your Google account. The first time, you’ll be asked to accept the terms of service; tick the box and continue.
Going straight to this address is quickest; it’s easy to get lost looking for it from the AI Studio home page. New accounts get a project and a first key automatically, so you can skip to step 2 and copy it.
Create and copy a key
On the “API Keys” page, click “Create API key” at the top right, leave the name and project as they are, and confirm. A string starting with AIza appears; click the copy icon next to it.
A key is like a password: don’t post it online or send it to anyone. If it leaks, delete it on this page and create a new one.
Paste it into Parroting
Open Parroting and choose “AI rewrite” on the left. Under “AI service”, set Provider to “Gemini” and paste the key you copied into “API Key”. Leave Model on “Auto”. After you paste, Parroting tests the key once (it uses no quota): when you see “✓ Works”, you are done. If it says “Invalid key”, copy it again from AI Studio, paste it, and click “Test again”.
The key is stored in this Mac’s keychain. If you lose track of it, you can copy it again from the same AI Studio page at any time.
AI rewrite
Paste first; hand it to AI when you want it rewrittenTurn on the AI features
Go back to “Home”: under “Ready”, AI rewrite now shows “Set up”. Then turn on “AI cleanup”, and if you want the rewrite panel on screen all the time, also turn on “Keep the rewrite panel open”.
Until you add a key, these switches are greyed out. Clicking one shows a hint, and “Set up” takes you to the place in step 3.
Home
Good to know
Free-tier limits and your data.
Free tier limits
The free tier has per-minute and per-day limits, which are usually enough for everyday dictation and rewriting. If you use it heavily and hit “quota used up”, wait a little or until the next day and it resets. To raise the limits, add a credit card under “Billing” on the left of AI Studio to switch to a paid plan. Google sets a monthly spending cap on newly billed accounts, so a large bill won’t appear out of nowhere.
Your data
According to Google, content sent on the free tier may be used to improve Google’s products; on the paid tier it isn’t. Parroting only sends text and never uploads audio. If you often talk about confidential work or personal information, consider a paid plan, or check what you send.
FAQ
If you get stuck.
The “Create API key” button is greyed out
If your Google account has used Google Cloud before, AI Studio won’t create a project automatically. Go to “Dashboard” → “Projects” on the left, click “Import projects”, import a project, then go back to API Keys and create one. Work or school accounts may also lack permission; switching to a personal Google account is easiest.
I pasted the key, but Home still says it isn’t set up
Check that Provider is “Gemini”, that no extra spaces were copied before or after the key, and that it is the full string starting with AIza.
AI cleanup suddenly stopped working
Most likely the free quota has run out for now. Parroting then switches to its on-device rules automatically, so dictation keeps working; AI cleanup comes back once the quota resets, after a while or the next day.
Can I use another AI service?
Yes. The Provider list on the “AI rewrite” page also includes OpenAI, Anthropic, OpenRouter, Groq and more; get a key from that service’s website and paste it in. These usually cost money.
Don’t have Parroting yet?
Download the free Mac app, add your key, and AI cleanup is ready to go.
Download for Mac ↓Free · Apple silicon · macOS 11 or later · v0.4.13 · about 50 MB