DuckyHelper on Mac, Windows and Linux

TL;DR:

• DuckyHelper is an app for Mac (Apple silicon, macOS 14 or later), Windows and Linux.

• Press fn on a Mac, or Ctrl+Shift+Space on Windows and Linux.

• Your computer may ask you to allow access before DuckyHelper can listen and look.

DuckyHelper is meant to be there on whatever computer you use. This short post covers which systems it runs on, the one key you need to know on each, and what to expect the first time you open it.

One assistant, three systems

You can get DuckyHelper for Mac, Windows and Linux. On a Mac it needs Apple silicon and macOS 14 or later. On Windows it needs Windows 10 or 11. There is no web version. The idea is the same on all three: press a key in any app, ask out loud, and it answers out loud while you keep working.

Not everything is on all three. Doing work in your apps with its own cursor, for example, is early access, on Mac. The ask-and-answer parts, including seeing your screen, drawing on it and the blackboard, are the core of the app.

The key on each

The reasoning behind the key is in what we mean by only when you ask. In short: it listens and looks only while the pill is open and for that answer.

What needs permission

Listening to you and looking at your screen are both things an operating system treats carefully, and rightly so. The first time you use DuckyHelper, your computer may ask you to allow access so that it can hear you and see the screen. Without those, it cannot do the job you opened it for. On Windows and Linux there is one more step: the app sees nothing on your screen until you turn on screen help in its settings and allow it.

The exact prompts and where to find them in settings differ between systems and between versions, so we will not list menu paths here. If something does not seem to work, the help center is the place to check. Allowing access does not change when DuckyHelper listens: that is still only while the pill is open.

Getting started

1. Go to the download page and choose your system.

2. Install the app and open it.

3. Allow the access your computer asks for.

4. Press the key and ask something about what is on your screen.

You can try it for 10 minutes with no card. After that, our plans are on the pricing page.

Same habits on every system

Because the key gesture is the same everywhere, the habits you build carry over. Press the key, ask, keep working. Look for the circle if you asked about something on your screen. Ask for the blackboard if you want a walkthrough. Say "quiz me" when you want a check.

The limits DuckyHelper is built with are the same everywhere too. It's built to ask before it sends a message or pays, and not to type your passwords or card numbers. Those rules are part of the app itself, not of one system's settings.

If you are not sure your system is supported

Check the versions above against your own: Apple silicon and macOS 14 or later on a Mac, and Windows 10 or 11 on Windows. For Linux, the download page lists what is offered. If you are in doubt, the help center is the right place to ask, and you can write to support@duckyhelper.com.

It is also worth knowing that you can try DuckyHelper for 10 minutes with no card, so there is no cost to checking whether it runs well on your machine.

Finally, a note on updates and features. Anything labelled early access or coming soon on our site is still being built, and the early access features are on Mac. The core of the app, asking out loud and getting an answer that can see and draw on your screen, is the part to judge it on.

What this means for you

If you move between computers, for example a Mac at home and a Windows machine at school or work, you do not have to learn a second tool. The same key gesture and the same way of asking carry across, with only the key itself differing. We think that consistency is part of what makes an assistant feel like it is always there.