---
title: "Getting Started with SR-7"
source: https://fieldbw.com/docs/sr-7/getting-started
---

# Getting Started with SR-7

## Installation

[Signal Recorder SR-7](/sr-7) is a native app for iPhone, iPad, and Mac, available now on the [App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/signal-recorder-sr-7/id6760318857). It's a one-time purchase — buy it once and it works across all three, no subscription. SR-7 requires macOS 26+, iOS 26+, or iPadOS 26+, and Apple Silicon for AI features (transcription and summaries).

## Your First Recording

Launch SR-7 and hit the record button. A reel-to-reel visualisation and live waveform confirm the recording is active. Press pause to temporarily stop, or stop to finish the recording.

Every recording is saved to your library automatically. SR-7 stores audio as high-quality AAC and keeps all data in iCloud-synced containers — your recordings travel with you across iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

## On-Device Transcription

SR-7 uses the Apple Speech framework to transcribe audio entirely on your device. No network connection required, no cloud processing, no data leaving your machine.

To transcribe a recording, select it in your library and tap the transcribe button. Transcription runs at high speed and supports multiple languages. Once complete, the full text is searchable and exportable.

## AI Titles and Summaries

On macOS 26+ with Apple Silicon, SR-7 uses FoundationModels to generate descriptive titles and concise summaries — all locally on your hardware. This makes every recording skimmable and searchable without manual tagging.

## Importing Audio

SR-7 can import audio files from any source — drag files into the app or use **File > Import Audio**. Supported formats include WAV, AIFF, MP3, M4A, AAC, CAF, FLAC, and ALAC. Uncompressed formats are transcoded to AAC on import; compressed formats are kept as-is.

See the [hardware import guide](/docs/sr-7/importing-from-hardware) for details on using SR-7 with the TP-7 and other recorders.

## Next Steps

- See [Use Cases and Examples](/docs/sr-7/use-cases) for practical workflows, including using SR-7 with TR-1
- Learn about the [MCP Server](/docs/sr-7/mcp-server) for AI tool integration
- Read [Best Practices](/docs/sr-7/best-practices) for getting the most out of SR-7