ExtraBrain Help Center: Support, Setup, and Practical Guidance

Welcome to the ExtraBrain Help Center, a practical resource for product guidance, setup support, troubleshooting help, and self-service answers. It is designed to help users find the right information quickly, understand how ExtraBrain works, and resolve common questions with less friction.

ExtraBrain is a free, local-first desktop AI interview assistant and meeting copilot for Mac. It supports live transcription, screen-aware context, local Gemma 4 on-device AI where installed and compatible, bring-your-own AI providers, and clear privacy controls. People use it for coding interviews, system design rounds, behavioral interviews, product interviews, meetings, lectures, and research calls.

The Help Center is organized around the areas users usually need first:

• Getting Started - Learn what ExtraBrain is, how to install it, and how to prepare for a first live session.
• Troubleshooting - Resolve common technical issues with transcription, permissions, providers, screenshots, sessions, and settings.
• Billing - Understand the free core app, Pro options, license activation, and provider billing responsibilities.
• Privacy and responsible use - Review data handling, local-first options, screen context, provider choices, and rules for interviews, work, school, and meetings.

The goal is simple: help you get the most out of ExtraBrain while staying clear about setup, privacy, provider configuration, and responsible use.

Getting started with ExtraBrain

The Getting Started section helps new users understand the product and begin using it with confidence. It is useful whether you are exploring ExtraBrain for the first time, preparing for an upcoming interview, or setting it up as a meeting copilot.

In this section, users should look for guidance on:

• What ExtraBrain is - A plain-language introduction to the Mac desktop AI interview assistant and meeting copilot workflow.
• Installation and first run - Steps for downloading the app, opening it on macOS, and completing the first setup flow.
• macOS permissions - Help with microphone, screen recording, accessibility, and other permissions that may affect live transcription and screen-aware context.
• Live session basics - How to start recording, follow detected topics, review transcript context, and use AI assistance during a session.
• Provider setup - How to connect OpenAI, Anthropic, custom OpenAI-compatible endpoints, Claude Subscription, Codex Subscription, or local Gemma 4 where installed and compatible.
• Transcription choices - How to think about local Parakeet transcription versus optional Deepgram, depending on privacy needs and configuration.

A good first setup path is to install ExtraBrain, confirm permissions, choose a transcription option, choose an AI provider posture, and run a short test session before a real interview or meeting. That test session helps you confirm audio input, transcription quality, provider responses, screenshot behavior, and session history before pressure is high.

Customizing your AI interview assistant

ExtraBrain is most useful when it reflects the kind of session you are entering. A coding interview, behavioral interview, system design round, sales call, and research meeting all require different context and different answer styles.

Useful customization areas include:

• Profiles - Prepare different guidance for software engineering, product management, behavioral interviews, customer calls, or study sessions.
• Response style - Ask for concise bullets, structured STAR answers, tradeoff analysis, clarifying questions, or step-by-step technical reasoning.
• Context language - Add background about your role, target company, project history, or interview focus when allowed.
• Screenshot settings - Decide how screen context should be captured and used during sessions.
• Transcript cleanup - Control how filler words and transcript noise are handled for later review.
• Privacy controls - Choose local-first settings when you want transcription and AI prompts to stay local, where supported by your installed local components and hardware.

For example, a behavioral interview profile might ask ExtraBrain to organize answers around situation, task, action, and result. A system design profile might ask for requirements, assumptions, API shape, data model, scaling risks, and tradeoffs. A coding interview profile might ask for clarification prompts, complexity analysis, edge cases, and explanation support.

Customization should support your own thinking, not replace it. When using ExtraBrain in interviews, assessments, workplace meetings, or school contexts, follow the rules set by the interviewer, employer, school, meeting organizer, or platform.

Troubleshooting common issues

The Troubleshooting section helps users identify, report, understand, and resolve common problems while using ExtraBrain. It is meant to reduce interruptions and help you restore normal behavior as quickly as possible.

Common troubleshooting topics include:

• Microphone or audio issues - Check macOS microphone permissions, selected input device, headset routing, and meeting app audio settings.
• Transcription not appearing - Confirm the transcription provider is configured, the microphone is active, and the session is recording.
• Provider errors - Verify API keys, provider account status, endpoint URLs, model access, and network connectivity for external providers.
• Local AI availability - Remember that local Gemma 4 requires installation and compatible hardware, and may not be available in every Mac or customer environment.
• Screenshot or screen context issues - Review screen recording permission, screenshot settings, and whether the expected app or display is available for context capture.
• Session history questions - Check where sessions appear, how to review prior transcripts, and how deletion works.
• Update or installation problems - Review macOS security prompts, app updates, and whether the installed build matches your expected version.

When reporting a bug, include the app version, macOS version, Mac model if relevant, the provider or transcription option you used, and a short description of what happened. If the problem involves privacy-sensitive material, avoid sending interview content, credentials, or confidential meeting details unless support specifically asks for a safe diagnostic excerpt.

Billing, licenses, and provider costs

The Billing section helps users understand plans, license activation, subscriptions, and payment-related questions. It should also clarify the difference between ExtraBrain pricing and third-party provider billing.

The core ExtraBrain Mac app is free. ExtraBrain Pro is available at $9.99/month regular pricing, $6.99/month Founder pricing, $79/year, or $149 Lifetime launch pricing. External AI and transcription provider usage is billed separately by the providers users choose.

Billing guidance should help users understand:

• Free versus Pro - What is included in the free core app and what requires ExtraBrain Pro.
• License activation - How to activate a license key and confirm the app recognizes the plan.
• Subscription management - Where to review billing status and plan details.
• Provider billing - Why OpenAI, Anthropic, Deepgram, custom endpoints, or other provider usage may create separate charges outside ExtraBrain.
• Refund and payment questions - How to contact support with clear account and payment details.

If you are setting up ExtraBrain for the first time, it is worth checking both app plan status and provider account status. A working ExtraBrain license does not automatically mean an external provider account has a valid key, available credits, or model access.

Privacy and data flow support

ExtraBrain is local-first, but your exact data flow depends on the settings and providers you choose. The Help Center should help users understand this distinction clearly before they use the app in sensitive contexts.

A fully local posture requires local Parakeet transcription plus local Gemma 4 on-device AI where installed and compatible. In that setup, transcription and AI prompts can stay local. When you choose external providers, selected prompts, transcript text, screenshots, audio, or context may leave the device depending on configuration.

Important privacy topics include:

• Local transcription - When local Parakeet can keep speech-to-text processing on the device.
• Local AI - When local Gemma 4 can keep model inference on the device, subject to installation and hardware compatibility.
• External providers - What can be sent to OpenAI, Anthropic, Deepgram, or custom endpoints when those options are enabled.
• Screenshots and screen context - How visual context may be captured and used during live sessions.
• Session history - How to review and delete prior session data.
• Responsible use - Why users must follow interview, employer, workplace, school, meeting, and platform rules.

Privacy support should not be vague. The right question is not only whether ExtraBrain has privacy controls, but which providers are enabled, what data those providers receive, and whether your current situation allows AI assistance, transcription, screenshots, or notes.

Practical ways to use the Help Center

The Help Center is most valuable when you use it before a high-pressure session, not only after something breaks. A few minutes of preparation can prevent common problems during a live interview or meeting.

Before an interview, use the Help Center to:

1. Confirm ExtraBrain is installed and opens correctly.
2. Verify microphone and screen recording permissions.
3. Choose local or external transcription.
4. Choose local Gemma 4 where installed and compatible, or configure your selected external provider.
5. Create or select a profile for the interview type.
6. Run a short test session and review the transcript.
7. Confirm that your use of AI assistance is allowed by the rules that apply to the session.

After an interview or meeting, use the Help Center to:

• Review how session history works.
• Learn how to delete data you no longer need.
• Improve profiles based on what felt useful or distracting.
• Troubleshoot transcription, provider, or screenshot behavior before the next session.
• Understand billing, provider usage, and plan status if something looks unexpected.

Final thought

The ExtraBrain Help Center exists to make the product easier to understand, configure, troubleshoot, and use responsibly. It should help you move from uncertainty to a working setup: installed app, clear permissions, chosen providers, practical profiles, known privacy posture, and a plan for support when something goes wrong.

ExtraBrain can be a focused AI second brain for interviews and meetings, with live sessions, transcripts, notes, screen context, and review in one workflow. Used thoughtfully and within the rules that apply to your situation, it can help you prepare better, stay organized in the moment, and learn more from every session.