Context-Aware AI
Context-aware AI refinement tells Murmur's AI about the app you are currently using, so it can tailor corrections to fit. Dictating in a code editor should produce different output than dictating in an email client.
Context-aware refinement is on by default (it only matters once AI refinement is enabled). Control it in Murmur's context settings — see Context Settings for every toggle and permission level.
App categories
Murmur detects the active app and classifies it into one of these categories:
- Browser — Safari, Chrome, Arc, Edge, Brave, Firefox, and others
- Code Editor — VS Code, Cursor, Xcode, Zed, and similar tools
- Terminal — Terminal, iTerm2, Warp, and other shells
- Email — Mail, Spark, Mimestream, and similar clients
- Communication — Slack, Teams, Discord, Messages, and similar
- Notes — Notes, Obsidian, Bear, Notion, and similar
- Document — Pages, Word, Google Docs, and similar
The app category is always available and is the baseline used when no additional permissions are granted.
Permission levels
Murmur uses a tiered model that degrades gracefully based on what permissions you have granted. More context leads to better refinement, but no level is required — the feature works at every tier.
Basic — App category only
Always available. Murmur knows which type of app is active and adjusts accordingly. For example, it avoids adding em-dashes in a terminal context.
Medium — Screen Recording
Adds the active window title. Murmur reads the title bar of the frontmost window — for example, the document name in Pages or the tab title in a browser. No screen pixels are captured or analyzed.
High — Accessibility
Adds text field context. Murmur can read a short excerpt from the focused text field, giving the AI surrounding text to help maintain tone and style consistency.
Full — Screen Recording + Accessibility
Combines window title and text field context for the most complete picture of what you are working on.
Browser URL extraction
When Accessibility is enabled and a browser is active, Murmur can read the current page URL (via Apple Events). This lets the AI know whether you are writing in a GitHub issue, a Notion page, or a social media comment field. The Browser workflow uses this to infer the right tone for the site you are on.
Supported browsers include Safari, Chrome, Arc, Edge, Brave, Firefox, and most Chromium-based browsers.
URL query parameters (anything after ?) are stripped before the URL is sent to the AI. This prevents accidental exposure of search terms, session tokens, or other sensitive query string data.
Editor context
When Accessibility is enabled and a supported code editor is active, Murmur can read:
- Project name
- Active file name and extension
- Programming language
Supported editors: VS Code, Cursor, Xcode, Zed. The AI uses this to format inline code comments appropriately and avoid correcting syntax that is intentional.
Terminal context
In a terminal, Murmur reads the current working directory path. This helps the AI understand whether you are working in a project root, a scripts folder, or elsewhere.
Privacy
Murmur does not capture screenshots, record screen content, or store any context data beyond the current session. Context is read immediately before a refinement request and discarded afterward. Nothing is logged or saved to disk.