Terms of service

By downloading, installing, or using Cadence, you agree to these Terms of Service. If you don't agree, don't use the software.

1. Acceptance of Terms & User Responsibility

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of Cadence, a macOS control layer for AI coding agents with on-device dictation and voice automation ("Software"). By using Cadence, you accept these Terms in full and acknowledge that:

• YOU are solely responsible for all actions Cadence performs on your system
• YOU assume all risk associated with using automation software
• YOU understand that Cadence executes system-level commands that could potentially cause data loss, system instability, or unintended actions
• The developers are NOT responsible for any consequences of Cadence's actions on your machine

2. License

Cadence is free software, provided at no charge and "as is". You are granted a free, non-exclusive, revocable license to download, install, and use the Software, subject to these Terms. All rights not expressly granted are reserved.

What This Means:

• ✅ You can use Cadence for personal or commercial purposes
• ✅ There is no fee, account, or subscription
• ❌ You cannot hold us liable for damages (see "Disclaimer" below)

3. Acceptable Use

You agree to use Cadence responsibly and in compliance with all applicable laws. You may NOT:

• Use Cadence to violate any laws or regulations
• Use Cadence to automate malicious, harmful, or unauthorized activities
• Reverse engineer, decompile, or attempt to extract proprietary components, except where applicable law allows it
• Use Cadence to spam, harass, or harm others
• Circumvent macOS security features or access unauthorized systems

4. macOS Permissions & Security

Cadence requires sensitive macOS permissions to function:

• Microphone Access. To capture your voice
• Accessibility Access. To type dictated text and automate system tasks
• Input Monitoring. To detect hotkeys in any app

You acknowledge that:

• These permissions grant Cadence significant control over your system
• You are granting these permissions voluntarily and understand the implications
• You can revoke permissions anytime via System Settings → Privacy & Security
• Audio is processed locally; agent features send data to the AI providers you use, as described in the Privacy Policy

5. No Warranty (Disclaimer)

Cadence is provided "AS IS" without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to:

• Warranties of merchantability
• Fitness for a particular purpose
• Non-infringement
• Accuracy, reliability, or error-free operation

Translation: We built Cadence with care, but software is complex. We don't guarantee it will work perfectly in all scenarios, and we're not liable if something goes wrong.

6. Limitation of Liability & Assumption of Risk

YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT:

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Cadence, its developers, contributors, and affiliates SHALL NOT BE LIABLE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES for:

• ANY actions performed by Cadence on your system, whether intended or unintended
• Data loss, corruption, or deletion caused directly or indirectly by the Software
• System damage, crashes, or instability resulting from Cadence's automation capabilities
• Unintended automations triggered by misheard voice commands or software errors
• Actions taken by AI agents you run, direct, or approve through Cadence
• Security breaches or unauthorized access resulting from granted permissions
• Lost profits, revenue, business opportunities, or productivity
• Any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages whatsoever
• Personal injury, property damage, or any other harm arising from use of the Software

BY USING CADENCE, YOU EXPRESSLY WAIVE ANY AND ALL CLAIMS against the developers for damages of any kind. You acknowledge that you are using automation software AT YOUR OWN RISK and that the developers have NO LIABILITY whatsoever for the Software's actions on your machine.

Your sole and exclusive remedy for any issues or damages is to immediately stop using the Software.

7. Privacy & Data Collection

See our Privacy Policy for details. Key points:

• Speech-to-text happens locally on your device; we don't collect, store, or transmit your audio
• Agent features use your own Claude Code login, and other agent CLIs use their own providers
• Optional features (Cloud Polish, Intent Engine) use your own Anthropic API key
• Minimal website analytics (Vercel Analytics, privacy-friendly)

8. Third-Party AI Services

Cadence works with AI services you set up yourself, such as Claude Code, the Anthropic API, and other agent command-line tools. Your use of those services:

• Is governed by your agreements with their providers, not by these Terms
• Is your responsibility, including any usage costs or plan limits
• Depends on services we don't control and can't guarantee

9. Updates & Modifications

We may update Cadence with new features, bug fixes, or security patches. Updates may:

• Add, modify, or remove features
• Change system requirements
• Require re-granting macOS permissions

You are not required to update, but we recommend staying current for security and stability.

10. Termination

You may stop using Cadence at any time by:

• Uninstalling the application
• Revoking macOS permissions
• Deleting all local data and preferences

We reserve the right to discontinue development or support for Cadence at any time.

11. Third-Party Software

Cadence uses third-party libraries, models, and tools, including:

• NVIDIA Parakeet and Whisper (via whisper.cpp). On-device speech recognition
• Qwen 2.5. On-device Text Polish
• herdr (optional). Terminal multiplexer for running agents other than Claude Code

These components are governed by their respective licenses.

12. macOS Compatibility

Cadence is designed for macOS and requires:

• macOS 13.0 (Ventura) or later
• Apple Silicon (M1 or newer); there is no Intel build
• Sufficient disk space for on-device speech and Text Polish models (~2-3 GB)

We do not guarantee compatibility with future macOS versions. Updates may be required.

13. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of [Your State/Country] (to be updated upon LLC formation), without regard to conflict of law principles.

Any disputes shall be resolved in the courts of [Your Jurisdiction].

14. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated "Last updated" date.

Continued use of Cadence after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

15. Contact & Support

Questions, issues, or feedback? Reach out:

• Email: support@cadencevoice.ai
• Documentation: cadencevoice.ai/docs

16. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.

17. Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Cadence regarding use of the Software.