You can know the patterns and still freeze. Interviews compress too much into one call: a new problem, a new editor, someone watching every pause, and a grading system that often rewards calm recall more than actual engineering judgment. Sotto is not a replacement for preparation. It is backup for the parts of the process that turn good engineers into silent ones.
How it works
Set it up once. Keep it ready for the call that goes sideways.
Install & add your key
Download Sotto and paste in your own Claude subscription token. No Claude subscription? Use an Anthropic API key instead. On first launch it fetches the open-source Whisper speech model (~1.6 GB). That is a download only; your interview data is not uploaded.
It listens & reads locally
Speech-to-text runs on your Mac. Screen reading runs on your Mac. Sotto turns the live mess of the interview into a problem frame you can actually use.
It gives you the next move
The overlay gives you the approach, edge cases, trade-offs, or wording you need next. You still do the interview. Sotto keeps you from losing the thread.
The privacy model is the product.
- No Sotto backend. Audio transcription, screen reading, and the overlay all run locally. There is no interview database for me to secure, monetize, subpoena, or accidentally leak.
- Known outbound traffic. The app talks to Anthropic under your Claude token or API key for answer generation, and fetches the Whisper model from huggingface.co on first launch. No audio upload. No screen upload. No transcript upload. Verify it with Little Snitch if you want.
- BYOK because trust should be structural. Your credential stays on your machine. Your billing relationship is with Anthropic. Sotto does not sit between you and the model.
Sotto vs. the cloud copilots
If the architecture is different, the price should be too.
| Sotto | Subscription cloud copilots | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $59 once, yours forever | A subscription — often $50+ / month |
| Where it runs | ✓ On your Mac | ✕ Through their cloud |
| Audio, screen, transcripts | ✓ Do not upload to Sotto | ✕ Flow through their servers |
| AI billing | Your Claude token or API key, no Sotto markup | Bundled & marked up in the subscription |
| A server holding your interview? | ✓ None exists | ✕ Yes — it's how they work |
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Who made this
Built for the exact problem that made me want it.
I built Sotto during my own job search. I was preparing seriously, but the interview loop still felt absurd: different platforms, different languages, different expectations, and a live call where one bad blank can make you look worse than you are.
The point is not to skip the work. The point is to have backup when the work you did gets buried under pressure.
I also did not want that backup to mean streaming interview audio, screenshots, and transcripts through a company server. So Sotto keeps the sensitive parts local and sends only the model request you choose to send, under your own key.
It launched today. No fake user count, no "trusted by" wall, no staged enterprise language. What exists is a signed, notarized Mac app, a privacy model you can inspect, and a one-time price because I am not hosting your interviews.
Use it within the rules of whatever interview or meeting you're in. I am not going to pretend the category is morally invisible. I am going to be clear about what Sotto is: live support for prepared people who want a second brain in the room.
— built solo, shipped quietly
Pricing
Pay once. Keep it on your Mac.
The price follows the architecture.
Sotto for macOS
Goes to $89 after launch.
- The full local copilot: live speech-to-text, screen reading, real-time answer overlay
- Works for technical and behavioral interviews
- Use your Claude subscription token, or bring an Anthropic API key — no Sotto markup
- No Sotto backend — audio, screen & transcripts never upload to me
- Free updates while I keep building it — delivered by re-download, no auto-updater phoning home — and you email me directly for help
Instant download after checkout — no account with me required.
14-day money-back guarantee. If it is not useful, email me and I refund you.
Requires an Apple Silicon Mac (M1 or newer) and your own Claude subscription token or Anthropic API key. Signed & notarized by Apple (Developer ID).
Less than one month of a cloud copilot subscription — and you never pay again.
FAQ
Fair questions.
Will the interviewer see it on my screen share?
No — and this is the part I engineered hardest. The overlay uses macOS content protection, the same OS flag that keeps password fields out of screen recordings, so Zoom, Meet, and Teams capture your screen without it. Sotto doesn't just set the flag and hope: on launch — and again whenever your display setup changes — it takes a real screen-capture of itself and refuses to run the overlay unless it's provably absent from that capture. It fails closed. I still won't promise invisibility, because no honest tool can, and you should use it within the rules of any interview or meeting you join.
What's BYOK? Do I need my own key?
BYOK means "bring your own key." In practice, the easiest path is your existing Claude subscription token: run Anthropic's own claude setup-token, paste the token into Sotto, done. No subscription? A pay-as-you-go API key works too. Either way, Sotto connects straight to Anthropic with a credential you control. That is why there is no Sotto server, no usage markup, and no access to your interview data.
I don't have a Claude subscription. How hard is the API key?
It's a form, not a skill. Four steps: create a free account at console.anthropic.com, add a card (Anthropic pre-loads a few dollars of credit — that covers months of interviews), click "Create Key," and paste it into Sotto. About three minutes, once. The app shows you each step as you go. If you can sign up for Netflix, you can do this.
What does it actually cost to run?
After the one-time $59: on a Claude subscription token, nothing extra beyond the plan you already pay for. On an API key, you pay only your own AI usage, billed directly by Anthropic — typically a few cents per interview. Either way there is no Sotto meter, no monthly fee, and no markup.
Does my interview data ever leave my computer?
No. Speech-to-text and screen awareness run entirely on your Mac, and Sotto has a hard egress ban: the answer request goes from your machine straight to Anthropic, under your Claude token or API key. First launch also downloads the open-source Whisper speech model from huggingface.co, once — traffic in, never your data out. There is no Sotto server. I never see your interviews, your data, or your credential.
What if it doesn't work for me?
Email me within 14 days and I refund you, no questions asked. It launched today and has no reviews yet, so the risk should sit with me, not you.
Is this a subscription?
No. $59 once, and Sotto is yours. It runs on your machine, on your credential. The launch price will go up to $89 later.
What do I need to run it?
An Apple Silicon Mac (M1 or newer) and either a Claude subscription token or an Anthropic API key. That's it — no account with me, no sign-up, no cloud dependency beyond your own direct call to Anthropic. The download is code-signed with my Apple Developer ID.