Start with your first words.

Add the input method.

Install and register AIME. Open System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources and add AIME. If it is missing, log out and back in, then check again.

After an update, let macOS launch the input process when you next type. Do not launch it manually as a normal app.

The first time AIME Settings opens, a guide walks you through enabling the input method, choosing 全拼 or a 双拼 layout (importing Squirrel when found), a few habits and a practice field. Optional sample phrases: am → 艾么输入法, gw → https://aime.zool.app, yx → hello@zool.app. Run it again from Advanced › First-run guide.

Configure RIME visually.

Open AIME Settings from the input menu to adjust candidates, fuzzy pinyin, shortcuts and appearance. Deploy when prompted.

The visual settings cover 80+ common options, including candidates, Chinese/English switching, fuzzy pinyin, abbreviation correction, shortcuts and appearance. Choose Simplified or Traditional output and toggle it with ⌃⇧4. Each app can start in English, Chinese or the shared state; chat apps and browsers have recommendations.

Visual preferences and hand-written configuration are kept in separate layers. Advanced RIME configuration remains available.

Quick menu & snippets.

Hold ⌥ on its own for about 0.35 s to open the quick menu (switchable to ⌃, ⌘ or off). Space opens AI actions; digits 1–4 open snippets, symbols, frequent words and settings, and work while ⌥ is still held.

The symbol board is laid out like your keyboard, 10 × 3; press the matching letter to insert. Snippets live in your own categories (IDs, phone numbers, addresses…) under Settings › Snippets, stored owner-only on this Mac, never synced and never given to AI.

Typing statistics are optional and off by default. They keep, on this Mac, character counts by time of day and by app, plus 2–8 character Chinese words with their counts. No full sentences are saved. The data stays offline and can be cleared at any time.

Migrate from Squirrel.

Sync user data in Squirrel first, then import from AIME Settings. The importer reads the original Rime directory without writing to it.

Schemas, vocabulary, Lua, themes and user frequency snapshots are imported. Keep a backup of important configuration.

Import and subscribe.

Choose an online feed or add a trusted word-list URL. The catalog is an index; word lists are downloaded after subscription. Due feeds are checked hourly, with at least 12 hours between automatic requests per feed. Manual checks can request immediately.

These website downloads are TXT rows of text, pinyin and weight for import into AIME. They are not complete RIME schemas; other frontends need their own integration.

Use AI explicitly.

Enable AI features, then press ⌃⌥P, or hold ⌥ and press Space, to choose translate, polish or a custom action. Simplified/Traditional conversion runs locally and works without AI. AI works on, in order: the draft in the input layer, your selection, or what you just typed in this field; while choosing a candidate, it commits that candidate first and handles only that word. The website shows fixed examples.

The default is Apple’s on-device model, whose availability depends on your device, system settings and region (currently unavailable for mainland China devices and accounts). Otherwise, configure your own OpenAI-compatible endpoint (may be billed); it requires separate permission to send target text. There is no automatic cloud fallback.

Disable and uninstall.

Switch to another input method and remove AIME in System Settings first. The development app is installed in your user Library Input Methods directory.

Your configuration and word frequency data live separately. Uninstalling the app and removing personal data are separate actions; back up before removing data.