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How to use GhostCue

A simple setup & usage guide

GhostCue is a small bar that floats invisibly over your interview. It listens to the interviewer, and gives you an answer the moment you need one — for questions they say and for questions on your screen. Set it up once (steps 1–3), then jump to During the interview.

The two things to remember

  • Read screen — answers a question on your screen (a coding prompt, a quiz, a chat message).
  • Listen + Cue — answers a question the interviewersays out loud. Listen turns the microphone on for the call; Cue gives you the answer to what they just asked.

1. Install & sign in

Download GhostCue from the download page (macOS 13+ or Windows 10/11) and open it. The first time, you'll see a small sign-in card — click Login, sign in with the same account you use here, and return to the app. The card becomes the floating bar. You never paste API keys — your plan handles the AI.

2. Grant permission (one time)

macOS: the first time you start listening, GhostCue asks for Screen & System Audio Recording — this is how it hears the interviewer (their voice from your speakers). It never records your own microphone. Enable it under System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen & System Audio Recording, then quit and reopen the app if prompted.

Windows: the interviewer's audio is captured automatically from your default playback device — nothing to approve.

3. Add your prep (Playbooks)

This makes the answers about you, not generic. Open Settings (the gear icon) → Playbooks:

  • Reference cards — your résumé highlights, key wins, and STAR stories ("tell me about a time…").
  • Files — upload your résumé and the job description (PDF, DOCX, TXT, or MD).
  • Pick a Playbook for the round — General, Behavioral, Coding, or Wingman (stays quiet until you ask). Each can have its own materials and decide how often it speaks up.

4. Right before you start

  • Position the bar near your camera so a glance is all it takes. Drag the bar to move it.
  • Check it says Undetectable. The shield button should read Undetectable — hidden from screen-share and recording. If it shows Detectable in red, others can see it. Toggle with ⌥ ⇧ S.
  • Adjust opacity (Settings → General) if the overlay is too solid or too faint.

5. Spoken questions (Listen & Cue)

  1. Click Listen (or press ⌥ ⇧ L) when the call starts. A live ticker appears showing the interviewer's words as they speak.
  2. It answers on its own. When the interviewer finishes a real question, GhostCue writes the answer into the Live panel automatically — no button needed.
  3. It won't interrupt you. If you're reading a screen answer when they speak, the view doesn't jump — a dot appears on Cue to tell you a spoken answer is waiting. Tap Cue (or ⌥ ⇧ C) to see it. Press Cue again any time you want the answer to their latest question.
  4. Click Listen again to end the call. It's saved to History, and the next start is fresh.

Spoken answers are kept short — a sentence or two you can say right away.

6. On-screen questions (Read screen)

Press ⌥ ⇧ R (or ⌥ S), or click Read screen. GhostCue finds the question on your screen and answers it — with a short answer, a More detail section, and a code block (with copy) for technical questions.

  • If the question is cut off, GhostCue says so — scroll down to reveal the rest, then press Read screen again. It stitches the parts together.
  • Check your own answer. Typed your answer on screen? Press Read screen again on the same question and GhostCue reviews your answer — confirming it or guiding you to the fix instead of just repeating itself.

7. Ask your own question

Click the bar (or press ⌥ A), type a question, and press ⏎. You can attach an image to ask about a slide, chart, or document.

8. Reading & resizing the panel

  • Page through answers with ⌘ ← / ⌘ → (Ctrl + ←/→ on Windows) — one question per page.
  • Resize the panel by dragging its bottom edge (height) or a bottom corner (width + height). Double-click a grip to reset to the default size.
  • Open/collapse the panel with Tab; Esc collapses it.

9. Keyboard shortcuts

On Windows, use Alt where you see ⌥ (and Shift for ⇧).

  • ⌥ ⇧ R (or ⌥ S) — Read the screen
  • ⌥ ⇧ L — Start / stop listening
  • ⌥ ⇧ C — Cue: answer / reveal the spoken question
  • ⌥ A — Jump to the ask bar
  • ⏎ — Ask / read the screen from the bar
  • Tab / Esc — Open / collapse the panel
  • ⌘ ← / ⌘ → — Previous / next answer (Ctrl on Windows)
  • ⌥ ⇧ S — Toggle Undetectable
  • ⌥ ⇧ P — Show / hide the overlay
  • ⌥ ` — Ghost mode (clicks pass through the overlay)

10. Quick tips

  • Test it first. Before a real call, press Listen and play any video — its audio counts as the interviewer, so you'll see the ticker and an answer appear. That confirms audio and permissions work.
  • Stay Undetectable whenever you might share your screen.
  • Coding round? While you're working a screen question, spoken answers stay quiet so they don't pull you away — press Cue if you do want one. Set a Playbook to Manual if you'd rather pull every answer yourself.
  • History keeps each live call and your Read-screen answers — everything stays local on your device.

Troubleshooting

  • No ticker / transcript. macOS: the Screen & System Audio Recording permission is likely off — re-check it, then start listening again. Windows: confirm the call's audio is playing through your default playback device.
  • Transcript shows but no answers. Make sure you're signed in, and that the active Playbook isn't set to Manual (Manual answers only when you press Cue or Read screen). Use When needed or Always in Settings → Playbooks.
  • An answer is slow. A spoken answer lands a second or two after the interviewer pauses — that pause is how GhostCue knows the question is finished.
  • "GhostCue is damaged and can't be opened" (macOS). It isn't damaged — macOS shows this for apps that aren't yet notarized. Move the app to Applications, then in Terminal run:xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/GhostCue.appReopen it and it launches normally.
  • Keeps asking for Screen & System Audio Recording (macOS). This can happen after an update. Quit GhostCue, open Terminal, run:tccutil reset ScreenCapture com.ghostcue.appReopen and approve the prompt once.
  • Screen scan finds nothing (Windows). Add your language's OCR component under Settings → Time & language → Language & region, then scan again.

Need help?

Stuck? Email [email protected] — we reply personally.