Cleanup
Choose how much Epilude polishes your dictations — from raw transcription to a full rewrite — with one setting that applies everywhere.
Cleanup controls how much Epilude rewrites your dictations after transcription. Pick a level once and it applies to every dictation, in every app.
How Cleanup works
When you finish dictating, Epilude can leave your transcript untouched, polish the punctuation, tighten it for clarity, or rewrite it for brevity. The level you pick is applied automatically every time — there's nothing to press.
Your raw transcription is always preserved. You can switch back to the original at any time from your dictation history.
The four levels
| Level | What it does |
|---|---|
| None | Transcribes exactly what you said, including filler words and mistakes |
| Light | Cleans up filler words and grammar |
| Medium | Edits for clarity and conciseness |
| High | Rewrites for brevity and polish |
The default is Medium. Most users stay there.
Same dictation, four levels
You say:
ok so um for the launch tomorrow we should probably push it back
a couple days because the qa team hasn't had time to like
actually run through everything and i don't want to ship
something that breaks
| Level | Output |
|---|---|
| None | ok so um for the launch tomorrow we should probably push it back a couple days because the qa team hasn't had time to like actually run through everything and i don't want to ship something that breaks |
| Light | OK, so for the launch tomorrow, we should probably push it back a couple days, because the QA team hasn't had time to actually run through everything and I don't want to ship something that breaks. |
| Medium | For tomorrow's launch, we should push it back a couple days. QA hasn't had time to run through everything, and I don't want to ship something broken. |
| High | Let's push tomorrow's launch back a couple days — QA needs more time, and I don't want to ship something broken. |
Cleanup and Style work together
Cleanup decides how much to rewrite. Style decides the tone for the app you're in. A Medium cleanup in your Personal messages style will read very differently from a Medium cleanup in your Email style.
Setting your Cleanup level
Open Cleanup
Open Epilude and click Styles in the sidebar, then choose the Cleanup tab.
Pick a level
Click the card for the level you want. The change applies to your next dictation — no restart needed.
Undoing an AI edit
Your raw transcription is saved with every dictation, so you can roll back any cleanup.
Open Home
Open Epilude and go to Home. You'll see your recent dictations.
Find the dictation
Hover over the dictation you want to revert and click the three dots.
Choose "Undo AI edit"
The cleaned-up text is replaced with your raw transcription. Click Redo AI edit in the same menu to switch back.
Undo and Redo only change what's stored in your history. They don't reach into the app where the text was originally inserted.
When Cleanup needs an AI provider
Light, Medium, and High all use an AI model to rewrite your text. If you haven't configured an AI provider, Epilude falls back to local punctuation and capitalization rules, which is roughly equivalent to a manual Light pass without filler-word removal.
None never uses an AI model.
Choosing the right level
- None — You want a verbatim transcript. Useful for note-taking, journalling, or capturing exact wording.
- Light — You want your voice on the page, just cleaner. Best for chat, casual writing, or anywhere you want your phrasing to come through.
- Medium — You want polished, professional writing without losing your meaning. Best for most work writing.
- High — You want short, sharp output. Best for quick replies, summaries, or when you tend to ramble.
Troubleshooting
- My text isn't being cleaned up. Check that you've configured an AI provider. Without one, Epilude falls back to local rules only.
- Cleanup is rewriting too aggressively. Drop down a level. High substantially restructures sentences; Medium preserves more of your phrasing.
- I want raw transcripts for one dictation only. Set Cleanup to your usual level and use Undo AI edit in your history afterward.
- My filler words are still showing up. Filler-word removal is part of Light and above. Confirm Cleanup isn't set to None, and that an AI provider is configured.
Related
- Styles — Set the tone Epilude uses in messages, email, and other writing
- AI Providers — Configure your API key so cleanup levels above None can run
- Smart Formatting — Voice cues for punctuation, line breaks, and lists