Siri on your Mac
You can talk to Siri on your Mac mini and use your voice for many tasks. For example, you can find files, schedule meetings, change preferences, get answers, send messages, place calls, and add items to your calendar. Siri can give you directions (“How do I get home from here?”), provide information (“How high is Mount Whitney?”), perform basic tasks (“Create a new grocery list”), and much more.
Note: To use Siri, your Mac must be connected to the internet. Siri may not be available in all languages or in all areas, and features may vary by area.
Important: Mac mini doesn’t have a built-in microphone, so you must connect an external microphone (sold separately) in order to use Siri. After attaching your microphone, select it in Sound preferences (open System Preferences, click Sound, click Input, then select your microphone).
Enable Siri. Open System Preferences, click Siri, and set options. If you enabled Siri during setup, press and hold Command-Space bar to open Siri. Or click Siri in System Preferences, then select Enable Ask Siri. You can also set other options, such as the language and voice to use and whether to show Siri in the menu bar.
![The Siri preferences window with Enable Ask Siri selected on the left and several options for customizing Siri on the right.](https://help.apple.com/assets/5F494C35094622944F3B1EBB/5F494C47094622944F3B1EDA/en_US/da7fe83287cbfa21a8453ebd57ce6f68.png)
Speak to Siri. Press and hold Command-Space bar and start speaking. You can add the Siri icon to your menu bar by selecting that option in the Siri pane of System Preferences. Then click the Siri icon to use Siri.
Tip: To learn about more ways you can use Siri, ask “What can you do” at any time, or click the Help button .
![A Siri window with the heading “Some things you can ask me,” and sample Siri queries such as “Did the Giants win?”](https://help.apple.com/assets/5F494C35094622944F3B1EBB/5F494C47094622944F3B1EDA/en_US/9f6c36550cf4926274f34eeeb90274d6.png)
Play some music. Just say “Play some music,” and Siri does the rest. You can even tell Siri, “Play the top song from March 1991.”
Find and open files. Ask Siri to find files and open them right from the Siri window. You can ask by filename or by description. For example, “Show me files Ursula sent,” or “Open the spreadsheet I created last night.”
Drag and drop. Drag and drop images and locations from the Siri window into an email, text message, or document. You can also copy and paste text.
Change the voice. Click Siri in System Preferences, then choose an option from the Siri Voice menu.
Learn more. See the Apple Support article How to use Siri on your Mac.