🖥️
Runs entirely on your machine
A stack of local recognizers turns speech into text on-device. No cloud, no API keys. Pull the Wi-Fi and it still works.
Local voice input for Mac & Windows
Hold a key.
Say the thing.
It types.
A one-click voice keyboard for your computer. It listens, tidies up what you said, and drops the text right where your cursor is. Mac is the finished experience; Windows is a preview.
- ◆ 100% on-device
- ◆ No sign-up, ever
- ◆ No word cap
- ◆ Open source
Hold ⌥
Why it feels different
An interface between thought and software.
Not another transcript box. Every part is built to earn your trust with what you actually said.
Described as they work on a Mac. Windows shares capture, recognition, cleanup, snippets and tones, but not the verified insertion transaction, the Outbox, correction learning, or the results view — see how it compares.
🎯
Types into the right place
It leases the field under your cursor and checks it is still there before pasting once. If focus moved, the text parks safely in your Outbox instead of the wrong box.
⚡
Fast enough to forget
Models stay warm and long sentences are recognized while you are still talking, so the text is ready the moment you let go of the key.
✍️
Cleans up, never makes things up
The Voice Compiler smooths filler and formatting, but it cannot invent words you did not say. Your names, numbers, and code stay exactly as spoken.
📓
Learns your words, not your life
Corrections become small, local rules you can read and delete. There is no cloud transcript following you around.
🛟
Nothing gets lost
Faithful fallbacks, exact-once insertion, and a recoverable Outbox mean a bad moment never eats your sentence.
⏪
Talk first, decide after
Turn on Flight Recorder and the last twenty seconds live in memory, never on disk. Say the thing, realise you wanted it, tap the key and keep it.
🎚️
Six ways to say it
Hold a modifier with your key: compose polished prose, reply using what is on screen, edit the text you selected, or dictate code with real punctuation.
🔍
Show your work
Every result can explain itself — what it protected, which edits it accepted or refused, what it was unsure about. No transcript dossier required.
How it works
From your mouth to your cursor.
Five steps, all on your machine, in the time it takes to let go of a key.
-
Hold your key
Press and hold your hotkey, then just start talking. No window to open, no button to find.
-
It listens on-device
A warm cascade of local recognizers turns sound into text as you speak — nothing leaves the Mac.
-
It tidies the text
Light cleanup fixes filler and formatting without changing what you meant.
-
It claims the spot
Whisper Face leases the field under your cursor and double-checks it is still the right one.
-
It types
One clean paste. If the field moved, the text waits safe in your Outbox instead.
Pick your face
A little transcriptionist in your menu bar.
Choose who greets you up top. It sits quietly, then opens its mouth the moment you start talking. Hover to say hi — click to send it up to the top of the page.
Your voice never leaves the laptop.
No cloud calls. No telemetry. No transcript sitting on someone else's server. Listening, recognizing, cleaning up, and typing all happen on your Mac — even with the Wi-Fi off. When Diagnostics writes a support bundle, it stays private on your disk and contains no transcripts.
on-device recognitionzero telemetryno audio uploadlocal-only rulesno account, ever
Get started
Setup is part of the product.
One command provisions everything and checks its own work. Then hold your key and talk.
1
Download and open
Grab the disk image and open it. No account, no sign-up wall.
2
Copy it out of the disk image
Drag the Whisper Face folder — and the app beside it — somewhere writable like Documents. The installer checks for this and will not run from the read-only image.
3
Run Install.command
From that copy, one repeatable flow sets up the app, locked dependencies, models, the native helper, login services, and health checks.
4
Grant mic and accessibility
macOS asks once for microphone and accessibility access — that is what lets Whisper Face hear you and type for you.
Apple Silicon, macOS 14 or newer. Release notes · Source on GitHub
1
Download and unzip
Unzip it somewhere writable like Documents. The installer will not run from inside the zip.
2
Run Install.cmd
Double-click it — it starts the bundled setup script, which Windows blocks if you launch it directly. One repeatable flow sets up the app, locked dependencies, models, a login task, and health checks, and it is safe to run again later. It needs winget (App Installer, from the Microsoft Store) the first time.
3
Let SmartScreen through
The build is not code-signed, so Windows may say it protected your PC. Choose More info, then Run anyway — or check the download against SHA256SUMS first.
4
Hold Right Alt and talk
Windows uses Right Alt in place of Right Option, and Whisper Face lives in the tray rather than the menu bar.
Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit. Release notes · Source on GitHub
This build is not signed yet. macOS will say it cannot verify the developer —
right-click Install.command and choose Open, then confirm. Windows
may show SmartScreen — choose More info, then Run anyway. You can check
either download against SHA256SUMS. Signed builds are on
the way.
Windows is a preview. It shares the same recognition and cleanup pipeline, and its installer runs in CI on every change — but it has not yet been through a full dictation on real Windows hardware. It lives in the tray instead of a window, and text is inserted by a plain paste rather than the Mac's verified insertion transaction.
# from the Whisper Face folder
you@mac ~/Whisper-Face $ ./Install.command
✓ app installed
✓ models ready (offline)
✓ native helper linked
✓ microphone + accessibility
✓ health checks passed
Hold your key and start talking →:: from the unzipped Whisper Face folder
C:\Users\you\Documents\Whisper Face> Install.cmd
✓ app installed
✓ models ready (offline)
✓ login task registered
✓ microphone available
✓ health checks passed
Hold Right Alt and start talking → Questions
The honest FAQ.
Is it really free?
Yes. Core dictation, privacy, accessibility, the installers, and local use are free and stay that way. No account, no word cap, no paywalled accuracy.
Do I need an account?
Never. There is no sign-up, no login, no license key, and no email field anywhere — not to download, not to install, not to use it. Nothing to create means nothing to leak, sell, or lock you out of.
Does my voice go to the cloud?
No. Recognition runs on your Mac. You can turn off Wi-Fi and keep dictating. Nothing about what you say is uploaded.
Which Macs does it run on?
Modern Apple Silicon Macs. The installer checks your machine and models during setup and tells you if anything is missing.
What about Windows or iPhone?
Windows shares the same core pipeline and keeps one-click installer parity. A native iPhone product is a future workstream, not a setup promise today.
How accurate is it, honestly?
It runs multiple local recognizers and protects names, numbers, code, and commands rather than smoothing them into something plausible. The repo includes a dated, neutral competitor evaluation instead of cherry-picked claims.
Is it open source?
Yes — source-available, with a separate commercial license option. The full license and third-party notices live in the repository.