Languages
English and Arabic
It follows your keyboard: switch to Arabic and it writes Arabic. Or let Auto mode choose from what it hears.
Push-to-talk dictation for Mac
Voice
Engineering
Hold a key, speak, let go. Your words are typed wherever your cursor is, in English or Arabic.
Apple silicon · macOS 14+
Demo
Typed
Hold the key, then let go
01 — How it works
Hold. Speak. Let go.
It works in any app with a text cursor: Mail, Messages, Slack, Notes, your code editor.
-
01 ⌥option
Hold the key
Hold the left Option key ⌥ wherever you want to type. You can choose another key in Settings.
-
02
Speak
Talk the way you normally would. A small pill on screen shows it’s listening.
-
03
Let go
Release the key. Your words are typed where your cursor is, cleaned up and punctuated.
Hands-free
Long thought? Double-tap ⌥ and keep talking. return finishes, esc cancels.
02 — Install
Installed in two minutes.
-
Open the download
Open the disk image from your Downloads folder.
-
Drag it to Applications
In the window that opens, drag the app onto the Applications folder. Then open it from Applications, not from the disk image.
-
Allow Accessibility and Microphone
Accessibility lets it type into other apps, and the microphone lets it hear you. The welcome screen walks you through both.
Using Arabic
Two more switches
Allow Speech Recognition when asked, and turn on Dictation in System Settings ▸ Keyboard. Add Arabic as a Dictation language so your Mac can recognize it without the internet.
On macOS 14 and 15
A one-time download
On first launch, the English speech model (Parakeet, 470 MB) downloads once from Hugging Face. On macOS 26 and later, Apple’s built-in engine is used and nothing is downloaded.
- Chip
- Apple silicon (M1 or later)
- System
- macOS 14 Sonoma or later
- Intel Macs
- Not supported
macOS says the app can’t be opened? Here’s the fix.
03 — Features
One key, two languages, every app.
Hands-free
Double-tap to keep talking
For longer thoughts, double-tap the key and talk with your hands free. return finishes, esc cancels.
Paste last
Missed the field?
Press ⌃⌘V to type your last dictation again, wherever your cursor is now.
Dictionary
Names spelled right
Teach it names, brands and terms. It corrects them every time, and listens out for them.
History & stats
Every word, by day
Your dictations grouped by day, with the app each one went to. Words today, speaking speed and time saved.
Privacy
Stays on your Mac
English is transcribed on your Mac, and Arabic too once its on-device language is installed, or with the optional high-accuracy model. Gemini, an optional cloud engine, uses your own key. No account, no ads.
04 — Arabic · العربية
Arabic, right to left.
Switch your keyboard to Arabic and Voice Engineering writes Arabic, with punctuation. Say “علامة استفهام” for a question mark, or “سطر جديد” for a new line.
Arabic is recognized by Apple’s speech recognition, so it needs the Speech Recognition permission and Dictation turned on in System Settings ▸ Keyboard.
For Gulf and Saudi dialects, choose High accuracy in Settings ▸ Language: an open Arabic speech model that runs on your Mac. It is a one-time 1.6 GB download and, in our tests, made about half as many mistakes on Gulf speech.
Arabic · right to left
اكتب بصوتك في أي تطبيق، بالعربية والإنجليزية.
05 — What’s new
What’s new in 1.0
- The notes for every release are on GitHub.
06 — Questions
Questions
macOS says the app can’t be opened
Download it from this page rather than using a copy sent through a chat app, which can arrive incomplete. Drag it to Applications and open it from there, not from the disk image.
The app is signed and notarized by Apple. If macOS still refuses, open System Settings ▸ Privacy & Security and click Open Anyway.
Holding the key doesn’t type anything
It needs Accessibility permission to type into other apps: open System Settings ▸ Privacy & Security ▸ Accessibility and turn on Voice Engineering. Make sure you opened it from Applications.
A press that is part of a shortcut, like ⌥←, is ignored on purpose, so your shortcuts keep working.
Arabic doesn’t work
Allow Speech Recognition when asked, and turn on Dictation in System Settings ▸ Keyboard. To recognize Arabic on your Mac itself, add Arabic to the Dictation languages there; macOS downloads it once.
Why does it download 470 MB?
On macOS 14 and 15, English is transcribed by Parakeet, a speech model that runs on your Mac. It downloads once, from Hugging Face, the first time you open the app. On macOS 26 and later, Apple’s built-in engine does the job and nothing is downloaded.
Does my voice leave my Mac?
Not for English: it is transcribed on your Mac. Arabic uses Apple’s speech service until the Arabic Dictation language is installed on your Mac, and never with the high-accuracy model. Gemini is an optional cloud engine: if you choose it, your audio goes to Google.
Update checks never include audio or text. The details are on the privacy page.
How do updates work?
The app checks for updates a few times a day. A new version installs itself once you haven’t dictated for a couple of minutes, and never in the middle of a dictation.
Prefer to choose the moment? Turn off automatic installs in Settings, and install from the banner when you’re ready.
Does it work on an Intel Mac?
No. It needs a Mac with Apple silicon (M1 or later) and macOS 14 or later.
How do I report a problem?
Use the report form on this site, or choose Report a Problem… in the app, which can attach diagnostics that help find the cause. Diagnostics never include anything you dictated.
07 — Feedback
Something not right?
Tell us what happened, or what you’d like to see. Reports go straight to the developer. You can also choose Report a Problem… in the app.
Report a problem