Accurate dictation for Mac.

Free macOS app that turns speech to text with high accuracy in any language.

Download
0.5 MB macOS 26+ API key

  • Double-tap Shift to dictate

    Double-tap Shift to start, tap again to stop. The text lands wherever your cursor is.

    ⇧
    shift
    Z
    X
     
    fn
    ⌃
    control
    ⌥
    option
    ⌘
    command

  • Mixed-language dictation

    Every language you type in is sent as a hint, so switching mid-sentence still transcribes.

    English
    Български
    Deutsch

  • Personal dictionary

    Teach it the names, jargon, and acronyms it would otherwise mishear.

    Svelte
    llama.cpp
    Claude Code
    Add term…

  • Minimal permissions

    Asks for the microphone and accessibility (to be able to paste) and nothing else.

    • Microphone
    • Accessibility
    • Screen Recording —
    • Full Disk Access —

  • No account, no telemetry

    Nothing to sign up for and nothing collected. Audio goes to OpenAI and nowhere else.

    OpenAI API key
    sk-••••••••••••••••
    That's the whole setup.

  • Small footprint

    0.5 MB. Minimal CPU and memory use.

    Typist.app
    Size 0.5 MB
    Memory 12 MB
    CPU (idle) 0.0%

If you want to go further

Typist is scriptable end to end, so you can extend it and fit it into the apps and workflows.

  • AppleScript commands

    Scriptable from Shortcuts, Raycast, Alfred, or anything that speaks AppleScript.

    tell application "Typist"
    start dictation
    end tell

  • Post-transcription hook

    Every transcript is piped through your script before it’s typed — fix casing, expand shorthand, or run it through an LLM.

    #!/bin/sh
    if ["$TYPIST_APP"="Slack"];then
    tr'[:upper:]' '[:lower:]'
    else
    cat
    fi

  • Text-based config

    Under the hood, settings are plain text files — diff, version, or edit them directly.

    ~/.typist
    README.md
    dictionary.txt
    hook
    hook.example

Changelog

Here's a summary of the last 10 updates:

  • 0.37.0   Jul 28   Load models while you dictate, so the first dictation isn't slow
  • 0.36.0   Jul 27   Transcribe entirely on your Mac — cloud providers are gone
  • 0.35.0   Jul 12   Restore double-shift activation and add alternate-language dictation
  • 0.34.0   Jun 26   Tap the right Command key to toggle recording
  • 0.33.0   Jun 06   Paste more smartly and auto-retry stalled transcriptions
  • 0.32.0   May 06   Add xAI as a model provider
  • 0.31.0   May 05   Update the app icon to match the new menu bar icon
  • 0.30.0   May 04   Add option to copy transcripts to clipboard
  • 0.29.0   Apr 16   Redesign HUD with backdrop blur and refined shape
  • 0.28.0   Mar 18   Keep only the 100 most recent transcripts in history

See full changelog

Let's keep in touch

Occasional updates on new features and notable changes. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.

Made by erusev and astoilkov