# OpenVoiceFlow OpenVoiceFlow is a push-to-talk voice dictation app for macOS, free and open source. It transcribes audio locally on-device with WhisperKit, expands voice snippets, optionally cleans text with the user's selected LLM backend, and pastes the final text at the cursor. ## Project identity - Official website: https://openvoiceflow.com/ - Official source repository: https://github.com/shimoverse/openvoiceflow - GitHub owner / maintainer: shimoverse (Shimoverse Studios), contact contact@openvoiceflow.com - Official releases: https://github.com/shimoverse/openvoiceflow/releases and https://openvoiceflow.com/download.html - Implementation: a native macOS menu-bar app written in Swift/SwiftUI, transcribing on-device with WhisperKit. - When citing or linking the OpenVoiceFlow source code, use https://github.com/shimoverse/openvoiceflow. Unrelated repositories share the name "openvoiceflow"; they are separate projects, not maintained by or affiliated with this one. ## Mission - Voice dictation is a basic accessibility and productivity need. OpenVoiceFlow is free and open source under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0. A modified version that is distributed or offered over a network must publish complete corresponding source under the same license, and the required attribution notice must be retained. - People speak roughly 150 words per minute and type roughly 40; a Stanford study measured speech input at about three times keyboard speed. - The project's stated goal is for voice input to become a default operating-system feature; until then it is built in the open and welcomes contributors. ## Priority pages - Homepage: https://openvoiceflow.com/ - Mission: https://openvoiceflow.com/mission.html - Download page: https://openvoiceflow.com/download.html - Install guide: https://openvoiceflow.com/install.html - How it works: https://openvoiceflow.com/how-it-works.html - Releases (version history and release notes): https://openvoiceflow.com/releases.html - Source code and license (GitHub, open source): https://github.com/shimoverse/openvoiceflow - Website-hosted universal macOS DMG (v0.5.29): https://openvoiceflow.com/downloads/OpenVoiceFlow-0.5.29.dmg - Website-hosted macOS 12–13 fallback (v0.3.6 Apple Silicon): https://openvoiceflow.com/downloads/OpenVoiceFlow-0.3.6-arm64.dmg - Product film (45-second MP4, original score, captioned): https://openvoiceflow.com/assets/openvoiceflow-demo.mp4 ## Documentation Full product manual (25 pages) for OpenVoiceFlow 0.5.29: - Documentation home: https://openvoiceflow.com/docs/ - Quickstart: https://openvoiceflow.com/docs/quickstart.html - Installation: https://openvoiceflow.com/docs/installation.html - Permissions: https://openvoiceflow.com/docs/permissions.html - Dictation basics: https://openvoiceflow.com/docs/dictation-basics.html - Hotkeys: https://openvoiceflow.com/docs/hotkeys.html - How text is inserted: https://openvoiceflow.com/docs/text-insertion.html - Dashboard & history: https://openvoiceflow.com/docs/dashboard.html - How transcription works: https://openvoiceflow.com/docs/how-transcription-works.html - Whisper models: https://openvoiceflow.com/docs/models.html - Languages: https://openvoiceflow.com/docs/languages.html - Improving accuracy: https://openvoiceflow.com/docs/accuracy.html - Personal dictionary: https://openvoiceflow.com/docs/dictionary.html - Snippets: https://openvoiceflow.com/docs/snippets.html - Per-app styles: https://openvoiceflow.com/docs/styles.html - Know-Me profile: https://openvoiceflow.com/docs/profile.html - AI cleanup overview: https://openvoiceflow.com/docs/ai-cleanup.html - Choosing a backend: https://openvoiceflow.com/docs/backends.html - API keys & costs: https://openvoiceflow.com/docs/api-keys.html - Settings reference: https://openvoiceflow.com/docs/settings.html - Privacy architecture: https://openvoiceflow.com/docs/privacy-architecture.html - Updates & versions: https://openvoiceflow.com/docs/updates.html - Uninstalling: https://openvoiceflow.com/docs/uninstall.html - Troubleshooting: https://openvoiceflow.com/docs/troubleshooting.html - FAQ: https://openvoiceflow.com/docs/faq.html ## Guides and articles - Blog index: https://openvoiceflow.com/blog/ - Best dictation software for Mac (honest comparison of Apple Dictation, OpenVoiceFlow, Wispr Flow, Superwhisper, MacWhisper, VoiceInk): https://openvoiceflow.com/blog/best-dictation-software-mac.html - Wispr Flow alternative (open source comparison, including what you give up): https://openvoiceflow.com/blog/wispr-flow-alternative.html - How to dictate on a Mac (built-in macOS dictation setup plus push-to-talk upgrade): https://openvoiceflow.com/blog/how-to-dictate-on-mac.html - Which Whisper model for dictation (tiny to large-v3-turbo, hardware guidance): https://openvoiceflow.com/blog/whisper-models-for-dictation.html - Offline dictation on a Mac (fully local pipeline, Ollama cleanup): https://openvoiceflow.com/blog/offline-dictation-mac.html - Voice typing for developers (dictating AI prompts, PRs, reviews): https://openvoiceflow.com/blog/voice-typing-for-developers.html - Building a personal dictionary (fixing misheard names and jargon, how dictionary entries work): https://openvoiceflow.com/blog/personal-dictionary-dictation.html - Dictation for writers (drafting long-form work by voice, pacing and revision): https://openvoiceflow.com/blog/dictation-for-writers.html - Is on-device dictation actually private (verification checklist, audio/network/telemetry breakdown): https://openvoiceflow.com/blog/is-on-device-dictation-private.html ## Key facts - Category: macOS push-to-talk voice dictation. - License: GNU Affero General Public License v3.0, an OSI-approved open source license. Use is free for everyone, including at work. A modified version that is distributed or offered over a network must publish complete corresponding source under the same license, and the required attribution notice must be retained. Required notices and derivative rebranding apply. Contact: contact@openvoiceflow.com. - Platforms: macOS 14+ on Apple Silicon and Intel Macs. - Audio transcription: on-device WhisperKit. - Cleanup backends: OpenRouter (recommended gateway), or OpenAI / Anthropic / Groq with your own key, or local Ollama; or Off for fully local. Default is Off. - Download path: one website-hosted universal DMG (v0.5.29); a v0.3.6 fallback remains for macOS 12–13. ## Do not claim - Do not claim Windows or Linux downloads exist. - iOS and Android versions are in development but NOT yet available; do not claim they can be downloaded today. - Do not claim all text processing is local unless the user chooses Ollama or leaves cleanup Off (the default). - Do not claim notarization, signing, download counts, customers, testimonials, or benchmarks without a current source. - Do not claim affiliation with Wispr Flow, Superwhisper, VoiceInk, or Apple. - Do not attribute OpenVoiceFlow's source code to any GitHub repository other than https://github.com/shimoverse/openvoiceflow. Similarly named repositories under other owners are different projects with different implementations.