Verse 1.4.0

What's new

• Settings redesign — three sections (Recording, Output, Transcription); the Transcription section shows only the selected engine's controls, and engine changes save on select. Monochrome controls, and the window is titled Settings.
• Notifications toggle — turn off the transcript-ready banner under Output.
• Live transcript preview (experimental, off by default) — an on-device rough preview in the recording panel while you speak, powered by Apple's streaming speech models (macOS 26+). The pasted transcript still comes from the selected engine. Enable under Settings → Recording.
• Apple Speech engine fix — recordings are WebM again (Electron's MP4 recording was silently broken) and are converted to WAV for the Apple engine; helper errors now surface properly.

brew install --cask lmc4s/tap/verse

Verse 1.3.1

• Settings polish: the dictation-key option now uses a keyboard-style icon and a simpler description.

brew install --cask lmc4s/tap/verse

Verse 1.3.0

• New Settings option: Use the dictation key. Turns the keyboard's dictation key into the Verse shortcut (remapped system-wide to F13, reapplied at login by a small login item). Brightness, volume, and other media keys are unaffected. Turning it off removes the remap and the login item.

brew install --cask lmc4s/tap/verse

Verse 1.2.0

What's new

• Third engine: Apple Speech. Transcribe with macOS's own on-device speech models (macOS 26+) — offline, no API key, no model download. Select it under Settings → Transcription. Fast and accurate for clear speech; Whisper (API or Local MLX) remains the stronger choice for noisy audio and less common languages.
• Recordings are now MP4/AAC (previously WebM), readable by all three engines.

brew install --cask lmc4s/tap/verse

Verse 1.1.2

• History stats now include an approximate OpenAI API cost (whisper-1 at $0.006/min, API-engine recordings only; Local MLX costs nothing).

brew install --cask lmc4s/tap/verse

Verse 1.1.1

• Clear All in the History window now asks for confirmation before deleting.
• Removed the automatic system glyph next to Quit in the menu bar menu.

brew install --cask lmc4s/tap/verse

Verse 1.1.0

What's new

• History stats — the History window header now shows lifetime totals: transcript count, total words (CJK-aware counting), and total captured audio time.
• Recording duration is stored with each new history entry; audio totals accumulate from this version onward. Word counts include all existing entries.

Install or upgrade with Homebrew:

brew install --cask lmc4s/tap/verse

Verse 1.0.0

Verse 1.0 is a complete rebirth of what was once a desktop Whisper window — now a native macOS menu bar app for voice transcription. Press a shortcut, speak, press again — your words appear wherever your cursor is.

Highlights

• Menu bar only. No dock icon, no window clutter — just a Didot closing quote in your menu bar: ” idle, red dot recording, … transcribing.
• One shortcut. Press ⌥Space (configurable — click the shortcut in Settings and press any keys), speak, press again. A translucent liquid-glass panel with a live level meter shows the recording; Esc cancels.
• Straight to your cursor. The transcript is copied to the clipboard and auto-pasted into whatever text box has focus (grant Accessibility once; toggleable in Settings).
• Two engines. OpenAI API (bring your key) or fully offline Local MLX on Apple Silicon — the app manages its own Python environment and models.
• History. A searchable glass window of your past transcripts — click to copy, hover to delete.

Privacy

Open source, no telemetry, no accounts. Audio leaves your Mac only if you choose the OpenAI engine; Local MLX runs entirely on-device.

Install

Download the DMG below and drag Verse to Applications. The app is unsigned: on first launch, right-click → Open (or allow it under System Settings → Privacy & Security). macOS will ask for Microphone access on first recording, and Accessibility for auto-paste.

Licensed under AGPL-3.0.

Whisper Desktop 0.1.19

macOS (Apple Silicon) build.

New in this release: automatic transcribe history. Every transcription is saved automatically (text only) and browsable via the new History button — copy, reopen, or delete past transcripts without saving manually.

Not signed or notarized: on first launch, right-click the app and choose Open, or allow it under System Settings > Privacy & Security.

Whisper Desktop 0.1.18

macOS (Apple Silicon) build.

Not signed or notarized: on first launch, right-click the app and choose Open, or allow it under System Settings > Privacy & Security.