Quick Start

Quick Start

Get from a fresh install to your first dictation in a few steps: pick a transcription model, set your hotkey, and start talking into whatever app has focus.

📸 Screenshot needed: TypeWhisper's main window right after first launch, on the Dashboard or Dictation page.

1. Launch the app

Start TypeWhisper from your application menu, or run it from a terminal if you installed the AppImage or built from source (see Installation). On first run, the bundled plugins are copied into your user plugin directory.

2. Pick a transcription engine and model

Open the Dictation page and choose a transcription engine and model. Models come from the bundled or installed transcription plugins — see Transcription engines for the available engines (local engines like WhisperCpp and cloud engines like OpenAi, Groq, and Deepgram).

The Dictation page reports the model state as Ready, Loading, Downloading <percent>, or Error. If you select a model that has not been downloaded yet and the plugin supports downloads, selecting it triggers the download.

📸 Screenshot needed: The Dictation page with the model dropdown open, showing the model selection list.

3. Set the global dictation hotkey

Go to the Shortcuts settings panel and set your main global dictation hotkey. This is the key you press to start and stop recording from anywhere. See Global hotkeys for details, and Wayland notes if you are on a Wayland session.

📸 Screenshot needed: The Shortcuts panel with the global dictation hotkey field focused / being captured.

4. Do your first dictation

With the default Toggle activation mode:

1. Focus the app you want text to land in (a text editor, browser, terminal, etc.).
2. Press your dictation hotkey to start recording — the recording overlay appears.
3. Speak.
4. Press the hotkey again to stop. TypeWhisper transcribes your speech and inserts the text into the focused app.

You can cancel an in-flight dictation with the Escape key during recording, transcription, or post-processing.

📸 Screenshot needed: The recording overlay visible on screen while dictating.

📸 Screenshot needed: Transcribed text appearing inside another application (e.g. a text editor) after dictation.

See Text insertion for how text gets delivered to the focused app and how to tune per-app strategies.

Activation modes

TypeWhisper offers three activation modes for the dictation hotkey:

Mode	Behavior
Toggle	Press to start, press again to stop.
Push to talk	Hold to record; release to stop.
Hybrid	Starts on press; a short tap keeps recording, holding past ~600 ms stops on release.

Optional: AI text cleanup

Cleanup is optional. TypeWhisper can run an optional transcription cleanup pipeline with Light, Medium, and High levels — Medium/High route through your configured LLM provider. See Text cleanup and LLM providers to set this up.

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Changelog

Date	Change
2026-06-17	Initial version.