Open source WhisperFlow alternative. No API keys required; everything runs locally.
Mac & Windows. Hold a key (or click), talk, release, and your words become text. On your machine. No cloud, no AI platform gatekeeping, no third party reading your audio.
A menubar app that uses OpenAI's Whisper locally to transcribe your voice. Hold a shortcut (e.g. Right Option) or toggle with a combo, speak, then get text typed wherever your cursor is. Your audio and text stay on your computer.
Built with Tauri 2 (Rust + HTML/JS). Tiny binary, low memory, native performance. Works on macOS (Apple Silicon & Intel) and Windows (x64).
If you want local, open source dictation without sending voice or metadata to someone else's servers, OpenBolo is built for that.
| OpenBolo (this thing) | Whisper Flow | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly fee | We do not charge monthly. $0. Forever. | You know the drill. |
| API keys | None. Zero. Nada. Runs 100% offline. | Needs API keys or cloud access. |
| Open source | Yes. Read the code. Change it. | Nope. |
| Your data | We do not collect any of your data. It never leaves your machine. | Cloud-dependent; review their policy. |
| Runs | Works locally. Your machine, your rules. | Their cloud, their rules. |
| Speed | Faster (local inference, no round-trip). | Slower (upload, wait, download). |
| Platform | Mac (Apple Silicon & Intel) & Windows. | Mac only. |
| Vibe | Faster. Cheaper. Better. | Subscription model; network bound. |
Find the build in the Releases section. Download, run, done.
- macOS:
.dmgfor Apple Silicon (arm64) and Intel (x64) - Windows:
.exeinstaller (NSIS) and.msi
npm run tauri buildThe built app will be in src-tauri/target/release/bundle/.
Contributions are welcome. Even AI-generated contributions. Just make sure whatever you send actually works. We'll review it, and merging might take a while, or it might not merge at all. No hard feelings; we're picky because we like things that run.
Your voice. Your data. Your machine. No subscriptions, no API keys, no telemetry, no funny business.