PollenScribe

Lightweight Windows dictation that records your voice, transcribes it, and pastes the text into the active app.

Download latest release · Quick start · Troubleshooting

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What it does

PollenScribe runs quietly in the Windows tray. Press the dictation hotkey, speak, stop recording, and the transcription is pasted into the app you were using.

Press hotkey → Speak → Stop recording → Text gets pasted

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Visual overview

Area	What you get
🎙️ Dictation	Global voice recording with Ctrl + Shift + Space
📝 Transcription	Uses a Pollinations/OpenAI-compatible audio transcription endpoint
📋 Paste behavior	Pastes into the active window or copies to clipboard if focus changed
🪟 Overlay	Small floating control panel for status, pause, and cancel
🧭 Tray app	Runs in the system tray with show/hide and quit controls
🎨 Icon	Uses PollenScripe.ico for the app/release branding

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Controls

Action	Shortcut / control
Start recording	Ctrl + Shift + Space
Stop and transcribe	Ctrl + Shift + Space or Enter
Show / hide overlay	Ctrl + Shift + P
Pause / resume	Overlay pause button
Cancel recording	Overlay stop button
Quit	System tray menu

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Requirements

Requirement	Needed for
Windows 10/11	The app uses Windows tray, hotkeys, and paste behavior
Working microphone	Audio capture
Pollinations API key	Transcription requests
Python 3.10+	Only needed when running from source

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Quick start for the exe

Download the release exe from:

https://github.com/its3li/PollenScripe/releases/tag/v1.0.0

Then keep these files together in the same folder:

PollenScribe-V1.0.exe
.env

Important

The .env file must be next to the .exe. If .env is missing or in another folder, transcription will fail with POLLINATIONS_API_KEY is not set.

Create .env from .env.example:

copy .env.example .env

Then edit .env and add your real API key:

POLLINATIONS_API_KEY=your_api_key_here

Run the exe:

.\PollenScribe-V1.0.exe

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Quick install from source

1. Clone or download this folder.
2. Copy .env.example to .env.
3. Put your API key in .env.
4. Run setup.
5. Start the app.

copy .env.example .env
.\setup.bat
.\.venv\Scripts\python.exe pollenscribe.py

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Manual source install

python -m venv .venv
.\.venv\Scripts\python.exe -m pip install --upgrade pip
.\.venv\Scripts\pip.exe install -r requirements.txt
.\.venv\Scripts\python.exe pollenscribe.py

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Build a standalone exe

Run:

.\build_exe.bat

The executable is created at:

dist\PollenScribe.exe

The build uses this icon:

PollenScripe.ico

Note

If a local .env exists, build_exe.bat copies it to dist\.env for local testing. Do not publish your real .env.

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Start automatically with Windows

After building the exe:

.\install_startup.bat

That creates this shortcut:

%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\PollenScribe.lnk

To remove auto-start:

.\uninstall_startup.bat

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Configuration

Create a .env file from .env.example.

Variable	Required	Default	Description
POLLINATIONS_API_KEY	Yes	none	API key for the transcription endpoint
POLLENSCRIBE_MODEL	No	whisper	Transcription model name
POLLINATIONS_BASE_URL	No	https://gen.pollinations.ai/v1	OpenAI-compatible API base URL
POLLENSCRIBE_SILENCE_THRESHOLD	No	500	Higher trims silence more aggressively
POLLENSCRIBE_TRIM_PADDING_MS	No	250	Speech padding kept around detected audio

Example:

POLLINATIONS_API_KEY=your_api_key_here
POLLENSCRIBE_MODEL=whisper
POLLINATIONS_BASE_URL=https://gen.pollinations.ai/v1
POLLENSCRIBE_SILENCE_THRESHOLD=500
POLLENSCRIBE_TRIM_PADDING_MS=250

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Troubleshooting

POLLINATIONS_API_KEY is not set

Check that:

• .env exists.
• .env is in the same folder as the running exe.
• .env contains POLLINATIONS_API_KEY=....
• The key line is not commented out.

Hotkeys do not work

Try:

• Run PollenScribe as Administrator.
• Close any app using the same hotkey.
• Restart PollenScribe after permission changes.

Microphone capture fails

Check:

• Windows microphone privacy permissions.
• Default input device.
• Microphone mute state.
• Whether another app is exclusively using the microphone.

Transcription fails

Check:

• API key is valid.
• Internet connection is working.
• POLLINATIONS_BASE_URL is correct.
• Audio was actually recorded.

Icon looks wrong after rebuilding

Check:

• PollenScripe.ico exists in the repo root.
• You rebuilt after adding the icon.
• You are running the newly built exe, not an older one.
• Windows icon cache may still show the old icon temporarily.

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Security notes

Warning

Never publish your real .env file or API key.

Safe to publish:

.env.example

Do not publish:

.env

If a real API key was exposed, rotate it before publishing another release.

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Project files

File	Purpose
pollenscribe.py	Main application
PollenScripe.ico	App and README icon
build_exe.bat	Builds the standalone exe
setup.bat	Creates/install source environment
install_startup.bat	Adds Windows startup shortcut
uninstall_startup.bat	Removes Windows startup shortcut
.env.example	Safe config template
redmi.md	Reboot/release handoff checklist

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Remember: the exe and `.env` must stay together.