Iris Flow

Open-source macOS speech-to-text overlay
Hold Left-Ctrl, speak, and text lands in whatever app you are using.

TL;DR

Iris Flow is a local Mac app. Clone it, install once, paste your own API keys, then open it from Applications. No account. No hosted backend. Hold Left-Ctrl to dictate into Notes, browsers, Slack, editors — any app that takes text.

git clone https://github.com/joyboy5477/IrisFlow.git
cd IrisFlow/Irisflow
npm install
npm run install:mac

Then open Irisflow from Applications. You do not run npm again after that.

Devices

Works	Does not work
macOS 11 or later	Windows
Apple Silicon — M1, M2, M3, M4	Intel Macs
	Linux

You need Node.js 18+ and Xcode Command Line Tools (xcode-select --install) to build.

Works in

Iris Flow types into the app that is focused. Typical use:

• Notes, TextEdit, Mail, Messages
• Chrome, Safari, Arc, and other browsers
• Slack, Discord, Linear, Notion
• VS Code, Cursor, Xcode, Terminal

If you can type in it, you can dictate into it.

Features

• Dictation — AI mode off. Speak, release, the transcript is pasted at the cursor.
• AI mode — Select text anywhere, hold Left-Ctrl, speak a request. The answer is copied (⌘V to paste).
• Your models — Cerebras (default), OpenAI, or Claude, using keys you paste in the app.
• Documents — Upload PDFs and notes. With a Google AI key, Iris Flow can search them in AI mode.
• Local data — Chats, files, and keys stay on this Mac. Keys are encrypted with macOS Keychain.

Install

Once. After this, launch Irisflow from Spotlight, the Dock, or Applications.

1. Install Node.js 18+ (LTS).

2. Install Command Line Tools if swiftc is missing:

   xcode-select --install

3. Clone and build:

   git clone https://github.com/joyboy5477/IrisFlow.git
   cd IrisFlow/Irisflow
   npm install
   npm run install:mac

4. Finder → Applications → right-click Irisflow → Open → Open (unsigned build; a normal double-click may be blocked the first time).

5. Allow Microphone.

6. System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility → enable Irisflow. Quit and reopen the app.

7. In Iris Flow, open Keys and paste a Deepgram key.

How to use

1. Open Iris Flow (the gold bar stays on the edge of the screen).
2. Click into any text field.
3. Hold Left-Ctrl, speak, release.
4. Dictation: the words appear at the cursor. AI mode: copy the answer with ⌘V.

Keys (all yours, stored only on this Mac):

Key	Used for
Deepgram	Speech to text (required)
Cerebras, OpenAI, or Anthropic	AI mode
Google AI	Searching uploaded documents

Iris Flow runs entirely on your Mac. You only paste API keys for speech and AI.

License

MIT