ainstype

A macOS menubar app for local speech-to-text. Hold a hotkey, speak, release — your transcription is pasted into the focused app.

• Fully local transcription via WhisperKit (CoreML, Apple Silicon)
• Custom dictionary for domain-specific terms
• Runs in the menu bar, starts at login

Privacy

Everything runs on-device. Audio is transcribed locally with WhisperKit and never leaves your Mac. The only network request the app makes is the one-time WhisperKit model download on first launch (or you can bundle the model so there's no download at all).

Requirements

• macOS 14+ (Sonoma)
• Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4)
• Xcode Command Line Tools (xcode-select --install)

Quick Start

1. Download the latest ainstype-x.y.z.dmg from the Releases page.
2. Open the DMG and drag ainstype into your Applications folder.
3. Launch ainstype from Applications — it runs in the menu bar (no dock icon).
4. Grant Input Monitoring and Accessibility permissions when prompted.

Hold Right Cmd and speak. Release to transcribe and paste.

The DMG bundles the WhisperKit model, so there's no first-run download.

Build from source

swift build && swift run

On first launch, the app downloads the WhisperKit model (~616MB) unless one is already bundled.

Build & Distribute

./build_app.sh

This builds a signed .app bundle and creates a DMG. Optionally bundles the WhisperKit model so users skip the first-run download.

Configuration

Edit ~/.config/ainstype/config.toml:

language = "en"          # optional, auto-detect if omitted

[recording]
hotkey = "cmd_r"         # cmd, cmd_r, alt, alt_r, ctrl, ctrl_r

Custom terms in ~/.config/ainstype/dictionary.toml:

[terms]
words = ["Kubernetes", "TypeScript", "PostgreSQL"]

[replacements]
"kube control" = "kubectl"
"post gress" = "Postgres"