Real-time, on-device speech-to-text for Mac.
22+ languages, live translation, floating subtitle overlay — 100% offline.
Glasscribe is a lightweight macOS menu bar app that transcribes speech in real time — entirely on your device. Capture system audio or microphone input across 22+ languages with real-time translation. No cloud, no account, no data ever leaves your Mac.
Built on Apple's native Speech framework (macOS 26 Tahoe), Glasscribe delivers fast, private transcription with a clean, minimal interface that stays out of your way.
demo.mp4
- Real-time Transcription — Live speech-to-text from system audio or microphone with instant results.
- 100% On-device — All processing happens locally. No internet required, no audio data leaves your Mac. Ever.
- 22+ Languages — English, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, French, German, Arabic, Russian, and many more.
- Live Translation — Real-time on-device translation between all supported languages.
- Floating Subtitle Overlay — Draggable, resizable transparent overlay with confirmed lines, search, and translation.
- System Audio Capture — Transcribe YouTube, Zoom, podcasts, or any audio playing on your Mac. No virtual audio drivers needed.
- Dictation Mode — Hold the
fnkey to dictate. Release to paste text at the cursor position instantly. - Auto Copy & Paste — Automatically copy transcriptions to clipboard or paste directly at your cursor.
- Session History — Searchable transcript history with timestamps, word count, and persistent sessions across restarts.
- Export — Save transcripts as Plain Text (.txt) or SRT Subtitles (.srt).
- Keyboard Shortcuts — Configurable global hotkeys for all major actions (⌃⌥S to toggle recording, and more).
- Customizable Overlay — Adjustable opacity, font size, accent color, auto-hide, and always-on-top options.
- Automatic Updates — Built-in Sparkle updater checks for new versions automatically.
Glasscribe is built with privacy as a core principle:
- 🔒 No cloud processing — Speech recognition runs entirely on Apple's on-device neural engine.
- 🚫 No account required — No sign-up, no login, no personal data collection.
- 📡 No network requests — Audio never leaves your device (except for optional license validation).
- 🗑️ No data retention — Session data is stored locally and only on your Mac.
Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese (Mandarin), Cantonese, Arabic, Danish, German, Spanish, Finnish, French, Hebrew, Italian, Malay, Norwegian, Dutch, Portuguese, Russian, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Vietnamese
All transcription languages plus Hindi, Indonesian, Polish, Ukrainian, Chinese (Traditional)
- Visit glasscribe.toolab.dev to download the latest version.
- Open the
.dmgfile and drag Glasscribe to your Applications folder. - Launch Glasscribe — it appears as a waveform icon in your menu bar.
Glasscribe requires the following macOS permissions:
- Microphone — For microphone transcription and dictation mode.
- Screen & System Audio Recording — For system audio capture.
- Accessibility (optional) — For auto-paste at cursor functionality.
- Click the menu bar icon to open the Glasscribe panel.
- Select your language and audio source (System Audio or Microphone).
- Press Start or use the keyboard shortcut
⌃⌥Sto begin transcription. - View live transcriptions in the floating overlay window.
Glasscribe offers a 3-day free trial with full access to all features.
| Plan | Price | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly | $2.90/month | |
| Annual | $12.00/year | Save 66% |
| Lifetime | $24.00 | One-time purchase ⭐ |
- macOS 26 (Tahoe) or later
| Action | Default Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Toggle Recording | ⌃⌥S |
| Toggle Auto Copy | ⌃⌥C |
| Toggle Auto Paste | ⌃⌥V |
| Toggle Overlay | ⌃⌥O |
| Dictation | Hold fn |
All shortcuts are fully customizable in Settings.
- 🌐 Website: glasscribe.toolab.dev
- 📝 Release Notes: glasscribe.toolab.dev/whatsnew
- 📧 Contact: contact@toolab.dev
- 📜 Terms of Service: glasscribe.toolab.dev/terms
- 🔐 Privacy Policy: glasscribe.toolab.dev/privacy