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OpenTypeless

Open-source alternative to Wispr Flow and Superwhisper for AI voice input, rewriting, and voice Q&A on macOS, Windows, and Linux.

Press a hotkey, speak naturally, and get clean text in the app you are already using.
Or ask a one-shot voice question and get a concise AI answer without opening a chat app.

Website · Download · Run locally · Discussions

If OpenTypeless helps your workflow, a GitHub star helps more people discover the project.

Dictate anywhere · Rewrite selected text · Ask one-shot voice questions · Bring your own keys or use managed cloud words

What's New in v1.1.49

OpenTypeless now understands more of the workflow around your voice, not only the words you said:

• App-aware writing detects the active application locally and adapts structure and tone for email, chat, documents, issue trackers, coding tools, and more.
• Voice intent routing distinguishes dictation, selected-text editing, translation, Ask Anything, and supported voice actions in English, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese.
• Multiple shortcuts per workflow let you assign and reorder more than one binding for Dictation, Ask Anything, and Translation.
• Switchable translation targets make it faster to move between the languages you use instead of keeping one fixed output language.
• A stronger local dictionary adds correction rules plus dictionary import/export, so recurring names, terminology, and transcription mistakes stay under your control.
• Per-app style mappings let you override the built-in app category when a detected app needs a different writing style.

All application detection, mappings, dictionary entries, and correction rules are stored locally. App-aware polish sends only the internal app category and approved style metadata to the configured LLM path; raw window titles and document contents are not sent to the LLM or stored in history.

Ask Anything

Ask Anything is a shortcut-first voice Q&A flow, not a chat tab. Press the Ask Anything hotkey, speak a question, stop recording, and OpenTypeless transcribes it, sends a one-shot request to the LLM, then shows only the final answer in a small floating note.

It is designed for quick answers with no chat history, no input box, and no extra send step. If selected-text context is enabled, Ask can also answer questions about the text currently selected in another app.

Default shortcuts now follow the Typeless-style flow:

Platform	Dictation	Ask Anything	Translate selected text
macOS	Fn	Fn+Space	Fn+LeftShift
Windows	Right Alt	Right Alt+Space	Right Alt+LeftShift
Linux	Ctrl+/	Ctrl+.	configurable

Linux keeps conservative Ctrl-based defaults because global Right Alt handling is less reliable across desktop environments, especially on Wayland.

Visual Tour

App-aware AI polish	Local dictionary and corrections

Onboarding and voice workspace

Onboarding	Voice workspace

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What OpenTypeless Does

OpenTypeless gives you four voice-first desktop workflows:

Workflow	What happens
Dictation	Hold a hotkey, speak, transcribe, optionally polish with an LLM, then type or copy the result into the active app
Ask Anything	Start a one-shot voice question, transcribe it, send it to the LLM, and show only the final answer in a small panel
Selected-text editing	Select text in another app, speak an instruction, and let the LLM rewrite, summarize, translate, or fix that selection
Translation	Use a dedicated shortcut, speak or select text, and send the result to one of your configured target languages

Use it for emails, chat replies, meeting notes, issue comments, prompts, documentation drafts, quick answers, multilingual translation, and any workflow where speaking is faster than typing.

flowchart LR
  Hotkey["Global hotkey"] --> Capture["Audio capture"]
  Capture --> Mode{"Voice mode"}
  Mode -->|"Dictation"| STT["Speech-to-text"]
  STT --> Polish{"AI polish?"}
  Polish -->|"Yes"| Context["Local app category + style mapping"]
  Context --> LLM["Context-aware LLM rewrite"]
  Polish -->|"No"| Output["Keyboard / clipboard output"]
  LLM --> Output
  Mode -->|"Ask Anything"| AskSTT["Transcribe question"]
  AskSTT --> AskLLM["One-shot LLM answer"]
  AskLLM --> Panel["Answer-only panel"]
  Mode -->|"Selected text"| Selection["Capture selected text"]
  Selection --> EditLLM["Apply spoken instruction"]
  EditLLM --> Output

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Why OpenTypeless?

Most desktop dictation tools stop at transcription. OpenTypeless adds the AI rewrite layer, provider choice, and open-source control that power users need.

	OpenTypeless	macOS Dictation	Windows Voice Typing	Whisper Desktop
AI text polishing	✅ Multiple LLMs	❌	❌	❌
Ask Anything voice Q&A	✅	❌	❌	❌
STT provider choice	✅ Cloud, Deepgram, AssemblyAI, Whisper-compatible, Doubao, and more	❌ Apple only	❌ Microsoft only	❌ Whisper only
Works in any app	✅	✅	✅	❌ Copy-paste
Translation mode	✅	❌	❌	❌
Selected-text rewrite	✅	❌	❌	❌
App-aware writing	✅ Local detection and mappings	❌	❌	❌
Multiple shortcuts	✅ Per voice workflow	❌	❌	❌
Open source	✅ MIT	❌	❌	✅
Cross-platform	✅ Win/Mac/Linux	❌ Mac only	❌ Windows only	✅
Custom dictionary	✅	❌	❌	❌
Self-hostable	✅ BYOK	❌	❌	✅

Features

Area	Highlights
Voice capture	Native Fn / Right Alt hotkeys on macOS/Windows, Linux Ctrl defaults, multiple bindings per workflow, hold or toggle mode, floating capsule states, idle auto-hide
AI rewriting	App-aware writing, local per-app style mappings, polish styles, streaming polish, selected-text context, and custom instructions
Ask Anything	One-shot voice question flow: record in the capsule, think, then show a small answer note with copy support
Voice actions	Deterministic English, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese routing for editing, translation, Ask, and supported actions
STT providers	Cloud STT, Apple Speech on macOS, Deepgram, AssemblyAI, GLM-ASR, OpenAI Whisper, Groq Whisper, SiliconFlow, Volcengine Doubao, custom endpoints
LLM providers	Cloud LLM or OpenAI-compatible APIs including OpenAI, DeepSeek, Claude via OpenRouter, Gemini, Groq, Qwen, Moonshot, Ollama, and more
Output	Keyboard simulation, clipboard paste/copy-only, Windows SendInput, clipboard restore, and output-failure diagnostics
Language	Auto-detect speech, dedicated translation shortcut, switchable target languages, and 20+ translation targets
Dictionary	Custom terms, import/export, and local correction rules for recurring transcription mistakes
Scenes	Built-in scenes, local custom scenes, active scene metadata, import/export for reusable writing styles
Privacy	Local app detection and mappings, provider keys in the OS credential vault where available, plus BYOK and local/self-hosted paths
Account and quota	Optional Pro and Lifetime Starter plans with shared cloud words for voice and AI
Desktop polish	Dark/light/system theme, onboarding, local history search, auto-start, auto-update, cross-platform Tauri app

UI localization currently ships with complete English and Chinese copy, plus additional locale files that may still fall back to English for newer advanced features.

How The App Thinks

sequenceDiagram
  participant User
  participant Desktop as OpenTypeless Desktop
  participant STT as STT Provider
  participant LLM as LLM Provider
  participant App as Active App

  User->>Desktop: Hold dictation hotkey and speak
  Desktop->>Desktop: Detect local app category and style
  Desktop->>STT: Send audio via BYOK or Cloud
  STT-->>Desktop: Raw transcript
  Desktop->>LLM: Optional context-aware polish / translate / rewrite
  LLM-->>Desktop: Final text
  Desktop->>App: Type or copy result

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Tip

Recommended Configuration for Best Experience

	Provider	Model
🗣️ STT	Groq	whisper-large-v3-turbo
🤖 AI Polish	Google	gemini-2.5-flash

This combo delivers fast, accurate transcription with high-quality text polishing — and both offer generous free tiers.

Try It in 5 Minutes

1. Download the latest build for your platform from Releases.
2. Choose BYOK for full provider control or Cloud if you want managed quota without API keys.
3. Pick speech recognition and AI polish providers in Settings.
4. Set one or more shortcuts for Dictation, Ask Anything, and Translation.
5. Open any desktop app, press the hotkey, speak, and let OpenTypeless type the polished result.

Download

Download the latest version for your platform:

Download from Releases

Platform	File
Windows	.msi installer or .exe setup
macOS	Universal .dmg for Apple Silicon and Intel
Linux	.AppImage / .deb / .rpm

Installation Notes

Release signing differs by platform while distribution is being improved. Always download from the official GitHub Releases page.

Windows

Windows SmartScreen may show "Windows protected your PC":

1. Click More info
2. Click Run anyway

If the installer shows a publisher validation warning:

1. Right-click the .msi file → Properties
2. Check Unblock at the bottom → Apply
3. Run the installer again

macOS

macOS builds are Developer ID signed. If Gatekeeper still blocks first launch while notarization/stapling catches up, remove the quarantine attribute:

xattr -cr /Applications/OpenTypeless.app

Then open the app normally.

Linux

Ubuntu/Debian — install the .deb package:

sudo apt install ./OpenTypeless_x.x.x_amd64.deb

AppImage — make it executable and run:

chmod +x OpenTypeless_x.x.x_amd64.AppImage
./OpenTypeless_x.x.x_amd64.AppImage

NVIDIA + Wayland users: The app auto-detects this configuration and applies a workaround. If it still crashes on startup, run:

WEBKIT_DISABLE_DMABUF_RENDERER=1 ./OpenTypeless

Wayland users: global hotkeys and automatic paste are limited by the desktop environment. OpenTypeless shows this in Settings and falls back to tray/app controls or copy-only clipboard output where needed.

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20+
• Rust (stable toolchain)
• Platform-specific dependencies for Tauri: see Tauri Prerequisites

Getting Started

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Run in development mode
npm run tauri dev

# Build for production
npm run tauri build

The built application will be in src-tauri/target/release/bundle/.

Configuration

All settings are accessible from the in-app Settings panel:

• Speech Recognition — choose STT provider and enter your API key
• AI Polish — choose an LLM provider and model, enable app-aware writing, manage per-app style mappings, and configure selected-text context
• General — manage multiple Dictation, Ask Anything, and Translation shortcuts, output mode, auto-start, and idle capsule visibility
• Dictionary — add or import custom terms, export your dictionary, and create local correction rules for recurring transcription mistakes
• Scenes — built-in and local prompt templates with import/export for reusable writing styles
• Account / Upgrade — sign in, check cloud words, manage Pro or Lifetime Starter access

API keys are stored locally in the OS credential vault where available, with a local fallback for unsupported environments. No BYOK keys are sent to OpenTypeless servers — STT/LLM requests go directly to the provider you configure.

Cloud Option

OpenTypeless also offers optional managed cloud access so you do not need your own provider keys. Pro and Lifetime Starter plans include shared cloud words for speech recognition and AI rewriting. BYOK remains fully supported.

Learn more about Pro

BYOK vs Cloud

	BYOK Mode	Cloud (Pro) Mode
STT	Your own API key or local endpoint	Managed cloud words
LLM	Your own API key or local endpoint	Managed cloud words
Cloud dependency	None — all requests go directly to your provider	Requires connection to www.opentypeless.com
Cost	Pay your provider directly	Optional Pro or Lifetime Starter

All core features — recording, transcription, AI polish, keyboard/clipboard output, dictionary, history — work entirely offline from OpenTypeless servers in BYOK mode.

Self-Hosting / No Cloud

To run OpenTypeless without any cloud dependency:

1. Choose any non-Cloud STT and LLM provider in Settings
2. Enter your own API keys
3. That's it — no account or internet connection to www.opentypeless.com is needed

If you want to point the optional cloud features at your own backend, set these environment variables before building:

Variable	Default	Description
VITE_API_BASE_URL	https://www.opentypeless.com	Frontend cloud API base URL
API_BASE_URL	https://www.opentypeless.com	Rust backend cloud API base URL

# Example: build with a custom backend
VITE_API_BASE_URL=https://my-server.example.com API_BASE_URL=https://my-server.example.com npm run tauri build

Architecture

Desktop pipeline:

flowchart TB
  UI["React + TypeScript UI"] --> Tauri["Tauri commands"]
  Hotkeys["Global shortcuts"] --> Tauri
  Tauri --> Audio["Rust audio capture"]
  Audio --> Providers["STT providers"]
  Providers --> Pipeline["Pipeline orchestration"]
  Pipeline --> LLMs["LLM providers"]
  Pipeline --> Storage["SQLite history + dictionary"]
  Pipeline --> Output["Keyboard / clipboard output"]
  Account["Account + updater + cloud quota"] --> UI
  Account --> Tauri

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src/                  # React frontend (TypeScript)
├── components/       # UI components (Settings, History, Capsule, etc.)
├── hooks/            # React hooks (recording, theme, Tauri events)
├── lib/              # Utilities (API client, router, constants)
└── stores/           # Zustand state management

src-tauri/src/        # Rust backend
├── audio/            # Audio capture via cpal
├── stt/              # STT providers (Deepgram, AssemblyAI, Whisper-compat, Cloud)
├── llm/              # LLM providers (OpenAI-compat, Cloud)
├── output/           # Text output (keyboard simulation, clipboard paste)
├── storage/          # Config (tauri-plugin-store) + history/dictionary (SQLite)
├── app_detector/     # Detect active application for context
├── pipeline.rs       # Recording → STT → LLM → Output orchestration
└── lib.rs            # Tauri app setup, commands, hotkey handling

Roadmap

• Usage summary UI for aggregate audio time and word counts
• More provider-specific setup diagnostics
• Better Linux desktop-environment guidance
• More workflow presets for writing, coding, and support replies
• Plugin-style provider extensions

FAQ

Is my audio sent to the cloud? In BYOK mode, audio goes directly to your chosen STT provider or local endpoint. Nothing passes through OpenTypeless servers. In Cloud mode, audio is sent to the managed proxy for transcription and quota accounting.

Can I use it offline? With a local Whisper-compatible STT endpoint and a local OpenAI-compatible LLM such as Ollama, the app can run without OpenTypeless cloud services.

Which languages are supported? STT supports 99+ languages depending on the provider. AI polish and translation support 20+ target languages.

Is the app free? Yes. The app is fully functional with your own API keys (BYOK). Cloud plans are optional.

Community

• 💬 Discord — Chat, get help, share feedback
• 🗣️ GitHub Discussions — Feature proposals, Q&A
• 🐛 Issue Tracker — Bug reports and feature requests
• 📖 Contributing Guide — Development setup and guidelines
• 🔒 Security Policy — Report vulnerabilities responsibly
• 🧭 Vision — Project principles and roadmap direction

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! See CONTRIBUTING.md for development setup and guidelines.

Looking for a place to start? Check out issues labeled good first issue.

Star History

Built With

• Tauri for the desktop shell
• React and TypeScript for the UI
• Rust for audio capture, providers, hotkeys, output, and local storage
• i18next for multilingual UI

License

MIT