VoiceWrite - Voice Command Interface for macOS

3 min read Original article ↗

Your Voice Stays On Your Mac

On-device speech recognition powered by Apple's SpeechAnalyzer. No cloud servers. No subscriptions. No data collection.

System Ready — macOS Tahoe Required

System Capabilities

🔒

Privacy First

100% on-device speech recognition. Your audio never leaves your Mac.

🌍

Multi-Language

22 languages with dedicated hotkeys. UI switches to match your transcription language.

📤

Auto-Send

Say a trigger word to automatically press Return after paste. Perfect for chat apps.

🎧

Headset Support

Use your USB headset's call button to toggle recording. Teams/Zoom compatible.

⌨️

Live Preview

Watch your words appear in real-time in a floating preview window.

🧹

Smart Cleanup

On-device AI removes filler words and fixes self-corrections automatically.

Smart Punctuation

Automatic periods, commas, and question marks. Optional emoji conversion.

📖

Custom Dictionary

Add names, technical terms, and jargon to improve recognition accuracy.

💻

Open Source

MIT licensed, free forever. Audit the code or fork it for your own projects.

Mission Sequence

01

Initialize

Launch VoiceWrite. Grant microphone permissions.

02

Engage

Press your hotkey from anywhere. Screen border activates.

03

Transmit

Speak naturally. Watch real-time transcription preview.

04

Execute

Press hotkey again. Text pastes into active app.

System Comparison

Voice dictation without monthly fees or cloud dependencies.

Metric VoiceWrite Paid Apps
Price Free forever $10-20/month
Privacy 100% on-device Cloud processing
Account required No Yes
Open source Yes (MIT) No
Works offline Yes Limited
Auto-send Yes No

Technical Briefing

Is VoiceWrite a good Wispr Flow alternative?

Yes. Real-time voice typing, hotkey activation, multi-language support, smart punctuation — completely free with better privacy since everything runs on-device.

How does the live preview work?

VoiceWrite shows your transcription in a floating preview window as you speak. When you stop recording, the final text is pasted into your active app.

What are the system requirements?

macOS 26 (Tahoe) or later. VoiceWrite uses Apple's SpeechAnalyzer API which is only available on macOS 26+.

Does it work offline?

Yes. All speech recognition happens on-device using Apple's native models. No internet connection required, ever.

What permissions does it need?

Microphone access for recording and Accessibility permission to type text into other apps. Both can be granted in System Settings.

Is it really free?

Yes. VoiceWrite is free and open source under the MIT license. No subscriptions, no ads, no accounts.

What languages are supported?

VoiceWrite supports 22 languages via Apple's SpeechAnalyzer: العربية, Dansk, Deutsch, English, Español, Suomi, Français, עברית, Italiano, 日本語, 한국어, Bahasa Melayu, Norsk, Nederlands, Português, Русский, Svenska, ไทย, Türkçe, Tiếng Việt, 粵語, 中文. It automatically uses your system language.

Can I change the keyboard shortcut?

Yes. Open VoiceWrite settings and click the hotkey field to record a new shortcut. The default is Cmd+Shift+D.