voice dictation for linux
Talk. It types.
Voxtty is a private, local-first voice keyboard for Linux. Press a key, speak, and your words land in whatever app you're in — transcribed on your own machine.
Ubuntu / Wayland · press Alt+D to dictate
then close the sprint._
Voxtty is the one it can't be: native to Linux, private by default, and free to run — your audio never has to touch a server.
How it works
Three steps, zero friction
No window to focus, no button to find. Voxtty runs in your tray and drops text wherever your cursor already is.
Trigger
Press Alt+D from anywhere. Voxtty starts listening in the background.
Speak
Talk naturally. Whisper transcribes on-device — no upload, no round trip, works offline.
It types
Cleaned-up text is typed straight into the focused app — Slack, your editor, the browser, anything.
What's inside
Local by default. Smart when you want it.
Everything you need runs on your machine. The cloud is strictly opt-in.
Local transcription
Whisper runs on your CPU. Your voice never leaves the machine.
Runs in your tray
Starts on login and waits quietly. One keypress to dictate, one to stop.
Types into any app
If you can type there, you can dictate there. No integrations required.
Works with no internet
On a plane, off the grid — dictation keeps working. No account needed.
AI cleanup
Opt in to send text (never audio) to Claude for punctuation and polish.
Custom dictionary
Teach it your names, jargon, and spellings. Applied instantly, offline.
Privacy, not as a setting — as the default
Your voice stays on your machine
Transcription is 100% local. Nothing is uploaded, logged, or sent to a server. The only time text leaves your computer is if you turn on the optional AI cleanup — and even then it's the transcript, never the audio. Turn it off and Voxtty is fully offline, forever.
Install
Up and running in a minute
Clone it, run the setup script, log back in. Voxtty registers as a background service with a tray icon and a hotkey.
$ git clone https://github.com/PominausGH/voxtty.git $ cd voxtty $ ./setup.sh # installs deps + the voxtty service
First run downloads the Whisper model. Then press Alt+D and start talking.
Open-core
Free forever. Pro when you want more.
The core app is open source and does real work on its own. Pro adds the polish and the cross-platform builds.
Everything you need to dictate on Linux.
- Local Whisper transcription
- Global hotkey (Alt+D)
- Types into any app
- Offline rule-based cleanup
- Custom word dictionary
or $50/year — 2 months free. The smart features and the polish.
- AI cleanup — cloud & local LLM
- Per-app tone & formatting
- Auto-learning dictionary
- GUI settings + auto-update
- Windows & macOS builds
vs Wispr Flow
The one Wispr Flow can't ship
Wispr Flow is genuinely good — on Mac and Windows, in the cloud. On Linux, and when privacy isn't negotiable, that's where Voxtty lives.
| Voxtty | Wispr Flow | |
|---|---|---|
| Linux | Native | Not available |
| Transcription | On your machine | Cloud |
| Works offline | Yes | No |
| Audio leaves your device | Never | Always |
| Price | Free · Pro $5/mo (BYO key) | $15 / month |
| Open source | Yes | No |
| AI cleanup | Optional | Built-in |
Questions
Good to know
Does my voice go to the cloud?
No. Transcription runs entirely on your machine. The only thing that can leave is text — and only if you opt into AI cleanup. Leave it off and Voxtty is fully offline.
Does it work without internet?
Yes. Everything except the optional AI cleanup runs locally, so dictation works on a plane or off the grid.
Which apps can I dictate into?
Any of them. If you can type in it, Voxtty can type in it — editors, browsers, chat, terminals.
Is it really free?
The core app is free and open source. Pro (AI cleanup, per-app formatting, a GUI, cross-platform builds) is $5/month or $50/year. AI cleanup runs on your own API key, so your usage stays yours and costs pennies.
Windows or macOS?
Linux first. Native Windows and macOS builds are on the roadmap for Pro.