Dictate again before it finishes
Start a new dictation while the last one transcribes. LocalFlow reassembles the results in the order you spoke them.
Push-to-talk dictation for Apple Silicon
Hold Right Option.
Speak. It's typed.
Fully local dictation for your Mac. It runs on-device through CoreML, then puts your words in the app you are using.
Free and open source. MIT licensed.
How it works
The short version
- 01
Hold the key
Right Option is the default. You can change it to Right Command or Fn/Globe. It is push-to-talk only.
- 02
Speak
LocalFlow keeps audio in memory. It never writes your audio to disk.
- 03
Release
WhisperKit transcribes on-device through CoreML, then LocalFlow types into the focused app.
Sub-second on release. A warm 7 second dictation measured about 790 ms. LocalFlow uses Whisper Large v3 Turbo by default for accuracy. Choose Small English, about 500 MB, when you want more speed.
Made for the daily parts
It stays out of your way
Writing style follows the app
Slack and Mail produce different text. Profiles resolve from the app in front of you.
Paste without leaving a mess
LocalFlow saves your clipboard before it pastes. It restores it 2.5 seconds later unless you copied something yourself.
Works around secure input
Password fields bypass the clipboard. LocalFlow types there as Unicode events instead.
Correct it once
Fix a word once and LocalFlow proposes the swap. It also biases the decoder toward the correction next time.
Cleanup is your call
Punctuation and filler cleanup are off by default. When enabled, LocalFlow prefers Apple Intelligence, with local Ollama as the fallback.
Command mode
Say what you want changed
Hold the second key. With text selected, say "make this shorter" and it is rewritten in place. With nothing selected, LocalFlow generates text at the cursor.
On macOS 26, command mode runs on Apple's on-device model. On macOS 14 and 15, it uses a local Ollama model.
Local means local
No account. No server. No telemetry.
LocalFlow phones home only for the one-time model download and the update check. You can turn off the update check.
It is signed and notarized by Nikhil Kapadia, an Apple developer. Auto-updates use dual-signature verification.
Requirements
What you need
- System
- macOS 14 or later, on Apple Silicon
- Storage
- 2 GB minimum. 4 GB is comfortable.
- Download
- About 4.4 MB
- Language
- English only
- Microphone
- To capture your dictation
- Accessibility
- To type into the focused app
LocalFlow for macOS