[opensourcedex]

FluidVoice is a free, open source input & dictation project written in Swift and released under GPL-3.0. It has 11,611 GitHub stars, 828 forks and 89 open issues, and was last pushed 13 hours ago. On this registry it ranks #2 of 6 tracked projects in Input & Dictation, with 5 head-to-head comparisons available. It gained 144 stars over the last 6 tracked days.

FluidVoice — On-device voice dictation for macOS with adaptive AI

What is FluidVoice?

What it is

FluidVoice is an open-source voice dictation app for macOS under GPL-3.0. It uses on-device speech recognition and a local AI enhancement layer to turn spoken input into text inside other applications. The project lives in the macOS and Swift ecosystem, with Homebrew installation, menu-bar integration, and accessibility-based text insertion.

The problem it solves is desktop dictation that can run locally, without requiring cloud services or API keys for core transcription. FluidVoice keeps speech recognition on the Mac, supports several speech models, adds optional post-processing for formatting and capitalization, and provides voice command execution.

Key capabilities

  • It provides on-device dictation with global hotkey capture and a live preview overlay, including notch support, so words appear while the user speaks.
  • It supports multiple speech models, including Nemotron Speech 3.5, Parakeet Flash, Parakeet TDT v3 and v2, Cohere Transcribe, Apple Speech, and Whisper.
  • It includes Command Mode, which lets the user launch apps, run shortcuts, trigger system actions, and automate workflows by voice.
  • It includes Write Mode, which writes or rewrites text directly in any text field across any app, including selected text.
  • It offers AI enhancement through local Fluid Intelligence or optional providers such as OpenAI, Groq, and custom providers.
  • It stores optional audio history locally, with budget controls and ZIP export, so users can review past dictations without cloud storage.
  • It provides smart typing through accessibility APIs, adaptive light and dark theming, menu-bar access, and auto-updates.

Who uses it and how

  • Users dictate into text fields in ordinary macOS applications, such as editors, browsers, chat clients, and forms, using the global hotkey and live preview.
  • Users replace keyboard-driven actions with voice commands by launching apps, running shortcuts, and triggering system actions through Command Mode.
  • Users refine dictated text by selecting existing content and asking the app to rewrite it in place through Write Mode.
  • Users compare or switch speech models according to language, latency, and accuracy needs, while keeping transcription local.

Getting started

The typical install method is the Homebrew cask command brew install --cask fluidvoice. Users can also download the latest release manually from the GitHub releases page.

When to use it — and when not to

FluidVoice is useful when a macOS user wants a local, open-source alternative to Wispr Flow, especially when privacy and on-device processing matter. The main trade-off is that the advanced enhancement runtime called Fluid Intelligence is privately maintained, so the fully local AI layer is not part of the open-source app itself. iOS and Windows are still on the way, although the GitHub description mentions a Windows pre-build, and the repository lists 0 contributors and 89 open issues, so early adopters should expect a young project.

project readme (upstream, from github) — read inline

FluidVoice

GitHub stars Sponsor FluidVoice X @fluidvoiceapp
Supported Models

altic-dev%2FFluidVoice | Trendshift

Open source voice-to-text dictation app for macOS with on-device AI enhancement.

Install with Homebrew: brew install --cask fluidvoice

Manual download: latest release

[!NOTE] FluidVoice is on macOS today. iOS and Windows are on the way — join the waitlist to get notified when we launch: altic.dev/fluid/waitlist

[!IMPORTANT] This project is free and open source under GPLv3. If FluidVoice is useful to you, please star the repository — it helps visibility and keeps development going.

Support FluidVoice

If FluidVoice helps you, you can support continued development and future platform work for iOS and Windows on GitHub Sponsors.

What's New in 1.6.0

  • Insanely fast Parakeet — rebuilt Parakeet implementation with pretty much zero delay between speaking and seeing words on screen
  • Fluid Intelligence — fully local AI model for on-device dictation enhancement. No cloud, no API keys, no data leaving your Mac
  • Better Theming — adaptive light/dark theme with a compact toolbar switcher
  • Refreshed Onboarding — language-first voice engine setup, real dictation tryout, and AI enhancement setup in one clean pass

[!WARNING] Based on early feedback, Fluid Intelligence may cause you to unsubscribe from other dictation apps and save money. You've been warned.

Fluid Intelligence

FluidVoice is fully open source under GPLv3. Fluid Intelligence is a separate, privately maintained local AI runtime that powers advanced on-device dictation enhancement — smart formatting, context-aware capitalization, and post-processing — all running locally on your Mac.

The app works great on its own with any supported speech model and optional cloud AI providers. Fluid Intelligence adds a fully local, private AI layer for users who want on-device enhancement without sending data anywhere.

We're keeping Fluid Intelligence private for now so we can sustainably offer the core dictation experience for free. This may change in the future.

Fluid Intelligence Sneak Peek

Email Template Flowers
Change Time & Name Emoji
Hyphens & Numbers

Demo

Command Mode — Take any action on your Mac using FluidVoice

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/ffb47afd-1621-432a-bdca-baa4b8526301

Write Mode — Write or rewrite text in any text box in any app

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/c57ef6d5-f0a1-4a3f-a121-637533442c24

Features

  • Fluid Intelligence — on-device AI enhancement for smart formatting, context-aware capitalization, and post-processing, all running locally on your Mac with zero data leaving your machine
  • Command Mode — control your Mac by voice: launch apps, run shortcuts, trigger system actions, and automate workflows without touching the keyboard
  • Write Mode — write or rewrite text directly in any text field across any app. Select text and rewrite it, or dictate new content inline
  • Live Preview — real-time transcription overlay with notch support, so you see words appear as you speak
  • Multiple Speech Models — Nemotron Speech 3.5, Parakeet Flash, Parakeet TDT v3 & v2, Cohere Transcribe, Apple Speech, and Whisper. Pick the model that fits your language and latency needs
  • AI Enhancement — optional post-processing via OpenAI, Groq, custom providers, or local Fluid Intelligence for cleaner, more accurate transcripts
  • Audio History — optional local recording history with budget controls and ZIP export, so you can review past dictations without cloud storage
  • Today-Usage Stats — daily usage tracking at a glance with a stats header card and toolbar pill
  • Adaptive Theming — light/dark theme that follows your system, with a compact toolbar switcher
  • Global Hotkey — instant voice capture from anywhere, no app switching needed
  • Smart Typing — direct insertion into any app via accessibility APIs for reliable, app-independent text entry
  • Menu Bar Integration — quick access, status, and settings from the menu bar
  • Auto-Updates — seamless updates with an optional beta channel for early previews
  • Per-App Configuration — assign different prompt sets to different apps, so your dictation adapts to whatever you're working in. Fully optional
  • Notch-Aware Overlay — transcription overlay that fits cleanly around the MacBook notch, or use a standard overlay if your Mac doesn't have one
  • Local-First — your voice and text never leave your machine unless you opt in to a cloud AI provider
  • Fastest Parakeet on Mac — one of the fastest native implementations of Parakeet on macOS, with near-instant transcription and minimal latency
  • Configurable Overlay — choose from pill-shaped to large overlay sizes to show live preview, or keep it minimal. Everything is optional
  • Everything is Optional — AI enhancement, Fluid Intelligence, audio history, detailed analytics, and beta builds are optional. The core dictation experience works out of the box with zero configuration beyond permissions and a hotkey

Supported Models

Model Best for Language support Download size Hardware
Nemotron Speech 3.5 — Ultra Fast Low Latency Streaming-capable multilingual dictation ~40 languages ~670 MB Apple Silicon
Nemotron 3.5 Multilingual Higher-accuracy multilingual dictation ~40 languages ~530 MB Apple Silicon
Parakeet Flash (Beta) Lowest-latency live English dictation English ~250 MB Apple Silicon
Parakeet TDT v3 Fast default multilingual dictation 25 languages ~500 MB Apple Silicon
Parakeet TDT v2 Fastest English-only dictation English ~500 MB Apple Silicon
Cohere Transcribe High-accuracy multilingual dictation 14 languages ~1.4 GB Apple Silicon
Apple Speech Zero-download native macOS speech System languages Built-in Apple Silicon + Intel
Whisper Tiny / Base / Small / Medium / Large Broad compatibility, including Intel Macs 99 languages ~75 MB to ~2.9 GB Apple Silicon + Intel

Parakeet TDT v3 Languages

Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, and Ukrainian.

Parakeet TDT v2 Languages

English.

Cohere Tran

readme truncated — read the full docs on github

Frequently asked questions

Is FluidVoice free to use?

FluidVoice is open source under the GPL-3.0 licence. There is no licence fee and no seat count — you can self-host it or, where the project offers one, pay a vendor for a managed version instead.

What does FluidVoice do?

On-device voice dictation for macOS with adaptive AI

What is FluidVoice written in?

FluidVoice is primarily written in Swift. Its source is publicly available at https://github.com/altic-dev/FluidVoice, and it has 11,611 GitHub stars.