quickdictate · v0.9.2 · windows 10/11 x64
Press a key, talk, and your words land wherever your cursor already is.
Hold a hotkey and dictate into any app. Use six cloud providers, or install Cohere or Whisper for fully offline speech recognition.
// new in v0.5.0
Go fully offline, without turning setup into a project.
Pick Local in Settings, install one model, and keep every recording on your PC. No key and no QuickDictate account required.
Two local models
Cohere Transcribe Q5, 1.65 GiB, accuracy-first. Whisper Large v3 Turbo Q5, 591 MiB, broader languages.
One-click model management
Install, cancel or delete either model in Settings. Downloads are verified before use.
Warm, visible, and ready
The model prewarms and stays ready. Switching back to cloud releases its RAM and VRAM.
v0.5 stays lighter over long sessions: bounded buffers, chunked long Google recordings, less idle polling, and a batch of paste and restart fixes.
// features
Does one thing, gets out of the way.
No sign-up, no dashboard, no monthly bill.
Cloud or fully local
Bring a key to one of six cloud services, or install an optional local model and keep your audio on the PC.
Types into any window
Your editor, a chat box, a terminal, some random web form. If you can type there, so can QuickDictate.
Feedback that matches the engine
Five cloud engines stream words live. Google and Local finish after release, with clear processing feedback while they work.
Hold it or tap it
Hold to talk or tap to start and stop. Defaults are F13 and F14, and you can change them.
"Scratch that"
Said the wrong thing? Say "scratch that" and the last bit deletes itself. No mouse required.
Fixes what it mishears
It mishears "chat gpt" and "github" like everything does. Give it a short fix-list and it handles the rest.
Per-app profiles
Dictate one way in your editor and another in Slack. It spots which app you're in and switches on its own.
// simple settings
One small Settings window. Plain JSON underneath.
Paste a cloud key, or pick Local and install a model with no key at all.
- Local is managed in the app. Pick Cohere or Whisper, then install, cancel, switch, or delete it from the same screen.
- Got more than one cloud key? It rotates through them and routes around keys that are dead or throttled.
- It's just a file, so back it up, throw it in git, or copy it to a new machine in seconds.
{
"stt_provider": "local",
"local_model": "cohere-q5",
"language": "en-US",
"mode": "toggle",
"toggle_hotkey": "f14"
}// providers
Seven engines. Cloud when you want it, local when you don't.
Use six bring-your-own-key services, or process audio on your PC with an optional Cohere or Whisper model. Switch whenever you like.
The app stays small until you choose Local. Model weights download on demand to Local AppData, and delete from Settings any time.
Stack a few keys for one cloud provider and QuickDictate spreads requests across them, routing around any that go down.
// inside settings
Everything's in one window.
Pick cloud or Local, manage keys and models, tune your hotkeys, and edit text replacements without leaving one window.
Providers, keys, hotkeys, and the everyday toggles on one screen.
The replacement table. Teach it your words once and forget about it.
// privacy
Choose cloud, or keep every word local.
Local keeps audio on your PC. Cloud sends it straight to the one service you chose, on your key. No server in the middle.
-
Fully offline when you want itMicrophone audio is processed on this PC. No API key or internet connection is needed after installation.
-
Bring your own cloud providerUse a key from a service you trust. QuickDictate adds no account, proxy, or subscription.
-
Verified updates, if enabledThe optional daily GitHub check can install a new version automatically only after its download is verified.
-
Source available, free for personal useIt's all on GitHub under the PolyForm Noncommercial license. Read it, build it, change it, share it; commercial use is by separate license.
// how it compares
Where QuickDictate fits next to the alternatives
Windows already ships a dictation tool, and a few other apps solve overlapping problems. Here's how QuickDictate differs, based on each project's own public documentation.
Windows Voice Access & Voice Typing
Free in Windows 11, but neither Voice Access nor Voice Typing lets you pick an engine, stack API keys, or set per-app profiles.
Talon Voice
Free and donation-supported, built around hands-free system control rather than a choice of cloud engines.
Dragon Professional
Nuance's Windows-only dictation software: paid and licensed, pricing on request. QuickDictate is free and takes whichever cloud engine you prefer, or none.
Wispr Flow
Freemium: 2,000 free desktop words a week, then a paid Flow Pro subscription. QuickDictate has no cap and no subscription.
// faq
Questions people ask
Straight answers, pulled from the same details already on this page.
Is QuickDictate free?
Yes, QuickDictate is free for personal and any other noncommercial use under the PolyForm Noncommercial license (the source is on GitHub), with no subscription, no QuickDictate account, and no monthly bill; commercial use is by separate license from LunarWerx Studios. Cloud audio goes only to the provider you pick using your own key, and Local mode processes everything on your PC; there is no QuickDictate transcription server in the middle.
Does QuickDictate work offline?
Yes. Choose Local in Settings, install one model, and keep every recording on your PC; no API key or internet connection is needed after installation. QuickDictate offers two local models: Cohere Transcribe Q5, a 1.65 GiB accuracy-first default, and Whisper Large v3 Turbo Q5, a smaller 591 MiB option with broader language coverage.
Which speech-to-text providers can I use?
QuickDictate supports six bring-your-own-key cloud services: ElevenLabs, Deepgram, OpenAI, AssemblyAI, DashScope, and Google Cloud, plus an optional fully offline Local mode with no key at all. Five cloud engines stream words as you talk; Google Cloud and Local finish after you release the hotkey, with clear processing feedback while they work.
What operating systems does QuickDictate support?
QuickDictate runs on Windows 10 and Windows 11, 64-bit, as a small tray app. Hold the F13 hotkey to talk, or tap F14 to toggle recording on and off, and your speech types directly into whatever app has focus: an editor, a chat box, a terminal, or a web form.
Does QuickDictate require an account or collect my data?
No account, no sign-up, and no dashboard. Nothing you dictate ever reaches us: with Local selected, audio is processed entirely on your PC; with a cloud provider, it goes directly to only the service you chose, using your own key; there is no QuickDictate transcription server in the middle. The only thing QuickDictate sends on its own is a once-a-day update check, which carries a random install id and nothing else, and you can switch it off. An anonymized usage rollup (word and dictation totals, which providers you use) exists too, and it is off until you turn it on.
Can I use multiple API keys with one provider?
Yes. If you stack a few keys for one cloud provider, QuickDictate spreads requests across them and automatically routes around any key that is dead or throttled. Settings also let you install, select, cancel a download for, or delete either local model at any time.
How is QuickDictate different from Windows' built-in dictation or Dragon?
Windows Voice Access dictates offline for free but only through Windows' own speech engine, and Dragon Professional is a paid, Windows-only licensed product with pricing available on request. QuickDictate instead lets you pick from six bring-your-own-key cloud engines or two offline models, typing into any focused app with global hotkeys and per-app profiles.
What does QuickDictate cost?
QuickDictate itself is free for noncommercial use (PolyForm Noncommercial license), with no subscription, no QuickDictate account, and no paid tier. If you choose a cloud provider, you pay that provider directly under your own API key at its own pricing; Local mode's two offline models are free to download and run, with no key or account needed at all.
// ready when you are
Ready to stop typing so much?
v0.9.2 is free for personal use, source available, Windows 10 and 11.