Three moves. No window to switch to.
1
fn
Hold the key
Hold fn wherever you can type.
2
Speak naturally
Talk as you would to a colleague. Pauses are fine.
3
The launch moves to Thursday.
Let go
Clean text appears at your cursor, in any app.
Small tool, no strings.
Every app
Anywhere there is a text cursor.
Private by default
Transcription runs on your Mac.
Clean text
Punctuation added. Filler words removed.
Your words
Teach it names and terms once.
No account
Install it and start talking.
Open source
MIT licensed. Read it, change it, keep it.
Dictation should not cost a monthly fee.
I talk faster than I type. Paying every month for that made no sense, so I built my own.
| Ionian Flow | Typical dictation app | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Monthly fee |
| Account | None | Required |
| Your audio | Stays on your Mac by default | Sent to their servers |
| Source code | Open, MIT | Closed |
Up and talking in a minute.
- 1Install with Homebrew. One line in your terminal.
- 2Open Ionian Flow. It lives in your menu bar.
- 3Allow microphone and accessibility. macOS asks once.
- 4Hold fn and talk.
# install
brew install ionian-flow
# open it
open -a "Ionian Flow"
Questions
Is it really free?
Yes. No paid tier, no account. MIT licensed.
Does my voice leave my Mac?
Not by default. Transcription runs locally. A cloud model is optional, with your own key.
Which apps does it work in?
Any app with a text cursor.
Can I use a different key?
Yes. Any key or shortcut, hold to talk or tap to toggle.