Hold one key and speak. Yaps transcribes and cleans up your words on-device, then inserts them into supported text fields, using the clipboard when direct insertion is unavailable.
Same sentence. Watch the difference.
No setup wizards. No training period. Just hold one key and talk.
Press and hold Fn on a Mac - Ctrl+Win on Windows, a double-tap of Ctrl on Linux - anywhere on your device. Start speaking. Release when you're done. Your words appear right where your cursor is - no clicks, no menus, no context switching.
Yaps listens to the cadence and structure of your speech and adds periods, commas, question marks, and paragraph breaks automatically. You can also say punctuation out loud if you prefer.
Installed speech models process the recording on your own machine without an internet connection after setup.
Yaps inserts text directly into supported focused fields across common desktop apps. When an app blocks direct insertion, the transcript remains available through the clipboard fallback.
Dictation is multilingual and the language is detected automatically - around 25 of them, with no menu to set first. The speech path stays on-device.
Technical terms, proper nouns, and domain-specific jargon are handled well out of the box. The local model adapts to context so you spend less time correcting transcription errors.
Dictation fits into any workflow where you'd rather speak than type.
Draft chapters, blog posts, and articles at the speed of thought. Many writers find that dictation produces more natural, conversational prose.
“I drafted my entire novel outline in one afternoon using Yaps.”
Write commit messages, code comments, documentation, and PR descriptions without taking your hands off your train of thought.
“Fix the null check in the auth middleware and add a retry with exponential backoff.”
Blast through your inbox by speaking your replies instead of typing them out. Yaps handles the formatting so your emails still look professional.
“Thanks for the update, Sarah. Let's sync on this Thursday at 2pm.”
Capture meeting notes, lecture summaries, and research ideas in real time. Just hold the dictation key, speak, and let Yaps handle the transcription.
For users with RSI, carpal tunnel, or motor impairments, dictation is not a convenience - it's a necessity. Yaps gives you a reliable, private way to use your computer by voice.
Choose an installed local engine when a workflow requires on-device speech processing, and confirm that the surrounding app and your organisation's policy are suitable for the material.
“I write code comments and documentation by voice now. It sounds weird until you try it - then you wonder why you ever typed them out. The offline processing is a huge deal for me since I work on client codebases with strict data policies.”
Turn on Apple's built-in dictation, find your keyboard shortcut, and start speaking in an editable field. Learn punctuation, language settings and practical fixes for common problems.
Windows users have always had fewer dedicated dictation options than Mac users. Several of the tools everyone talks about, SuperWhisper and MacWhisper among them, are still Mac-only. Dragon costs $699. And Windows Voice Typing is serviceable but limited. We tested every major option so you can find the one that actually fits.
A practical, step-by-step guide to running OpenAI's Whisper speech-to-text model locally on your Mac, with M4 benchmarks, push-to-talk setup, and a simpler alternative for those who just want private transcription that works.
Hold one key and start talking. That's the whole setup.
Requires macOS 13.0+ (Apple Silicon recommended)Also on iPhone and iPad