Orbit Dictation

Hold a shortcut, speak, the cleaned text drops into the app you're already using. Lives in the menu bar. Local-first by default. Free.

Download for macOS →View source on GitHub

What it is

A small macOS menu-bar app for voice dictation. Hold the configured shortcut, speak, release. Audio is normalised, sent to the speech-to-text provider you've chosen, optionally cleaned up by an LLM, and pasted into the frontmost app — chat, composer, terminal, code editor, ticket field, anywhere.

Default path is local: Apple's on-device speech recognition, no API keys required, no audio leaves the Mac. Switch on cloud STT (OpenAI, Deepgram, Groq, ElevenLabs) and cloud cleanup (Anthropic, OpenAI, Bedrock) when you want them — your keys, stored in Keychain.

The cleanup prompt is the point

The default cleanup prompt is intentionally strict. The LLM is a text post-processor, not an assistant. It must never act on the transcript content even when the transcript reads like a question or an instruction — because the transcript is dictation destined for somewhere else, not a message to the model.

Filler words go. Punctuation appears. Numbers and units normalise sensibly. Proper nouns are preserved. Lists only format when there are three or more items with clear enumeration. No markdown unless you dictate it. The prompt is editable — open Settings → Prompts to override it.

Install

Download the latest .dmg from GitHub Releases.
Open the .dmg and drag Orbit Dictation.app into /Applications.
The app is unsigned for now (no Apple Developer Programme — keeps it free). On first launch macOS will block it. Open Terminal and run:
```
xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "/Applications/Orbit Dictation.app"
```
Launch the app. Grant Microphone and Accessibility permissions when prompted — both are required for capture and paste-back.
Pick your shortcut in Settings → General. Hold to talk.

Future updates auto-install via Sparkle.

Who it's for

Anyone who types more than they want to type.
Drafters who think out loud — the cleanup prompt strips filler and self-corrections without losing voice.
Engineers dictating into chat, prompt boxes, code comments, PR descriptions — developer terms capitalise correctly, dictated punctuation lands as the actual character.
Anyone who's been burned by dictation models that try to "be helpful" instead of just transcribing what was said.

FAQ

Does it cost anything?

No. The app is free, MIT-licensed, no account required. If you choose a cloud STT or LLM provider, that provider may charge you — that's between you and them.

Do I need an API key?

No — the default speech provider is Apple's on-device recognition, which runs locally. API keys only matter if you switch to OpenAI, Deepgram, Groq, ElevenLabs, or any of the cleanup-LLM providers.

Is my audio sent anywhere?

Only if you pick a cloud provider. With Apple's on-device STT, audio never leaves your Mac. The app makes no calls to any Orbit server. Source is on GitHub if you want to verify.

How is this different from Whispur?

Orbit Dictation is an Orbit-branded fork of Whispur. The pipeline is Whispur's; the cleanup prompt, branding, Sparkle update channel, and bundle identifier are Orbit's. If you want the upstream version, install Whispur directly.

Why is it unsigned?

Same reason as Orion — Apple's Developer Programme is $99/year. Signing happens later. Until then it's a one-time Terminal command per install.

Windows / Linux?

Not yet. The app is native AppKit/SwiftUI on macOS. A port to other platforms is a separate project, not a recompile.

Source, issue tracker, and changelog all live on GitHub. Powered by Whispur (MIT).

The Orbit MCPB extension for Claude Desktop is the bigger sibling — same voice, more depth, native Braze integration. Free with an account. Get Orbit for Claude →