Pricing & licensing
Is Open Whisperer free?
Yes. Open Whisperer is free and open source under the MIT license — no subscriptions, no accounts, no API keys, and no word limits. You can read, build, and modify the full source on GitHub.
Privacy
Does my voice or data leave my Mac?
No. Speech-to-text (WhisperKit) and text-to-speech (Kokoro) both run locally on your Mac, in-process on the Apple Neural Engine. There are no cloud APIs, no telemetry of your audio, and nothing leaves your machine. It works fully offline.
What permissions does it need?
Microphone to record your voice, Accessibility to type transcribed text into other apps, and Speech Recognition for on-device hands-free keyword detection. All processing stays on the Mac.
Compatibility & requirements
Which AI tools does it work with?
Spoken replies work with Claude Code and Codex CLI — setup adds a one-click hook so every response is read aloud. Dictation works with any macOS app: your voice types into whichever app is focused, and auto-focus can bring a chosen app forward first.
What do I need to run it?
An Apple Silicon Mac (M-series) running macOS 14 or later. It's fully native — no Python. On first launch it downloads the on-device Whisper and Kokoro models and runs them in-process on the Apple Neural Engine.
How many languages and voices does it support?
Speech-to-text understands 17 languages. Text-to-speech offers 11 Kokoro voices across 8 languages, selectable from the menubar without a restart.
Why does macOS say the app can't be opened?
The app isn't notarized (no paid Apple Developer signing), so Gatekeeper blocks it on first open. Clear the quarantine flag with xattr -cr /Applications/Open\ Whisperer.app and it will launch normally.
Using it
How do I talk to it?
Three ways: Press-to-Talk, Hold-to-Talk, or fully hands-free. In hands-free mode, say "initiate" to start, stay silent for a few seconds to submit, and say "hold on" to interrupt while it's speaking.
Does it read AI responses aloud?
Yes — this is the part built-in dictation tools skip. Replies from Claude Code and Codex CLI are spoken with streaming text-to-speech that starts on the first sentence. A Response mode lets you choose when replies are spoken: dictated turns only, typed turns only, or always.
How is it different from macOS Dictation?
macOS Dictation only types text into a focused field. Open Whisperer adds streaming text-to-speech that reads your AI's replies aloud, hands-free control with wake words, and one-click Claude Code / Codex CLI integration. See the full Open Whisperer vs. macOS Dictation comparison.