What Is EnviousWispr?

EnviousWispr is a free, open-source dictation app for macOS. You hold a keybind, speak into your microphone, and your spoken words appear as written text in whatever app you are using. It needs a Mac with Apple Silicon and macOS 14 or later.

How do I dictate with it?

You dictate by holding a keybind while your cursor rests in a text field.

1. Click into a text field. Click inside any window or document where you want your words to appear.
2. Hold your keybind and talk. Press and hold the keybind, then speak.
3. Release the keybind. Let go when you finish. The text appears at your cursor a moment later.

What does it cost?

Nothing. There is no subscription fee, no account, and no trial period. The whole application is open source under the GPLv3 license. See Is EnviousWispr Free?.

Does my voice leave my Mac?

No. Your speech is turned into text on your own Mac, and the audio recording never leaves it. See Privacy Overview.

Where can I use it?

Anywhere you can type. You can dictate into Slack, Mail, Notion, VS Code, Google Docs, Terminal, or any other text field on your Mac.

Where is the app once it is running?

EnviousWispr keeps running in the background with an icon in your menu bar, so there is no window to keep open while you dictate. It also shows in the Dock like any Mac app. To hide the Dock icon when no EnviousWispr window is open, turn off Show app in Dock under App Settings > Appearance.

Can AI tidy up what I said?

Yes. An optional polish step cuts filler words like “um” and fixes grammar and punctuation. It is on by default and works with Apple Intelligence on macOS 26 or later. On macOS 14 or 15, choose an engine that runs on your Mac, such as EG-1 or S1-mini by Superwhisper, under Settings > AI Polish.

You can also use your own Ollama setup, or OpenAI, Gemini, or Claude with your own key, or turn the step off. Read What Is AI Polish?.

What else can it do?

• See your words as you speak. The recording pill shows a live preview of what it is hearing, on Macs that can show it. Read Live Preview.
• Get a cancelled dictation back. Pressing your cancel keybind keeps the dictation and offers it back instead of throwing it away. Read Escape Recovery.
• Teach it your words. Names and jargon go in your Dictionary, and you can add a word from anything you have highlighted with one keybind. Read Adding a Word From Your Selection.
• Paste saved text by voice. Say a keyword, then the name of a snippet, and the text you saved lands in place. Read Using Snippets.