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Free Forever · MIT LicenseOpen-Source Wispr Flow AlternativemacOS 13+

The free, open-source Wispr Flow alternative for macOS.

VocalFlow is a 100% free, open-source macOS menu bar app for voice dictation. Hold a hotkey, speak, and your words appear in any app — Notion, VS Code, Slack, browsers, terminals. No subscription, no account, no limits.

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Free forever · No account · No subscription · Free Deepgram API key (with $200 credit)

VocalFlow — live demo
v1.0.0 — Released March 19, 2025

What's in v1.0.0

The first stable release of VocalFlow ships everything you need for a seamless voice-first workflow on macOS.

Voice Input

Hold hotkey → speak → release. Text appears at cursor in any app.

Real-time ASR

Powered by Deepgram's streaming WebSocket API for instant transcription.

Groq Post-Processing

Optional spelling, grammar, translation & code-mixing via Groq LLM.

Visual Feedback

Waveform animation overlay displays during recording so you always know it's listening.

Smart Audio Management

System audio mutes during recording with audible chimes marking start and stop.

Full release notes

View the complete v1.0.0 changelog on GitHub →

Get Started

Up and running in 5 steps

Free download. No account, no subscription, no credit card. Just install and speak.

1

Download & unzip

Download VocalFlow.zip from the release and unzip it.

2

Move to Applications

Drag VocalFlow.app into your /Applications folder.

3

Clear quarantine

macOS may quarantine unsigned apps. Run this once in Terminal:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/VocalFlow.app
4

Grant permissions

Open VocalFlow and allow Microphone and Accessibility access in System Settings when prompted.

5

Add your API key

Click the menu bar icon → Settings → paste your Deepgram API key. You're done.

Download VocalFlow

How It Works

Three steps to voice nirvana

01
Hold your hotkey

Press and hold your configured global hotkey — Right Option, Left Option, Command, or Fn. VocalFlow listens anywhere, in any app.

02
Speak naturally

Your voice streams in real-time via AVAudioEngine to Deepgram's WebSocket API. Transcription happens as you talk.

03
Text appears instantly

Release the key. Groq optionally polishes the transcript, then the text is pasted at your cursor with a simulated Cmd+V.

Features

Everything you need, nothing you don't

Configurable Hotkeys

Choose Right Option, Left Option, Command, or Fn. Set it once and forget it.

Real-time ASR

Audio streams directly to Deepgram's WebSocket API for ultra-low-latency transcription.

AI Post-Processing

Groq LLM optionally corrects grammar, transliterates code-mixed speech, or translates across languages.

Universal Compatibility

Works in every macOS app — Notion, VS Code, Slack, browsers, terminals. Any text field.

Menu Bar App

Lives quietly in your menu bar. Zero UI friction, minimal footprint, always ready.

Secure Keychain Storage

API keys are stored in macOS Keychain — never in plain text, never on disk.

Built by Vocallabs · MIT License

The open-source alternative to Wispr Flow — free forever

VocalFlow is our gift to the developer community: a free, open-source Wispr Flow alternative for macOS. Fork it, extend it, build on it. We believe voice-first computing should be open, free, and accessible to everyone.

📂12 Swift modules⚖️MIT License🔒Keychain secure🌍30+ languages
View on GitHubStar the repo

Tech Stack

Powered by best-in-class tools

🍎

Swift & SwiftUI

Native macOS app. No Electron, no bloat.

AVAudioEngine for real-time audio
🎙

Deepgram

State-of-the-art speech-to-text via WebSocket streaming.

Nova-2 model · <250ms latency
⚡

Groq

Optional LLM post-processing at Groq's blazing inference speed.

Grammar · transliteration · translation

Architecture Flow

Hotkey Monitor→AVAudioEngine→Deepgram WS→Groq LLM→Text Injection

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Download VocalFlow — free forever

The free, open-source Wispr Flow alternative for macOS. Download once, dictate everywhere — no subscription, no account, no limits.

Download VocalFlow

Free · Open Source · MIT License · No account required

Enterprise & Security

Your data security is our top priority. We maintain the highest standards of compliance and security certifications.

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