SimpleDictation

A lightweight macOS menu bar app for speech-to-text dictation with multiple engine support, clipboard history cycling, and a floating mic button.

Features

Dictation

• Multiple engines: Apple Speech, WhisperKit (Tiny → Large), Moonshine, Distil-Whisper
• Hold-to-talk: Hold fn/option key to record, release to transcribe and paste
• Double-tap to submit: Double-tap the hotkey to press Enter (submits chat boxes, forms, etc.)
• Incremental mode: See partial transcription as you speak
• Language support: 16 languages including English, Spanish, French, Chinese, Japanese, and more

Floating Mic Button

• Always-visible floating pill UI — works even when menu bar is hidden
• Bright red glow when recording with audio level ring
• Click to toggle recording, double-click to send Enter
• Right-click for full settings menu
• Draggable to any position (remembers location)
• Shows current engine label (W-T, DL3T, SR, etc.)

Model Management

• Grayed-out models that aren't downloaded locally
• Floating notification when downloading a new model
• Menu items flash while download is in progress
• "Ready" notification when model is available

Clipboard History Cycling

• System-wide clipboard history (last 10 copies)
• Hold Cmd, press V repeatedly to cycle through history
• Uses macOS Accessibility API for reliable text replacement
• Works in Chrome, Safari, TextEdit, Notes, and most apps
• Falls back gracefully in Terminal

Requirements

• macOS 14.0+
• Accessibility permission (for clipboard cycling and hotkey)
• Microphone permission
• Speech Recognition permission (for Apple engine)

Build

./build.sh

Uses XcodeGen to generate the Xcode project, then builds and launches.

Engines

Engine	Size	Speed	Accuracy
Apple Speech	—	Instant	Good
Whisper Tiny	~40MB	~1s	Fair
Whisper Base	~140MB	~2s	Good
Whisper Small	~460MB	~4s	Better
Whisper Medium	~1.5GB	~7s	Great
Distil-Whisper Large v3	~594MB	~5s	Great
Distil-Whisper Large v3 Turbo	~600MB	~9s	Best
Moonshine Tiny	Bundled	~1s	Fair

Hotkeys

• fn (default), option, or both: Hold to record, release to paste
• Double-tap hotkey: Press Enter / submit
• Cmd+V cycling: Hold Cmd, tap V repeatedly to cycle clipboard history