I didnt want to pay for superwhisper, so just asked claude to create me my own version

A macOS menu bar app for speech-to-text transcription using WhisperKit. Record audio with a global hotkey and automatically paste transcribed text anywhere.

• Menu bar app - Lives in your menu bar, not in the Dock
• Global hotkey - Press Option+Space to start/stop recording from anywhere
• Local transcription - Uses WhisperKit for completely offline, private transcription
• Auto-paste - Transcribed text is automatically pasted at your cursor (and kept in clipboard as backup)
• Multiple models - Choose between tiny (fast), base (balanced), or small (accurate)
• Multi-language - Supports English, Ukrainian, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Korean
• Microphone selection - Choose which input device to use (built-in mic, AirPods, external mic)
• Visual feedback - Animated overlay shows recording status with audio level visualization
• Cancel recording - Click the X button on the overlay to cancel without transcribing
• Speech statistics - Track your speaking speed, total recordings, and words transcribed

• macOS 13.0 or later
• Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3) or Intel Mac

1. Clone and build:

git clone https://github.com/ronskulia/whisper.git
cd whisper/WhisperType
xcodebuild -scheme WhisperType -configuration Release build

2. Copy to Applications:

cp -r ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData/WhisperType-*/Build/Products/Release/WhisperType.app /Applications/

3. Launch:

open /Applications/WhisperType.app

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/ronskulia/whisper.git
cd whisper/WhisperType
open WhisperType.xcodeproj

2. Build the app: Press Cmd+B (first build takes 2-3 minutes to download dependencies)

3. Install to Applications:

   • Go to Product → Show Build Folder in Finder
   • Navigate to Products/Release/
   • Drag WhisperType.app to your /Applications folder

On first run, WhisperType will:

1. Request Microphone permission (required for recording)
2. Request Accessibility permission (required for global hotkeys and pasting text)
3. Download the Whisper model (~39MB for tiny model)

1. Press Option+Space to start recording (overlay appears at top of screen)
2. Speak clearly into your microphone (waves animate based on your voice)
3. Press Option+Space again to stop recording (or click the X to cancel)
4. Wait a moment while the audio is transcribed ("Processing..." appears)
5. The transcribed text is automatically pasted at your cursor
6. If no cursor is active, text stays in clipboard - just press Cmd+V to paste anywhere

Click the menu bar icon → Settings to access two tabs:

Settings Tab:

• Change Whisper model (tiny/base/small)
• Change transcription language
• Select microphone input device
• View permission status (Microphone & Accessibility)

Stats Tab:

• View average speaking speed (words per minute)
• See total recordings count
• Track total words transcribed
• Check total recording time

WhisperType/
├── App/
│   ├── WhisperTypeApp.swift      # App entry point
│   └── AppDelegate.swift          # App lifecycle, wires controllers
├── Controllers/
│   ├── MenuBarController.swift    # Menu bar UI
│   └── RecordingController.swift  # Orchestrates recording → transcription → paste
├── Services/
│   ├── AudioRecorder.swift        # AVAudioEngine recording
│   ├── WhisperEngine.swift        # WhisperKit integration
│   ├── HotkeyManager.swift        # Global hotkey registration
│   └── TextInserter.swift         # CGEvent-based paste simulation
├── Views/
│   ├── OverlayWindow.swift        # Floating recording indicator
│   ├── OverlayView.swift          # SwiftUI recording animation
│   └── SettingsView.swift         # Settings UI
└── Models/
    ├── RecordingState.swift       # State machine for recording
    └── Settings.swift              # User preferences

• WhisperKit - https://github.com/argmaxinc/whisperkit (automatically downloaded by Xcode)
• HotKey - https://github.com/soffes/HotKey (for global hotkeys)

• Uses WhisperKit's AudioProcessor for 16kHz mono audio recording
• Transcribes using WhisperKit's Swift API
• Pastes text using CGEvent keyboard simulation
• Preserves clipboard contents before/after paste
• Menu bar app (LSUIElement=true, no dock icon)

See LICENSE file for details.

• Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility
• Ensure WhisperType is enabled

• Same as above - Accessibility permission is required for paste simulation

• Speak for at least 1 second
• Check microphone input level in System Settings
• Try speaking louder or closer to the microphone

• Check internet connection
• Model files are cached in WhisperKit's default location
• Restart the app to retry download