{"slug": "show-hn-voxscribe-local-offline-voice-dictation-for-windows-open-source", "title": "Show HN: VoxScribe – local, offline voice dictation for Windows (open source)", "summary": "Developer ahmedhmam1994 released VoxScribe, a free open-source Windows voice dictation app that transcribes speech locally using faster-whisper on the CPU and types the result directly into the focused window. The app is triggered by a hold-to-talk global hotkey (F9 by default), performs regex-based filler-word cleanup without paid AI APIs, and makes only one network request — a one-time few-hundred-MB Whisper model download from Hugging Face on first launch. The installer is unsigned, so Windows SmartScreen shows an \"unknown publisher\" warning on first run, and the developer is applying for a free certificate through the SignPath Foundation's open-source program.", "body_md": "A free, open-source Windows desktop voice dictation app. Hold a global hotkey anywhere on your system, talk, release. Your speech is transcribed **locally on your PC** and typed directly into whatever window has focus.\n\nModeled after Wispr Flow, but free and privacy-first: your voice audio is never uploaded anywhere.\n\n- **Hold-to-talk hotkey (F9 by default, changeable):** works system-wide, in any app; change it from the tray menu's \"Change Hotkey...\"\n- **Direct typing into the focused window:** not clipboard/paste, so it never overwrites what you've copied\n- **100% local transcription:** powered by[faster-whisper](https://github.com/SYSTRAN/faster-whisper) running on your CPU; your audio never leaves your machine\n- **Rule-based text cleanup:** strips filler words (\"um\", \"uh\", \"like\", \"you know\") without calling any paid AI API\n- **Floating status indicator:** small pill shows Recording/Transcribing state\n- **Runs from the system tray:** starts hidden, stays out of your way\n\nGrab the latest installer from the [Releases page](https://github.com/ahmedhmam1994/voxscribe-ai-voice-dictation/releases).\n\n**Note on Windows SmartScreen:** since VoxScribe is a new, unsigned app that hooks the keyboard (for the hotkey and to type text), Windows may show a \"Windows protected your PC\" warning on first run. Click **More info → Run anyway** to proceed. This is expected for unsigned indie software and not a sign of a problem.\n\nThe installer does not require admin rights (per-user install). On first launch, VoxScribe downloads the Whisper speech model (a few hundred MB) from Hugging Face. This requires an internet connection once; after that, transcription works fully offline.\n\n- Windows 10 or 11\n- A working microphone\n- ~1GB free disk space (app + downloaded model)\n\n1. Hold **F9** (or your chosen hotkey, see the tray menu's \"Change Hotkey...\")\n2. Speak\n3. Release the hotkey. The transcribed, cleaned-up text is typed into whatever app you're focused in\n\n- Audio is captured, transcribed, and discarded locally: nothing is sent to a server\n- Text cleanup is regex-based, running entirely on your machine: no AI API calls\n- The only network request VoxScribe makes is the one-time Whisper model download on first run\n\n```\npython -m venv venv\nvenv\\Scripts\\pip install -r requirements.txt\nvenv\\Scripts\\python.exe main.py\n```\n\nSee [CLAUDE.md](https://github.com/ahmedhmam1994/voxscribe-ai-voice-dictation/blob/main/CLAUDE.md) for architecture notes and build/packaging commands (PyInstaller + Inno Setup).\n\nThe installer is currently unsigned, so Windows SmartScreen shows an \"unknown publisher\" warning on first run. VoxScribe is applying for a free certificate through the [SignPath Foundation](https://signpath.org)'s open-source program: see [CODE_SIGNING.md](https://github.com/ahmedhmam1994/voxscribe-ai-voice-dictation/blob/main/CODE_SIGNING.md) for the policy that program requires. Paid alternatives also work: a traditional OV/EV certificate from a CA (SSL.com, Sectigo, roughly $70 to $400/yr), or [Microsoft Trusted Signing](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/trusted-signing/) via Azure (usage-based, no hardware token required). With any of these, run `scripts\\sign_release.ps1` after building; see that script's header comment for exact usage.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/show-hn-voxscribe-local-offline-voice-dictation-for-windows-open-source", "canonical_source": "https://github.com/ahmedhmam1994/voxscribe-ai-voice-dictation", "published_at": "2026-09-30 10:03:57+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-09-30 10:19:33.945330+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-tools", "natural-language-processing", "ai-products", "developer-tools"], "entities": ["VoxScribe", "ahmedhmam1994", "faster-whisper", "SYSTRAN", "Hugging Face", "Windows", "SignPath Foundation", "Wispr Flow"], "also_reported_by": [], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/show-hn-voxscribe-local-offline-voice-dictation-for-windows-open-source", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/show-hn-voxscribe-local-offline-voice-dictation-for-windows-open-source.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/show-hn-voxscribe-local-offline-voice-dictation-for-windows-open-source.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/show-hn-voxscribe-local-offline-voice-dictation-for-windows-open-source.jsonld"}}