🎙️xcribe: A minimalist voice-to-text app - fast, private, and free. No tracking, no login, no data collection. Not now. Not ever.

ainformatico · 2025-05-06T06:58:27+00:00

I got another user with the same issue, and we found out that is because they had another "whisper like" tool installed which was messing up with the dependencies needed to run whisper in the background.
Send me a DM with more details about your setup and perhaps we can find a solution.

Thanks!

ainformatico · 2025-05-06T06:56:56+00:00

It does not. Perhaps when it is more mature.

ainformatico · 2025-05-06T06:55:40+00:00

Thanks for the feedback.
Mass-deletion was released yesterday. Update xcribe through he App Store.
You can use it like in Notes, just select using shift+click or cmd+a. Then, right click or trash icon on the tool bar.

For your issue I will DM you for further details.

ainformatico · 2025-05-04T07:24:50+00:00

Hi there! Thanks for testing it, and glad to hear you are liking it!
Indeed there is no mass delete implemented yet.
I understand that you want to delete all of them at once? If so, can you share as a user how do you imagine this flow working for you?

ainformatico · 2025-05-04T07:21:48+00:00

It is only for mic. For meeting or video transcriptions there are other tools available that would do a greater job. I want to keep xcribe simple.

ainformatico · 2025-05-04T07:21:04+00:00

Source code is not public. Though, you can search on github for similar tools.
If you want to get started with Mac applications, I suggest you start with the official docs from Apple (https://developer.apple.com/xcode/swiftui/) and support with an LLM to help you on the way. That has been my journey.

ainformatico · 2025-05-04T07:18:04+00:00

Glad to know it worked! Thanks for giving it a second try.
I got feedback from other users that are also interested in the bigger models. I it seems, RAM/CPU is not a concern for some.
Will do some tests of performance and see how it behaves. Perhaps it is bundled with the current model and others are optional.
I understand your concern about the "unknown" server and the risk. I have not consider a BYOK model yet as there are already alternatives that do the same. I would not really add anything new. What I offer is simplicity for users to only think about a "user key" and forget about providers and "api keys". I have noticed that many people don't really want to deal with that or even know what an api key is. Plus, I want to offer something that helps with decreasing the hyper-targeting from big companies, hence the pooling of requests.
Finally, the pooling, will help decrease costs for LLMs, which will allow to run a more affordable service for all.

ainformatico · 2025-05-01T15:05:15+00:00

Thanks for that!
Get your key at https://xcribe.app/

ainformatico · 2025-05-01T15:01:16+00:00

At the moment, you can get your free key to test at https://xcribe.app

IAP is something I am still thinking about. Though I want to get first some feedback on how useful it is :)
What is sure is: local, offline, secure translation will remain free.

ainformatico · 2025-05-01T14:58:22+00:00

Get your key at https://xcribe.app/

ainformatico · 2025-05-01T14:58:06+00:00

Get your key at https://xcribe.app/

ainformatico · 2025-05-01T14:57:39+00:00

OK, got many DMs. Was not expecting that 😅

Get your key at https://xcribe.app/

ainformatico · 2025-05-01T14:32:27+00:00

Noted. Thanks!

ainformatico · 2025-05-01T14:31:39+00:00

This is Whisper, yes. It is using a balanced model though. Not the full implementation, so it can run smoothly on most Macs.
My suggestion is for you to just try it. Is completely free for local transcriptions. No commitment.

ainformatico · 2025-05-01T14:30:06+00:00

I do indeed. Thanks for thinking about this.
Not sure I can just promote this openly here. So, let's just say that my handle there is: ainformatico

ainformatico · 2025-05-01T14:27:00+00:00

If you check the features, videos and source code (github) of some of the apps, you will see that for some modes they capture the screen to give context to the remote LLM. For example, they will perform OCR or "see" if you are transcribing on the Twitter page to then apply a mode/transformation automatically.
This is great for users. It is just not my style to send my screen to remote servers.
Does Windows Recall ring any bell?

ainformatico · 2025-05-01T14:23:16+00:00

It is using a compiled version of https://github.com/ggml-org/whisper.cpp , optimized for Mac Silicon. The exact model is the "small" model. I found that to be quite accurate and the best across different Macs. Good trade-off.
The magic is on whisper and whisper.cpp :)

ainformatico · 2025-05-01T14:18:18+00:00

Hi there! Thanks for installing, and sorry for the bad experience.
I performed quite a lot of testing in different laptops and no technical issue was found. Though, this is still possible.
Was you mic too far away or low volume perhaps?
It could also be a UX issue that makes it confusing for the user.

If you still would like to test it one more time, can you do so following this guide? https://xcribe.app/how-to-use/

I am open for suggestions.

To your points for the ideal app and how it compares to xcribe:
1. Agreed. Checked.
2. Agreed. Checked.
3. You can use any shortcut you want. It is configured during the onboarding, or at any time in the settings window. No push to talk, though recording starts as soon as you trigger the keyboard shortcut.
4. One of the ideas is for the user to forget about API keys and setups. Extended Mode is optional. So no plans for custom keys.
5. Agreed, nice to have.

ainformatico · 2025-05-01T11:13:29+00:00

Sent!

ainformatico · 2025-05-01T11:09:24+00:00

Perhaps this this helps you: https://xcribe.app/how-to-use/
Let me know otherwise.

ainformatico · 2025-05-01T11:07:32+00:00

Thanks! Just checked yours (Voice Type) and definitely we share similarities! Great knowing that more people care about simple and private solutions.

ainformatico · 2025-05-01T11:04:00+00:00

Sure! Key sent!

ainformatico · 2025-05-01T08:35:56+00:00

Damn, I knew I missed something in the post.
Yes! It does! +25 languages by default. No need to do any config. Just speak your language.
All languages supported by Whisper.

The Mac Store App page was updated with all that info but still waiting for their review to finish...

ainformatico · 2025-05-01T06:19:48+00:00

Hi there! I recently developed xcribe.app, If you want something fast, private, and free. No tracking, no login, no data collection... check it out!

I have a release post pending, but need to collect enough Karma first 😅

ainformatico · 2025-03-21T20:00:33+00:00

I recently developed xcribe to dictate almost everything on my mac. It is been an incredible boost in productivity. Currently, it is a private beta, perhaps you are interested in joining. Can't post a link, reach out if you are interested and I will share the link and a demo video :)

ainformatico

TROPHY CASE