Fnscribe

Hold a shortcut, speak, and release—or use hands-free mode for longer thoughts. FnScribe transcribes your voice locally and inserts the result into the app you are using. It lives in the menu bar and stays out of the way until you need it.

FnScribe requires an Apple Silicon or 64-bit Intel Mac running macOS 13 Ventura or later.

Open FnScribe from your Applications folder. It appears in the menu bar, not the Dock.

Click the menu-bar microphone and grant Microphone and Keyboard access when prompted.

Hold the fn /Globe key, speak, and release to insert the transcription into the currently focused app.

The default push-to-talk shortcut is the fn /Globe key. To change it, click the menu-bar microphone, click the shortcut button, and press a new key combination.

For hands-free dictation, press fn + Space once to start and again to stop. You can also turn a push-to-talk recording into hands-free mode by pressing Space while continuing to hold fn . Press Escape at any point to cancel without inserting text. The compact flowbar shows the active stage and provides Stop and Cancel controls. Recordings stop automatically after two minutes.