Handy
Types what you say into any text field when you press a shortcut, fully offline
by CJ Pais
Amical
by AmicalAppGet organised
Turns what you say into typed text in any app, with speech recognition on your computer
The problem it solves
You know exactly what you want to say in that long email, but typing it out takes far longer than saying it.
For People who write lots of email and chatAnyone writing long AI prompts
- Before
- You type every message by hand, then fix the punctuation and tone for each app yourself.
- After
- You hold a key and talk; the text lands in the app you are using, transcribed on your own computer if you pick a local model.
- Stars
- ★ 1.6k
- License
- MIT
- Cost
- Free
- Platforms
- Mac · Win
- Runs
- Local · Cloud
Overview
Amical is an open-source dictation app for macOS and Windows. Hold a key or click the floating widget, speak, and the text appears in whatever app has focus; with AI formatting turned on, it is shaped for that app, such as an email or a chat message. Speech recognition runs locally with Whisper and works offline once a model is downloaded; signing in adds cloud transcription with a free weekly allowance. It suits anyone who writes a lot of emails, messages or AI prompts and would rather talk than type.
The app is open source and can transcribe offline, so with a local model your voice does not have to leave your computer.
Try these first
Start with the first one: it is a small task you can check easily.
- In a blank note, hold the push-to-talk key and say two sentences, then compare the text with what you said.First try · stays on your computer
- Press the hands-free shortcut (default Fn+Space) and dictate a three-paragraph email reply, then press it again to stop.
- Add your product and team names to the custom vocabulary, then dictate a sentence that uses them.
- Sign in and switch to cloud transcription for a long dictation.sends audio online
Example prompts written by Agent Flows Hub.
Features
From the creator's documentation.
| Feature | What it does | Runs |
|---|---|---|
| Push-to-talk | Hold a key (Fn on Mac by default), speak and release; the text appears in the focused app | Microphone |
| Hands-free mode | Press the hands-free shortcut (default Fn+Space) to start and stop longer dictation | Microphone |
| Context formatting | An alpha option that shapes the text for the app you are in, using a local language model or Amical Cloud | Active app |
| Local models | Whisper for speech, and Ollama or another local server for formatting; offline once models are downloaded | Your computer |
| Paste into apps | Needs Accessibility permission on macOS to type into other apps | Other apps |
| Cloud transcription | Sign in for cloud dictation; the free tier has a weekly word limit | Amical cloud |
Good to know
Dictate emails, chat replies or AI prompts into whatever app you are using. Amical can transcribe your speech with a model on your computer and, with AI formatting on, shape the text for the app in front of you.
Limits
- It runs on macOS and Windows only; Linux is not supported. Local speech models are a separate download, from about 78 MB to 3.1 GB, and run slower on Intel Macs.
- It needs microphone access, and on macOS Accessibility access so it can paste into other apps. Cloud transcription requires signing in, and the free tier has a weekly word limit.
Notes by Agent Flows Hub (original project name: Amical), written from the creator's documentation, not from running it ourselves. Amical desktop quick start · Amical plans and billing
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