macOS menu bar voice utility

Speak.Paste.Keep moving.

PasteVox turns your voice into dictation, coding-agent prompts, terminal commands, snippets, and scratchpad notes — directly inside the macOS app you are already using.

Build from source View setup

macOS 13+OpenAI STTKeychain keyNo ElectronOpen-source

Open-sourceInspect the app, build locally, and keep the workflow understandable.

Native macOSMenu bar utility built with Swift, SwiftUI and AppKit. No Electron shell.

Modes & stylesFn or your selected hold key changes modes and writing styles without opening Settings.

Safety gatesRisky terminal commands are never blind-pasted automatically.

Workflow

Your voice, in the active app.

Hold Fn, Right Option or Right Command, speak naturally, and it pastes into the active app. PasteVox lives in the menu bar — Settings stay out of the way until you need them.

Hold your chosen key

Start recording with Fn/Globe, Right Option or Right Command. The HUD shows when PasteVox is listening.

Speak the messy first draft

Dictate naturally. Use raw dictation, agent prompts, RALPH prompts or terminal command mode.

Paste and move on

PasteVox transcribes, optionally rewrites, expands snippets and pastes into the frontmost app.

Modes

Reshape the output without opening a window.

Fn+1…4 switches modes. Fn+5…0 switches writing styles for post-processed modes; Fn+- selects Email. The selected hold key works too.

Mode 01

Fn+1

Raw Dictation

Plain transcription. No rewrite. Styles intentionally stay off.

style off

Outputexactly what you said, cleaned only by transcription

Mode 02

Fn+2

Agent Prompt

Turns rough speech into a clear coding-agent task.

Fn+5…0 styles

Outputimplement this UI change, verify it, then run the app

Mode 03

Fn+3

RALPH Prompt

Structured prompt with role, goal, context, constraints and acceptance criteria.

structured

OutputRole → Goal → Context → Constraints → Acceptance criteria

Mode 04

Fn+4

Terminal Command

Generates commands, but risky output is blocked and shown as a commented preview.

safety gate

Outputsafe command, or commented preview if destructive

Writing styles

Keep the mode, change the tone.

Styles are quick modifiers for post-processed modes. Switch from concise to friendly, formal, coding-agent, chat, or email without opening Settings. Raw dictation stays raw.

Fn+5 DefaultFn+6 ConciseFn+7 FriendlyFn+8 FormalFn+9 CodingFn+0 ChatFn+- Email

Example: Agent · ConciseTurns a rough spoken task into a shorter coding-agent instruction without changing the selected mode.

FriendlyUseful for Slack, chat replies and lighter product notes.

FormalUseful for email, reviews and more careful wording.

CodingBiases rewrites toward precise implementation instructions.

Style off in RawRaw Dictation intentionally ignores style so transcription remains unprocessed.

Workspace

History, snippets, dictionary and scratchpad in one Home window.

Home is for recovery and writing. Settings are only for configuration and debugging.

History

History for every paste.

Recover recent dictations, inspect the target app, see delivery status and copy or paste the result again.

Recent outputs grouped by day
Delivery stats and top apps
Quick recovery after failed paste

Snippets

Snippets without waiting.

Say a short trigger and PasteVox inserts the exact replacement locally, without sending the snippet to an LLM.

Multiple trigger phrases
Deterministic local matching
JSON import and export

Dictionary

Your vocabulary, spelled right.

Add project names, acronyms, emails and product terms so speech recognition gets the important words right.

Names, acronyms and spellings
Context for transcription
Useful for teams and products

Scratchpad

A scratchpad for rough thoughts.

Capture longer notes and prompts first, then copy or paste them when they are ready.

Save longer dictated drafts
Edit before pasting
Keep workspace separate from settings

Privacy & control

Your key stays in Keychain. Your shortcuts stay local.

PasteVox is designed as a small open-source macOS utility, not a hosted writing platform.

Privacy, plainly

No account.No sync.No surprises.

Open-source and explicit about the sensitive parts: where the key lives, when audio is sent, and what stays on your Mac.

API key

secured

Saved to Keychain.

Used when you ask PasteVox to transcribe or post-process. Not read just to start the app.

Snippets

local

Matched locally.

Trigger phrases expand deterministically on your Mac. No model call is needed.

History

visible

Kept for recovery.

Recent outputs, target apps and delivery status stay in Home so failed paste is recoverable.

Commands

gated

Checked before they run.

Risky terminal commands are stopped and shown as comments instead of being pasted blindly.

Setup

Practical macOS permissions, step by step.

Install into /Applications for stable Accessibility permissions, then grant the permissions PasteVox needs to record and paste.

Install to /Applications

Keep macOS permissions stable by running the packaged app from the normal Applications path.

Release buildUse the packaged app from /Applications for stable macOS permissions.

Add OpenAI API key

PasteVox stores the key in macOS Keychain and keeps Settings separate from the Home workspace.

Where it goesSettings → OpenAI → Save to Keychain

Grant Microphone

Allow recording so hold-to-talk can capture voice and send it for transcription.

macOS permissionPrivacy & Security → Microphone

Grant Accessibility

Required for reliable global shortcuts and paste into the frontmost macOS app.

macOS permissionPrivacy & Security → Accessibility

Ready to try PasteVox?

Download packaging is on the way. For now, build from source or use the local app bundle generated by the project scripts.

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