Yap: Private Mac Voice Dictation with Local Transcript History

Yap is a free, private, open-source voice dication app that turns speech into text anywhere you can type on an Apple Silicon Mac ( macOS 26+).

Press a shortcut, talk, and press it again to paste the transcript into the field you were using: a terminal, an email draft, or a Slack message.

The app runs transcription entirely through Apple’s on-device Speech framework. No 3rd AI model and account required.

Official Website

Download Yap App

Official Demo

Why Yap?

Most Mac dictation tools bundle a Whisper model that runs to hundreds of megabytes and competes for RAM with everything else open.

Yap carries no model at all. The macOS 26 release added SpeechAnalyzer and SpeechTranscriber, two APIs that stream speech to text on device using models the operating system already ships and manages.

The app calls those APIs directly. It measures 4 MB and idles near 60 MB of memory, built from roughly 3,000 lines of native Swift with no browser engine involved.

Key Features

On-device transcription using Apple’s SpeechAnalyzer and SpeechTranscriber APIs.
Global shortcut to start and stop dictation.
Supports single-modifier triggers like Right Shift.
Live waveform and partial transcript in a small floating panel near the bottom of the screen.
Pastes the complete transcript into the previously focused app when you stop recording.
Local searchable history of every session.
Double-tap Escape to discard an in-progress dictation.
Automatically follows the system default microphone, including hot-swaps mid-session.
Optional launch at login (off by default).
No audio & transcription leaving the device.

Yap vs. Built-In macOS Dictation

	Yap	macOS Dictation
Transcription workflow	Displays a preview, then pastes the completed text	Inserts text at the cursor during dictation
Processing boundary	Uses the on-device `SpeechAnalyzer` API and stops when local transcription is unavailable	Processing depends on the Mac, language, context, and Dictation settings
Transcript history	Stores searchable transcripts locally	Standard Dictation has no transcript history
Shortcut options	Supports key combinations, single modifiers, function keys, and the MacBook microphone key	Uses the shortcut configured in macOS Keyboard settings
Custom terminology	Includes a custom dictionary for names, brands, and technical terms	Standard Dictation has no matching dictionary panel
Transcript cleanup	Removes common filler words and offers optional Apple Intelligence cleanup	Includes system punctuation and spoken formatting commands
Installation	Requires a third-party app and additional permissions	Included with macOS

How to Install and Use Yap

1. Download the signed .dmg from the Yap website or the project’s GitHub releases. Homebrew users can install the application with:

brew install --cask frigadehq/tap/yap

2. Open Yap and approve Microphone, Speech Recognition, Accessibility, and Automation access. Complete the Accessibility step manually under macOS Privacy & Security settings.

3. The default shortcut is Command + Shift + D. Open Settings to assign another key combination, a single modifier, a function key, or the MacBook microphone key.

4. Select one of the languages available for on-device transcription. The available list depends on the speech assets supported by macOS.

5. Enter names, brands, project terms, acronyms, and technical vocabulary in the custom dictionary. Yap uses these entries during transcription and local correction passes.

6. Place the cursor inside a text field and press the shortcut. Speak while the preview window displays the partial transcript. Press the shortcut again to stop recording and paste the completed text.

Press Escape twice to discard the current recording.

7. Open transcript history to search, copy, or delete earlier dictations. This history also acts as a recovery point when text was pasted into the wrong field or removed from the destination app.

Pros

Free under the MIT license
On-device speech processing
No account or API key
No 3rd model download
Works across Mac apps
Searchable local history
Custom technical vocabulary
Flexible shortcut controls
Optional local transcript cleanup

Cons

macOS 26 required
Apple Silicon required
No meeting recording
No audio-file imports
Advanced cleanup needs Apple Intelligence

Alternatives & Related Resources

FAQs

Q: Does Yap run on Intel Macs?
A: No. The current releases dropped Intel support to keep every transcription on device.

Q: Why does pasting into Chrome or Slack sometimes feel slower than pasting into a native app?
A: Yap holds the previous clipboard contents and restores them after inserting the transcript. Chromium-based apps read the pasteboard more than once, so the restore step waits slightly longer in those apps than it does in native macOS apps.

Q: Does Yap require Apple Intelligence?
A: Yap uses Apple’s Speech framework for its standard transcription workflow. Apple Intelligence is required only for the optional transcript-cleanup setting. Shortcut dictation, live previews, local history, filler-word removal, and text insertion work independently of that setting.

Q: Does Yap overwrite the clipboard?
A: Yap temporarily places the completed transcript on the clipboard, sends the paste command, and restores the previous clipboard contents after the destination app reads the text.

Q: Does Yap work offline?
A: Yap works offline after macOS installs the speech assets required for the selected language. The application includes no network-based transcription path.

Q: Will Yap work with my Bluetooth headset?
A: Yes. Yap follows the system default microphone. If your Bluetooth headset is set as the input device in macOS Sound settings, Yap uses it automatically, including when you switch devices mid-session.

Q: How do I update Yap?
A: Homebrew: brew upgrade --cask yap. Direct install: download the latest .dmg from the website or GitHub Releases and replace the existing app. Your history remains intact.