MiniWhisper

A minimal macOS menu bar app for voice-to-text with fast on-device transcription via Parakeet (English + 20 European languages) and broader multilingual transcription via whisper.cpp. Press a hotkey, speak, and the transcription is automatically pasted into the active app.

Getting Started · Features · Troubleshooting · Build

Getting Started

1. Download MiniWhisper
2. Open the DMG and drag the app to your Applications folder
3. Launch MiniWhisper from Applications (or search "MiniWhisper" in Spotlight)
4. Grant microphone and accessibility permissions when prompted
5. Look for the MiniWhisper icon in your menu bar (top-right of your screen)
6. Press Option + W to start recording, press it again to stop — the transcription is pasted into the frontmost app

Press Escape to cancel a recording. To change the hotkey, click the MiniWhisper icon in the menu bar and set a new shortcut (e.g. Fn).

brew install --cask andyhtran/tap/miniwhisper

brew update && brew upgrade --cask miniwhisper

git clone https://github.com/andyhtran/MiniWhisper.git
cd MiniWhisper
just dev

Features

• Auto-paste — transcriptions go straight into whatever app you're using
• Customizable hotkey — change the toggle shortcut from the menu bar panel
• Text replacements — auto-correct words or phrases after transcription
• Recording history — browse and copy recent transcriptions
• Usage stats — track recordings, speaking time, word count, and average WPM
• Multiple models — switch between the default fast model (Parakeet: English + 20 European languages) and multilingual auto-detect (whisper.cpp)
• On-device — all processing happens locally on your Mac, nothing leaves your device

Troubleshooting

Can't find the menu bar icon?

macOS hides menu bar icons that don't fit near the clock. If you have many menu bar apps, MiniWhisper's icon may be pushed out of view.

• Hold ⌘ and drag the MiniWhisper waveform icon closer to the clock to keep it visible
• Open System Settings → Control Center → Menu Bar Only and hide icons you don't need
• In MiniWhisper's settings, click Open Menu Bar Settings to jump there directly

MiniWhisper will show a hint about this the first few times it launches. You can also reopen the app from Spotlight or the Dock to bring the popover back.

Build commands

just dev          # Build, package, and launch
just build        # Debug build only
just release      # Release build + .app bundle
just clean        # Remove build artifacts

To re-test the menu bar visibility hint (resets after 3 shows or manual dismiss):

defaults delete com.miniwhisper.dev MenuBarVisibilityHintShownCount
defaults delete com.miniwhisper.dev MenuBarVisibilityHintDismissed
just dev

Release

Signing, notarization, and publishing require asc:

brew install asc

See just --list for the full set of release recipes (sign-and-notarize, github-release, publish, etc.).

Configuration

Copy .envrc.example to .envrc and fill in your values. If using direnv, run direnv allow.

For local development, ad-hoc signing works out of the box — no Apple Developer account needed.

License

MIT