FnKey brings streaming dictation to macOS

FnKey feels like a sharp developer-built answer to the recent wave of AI dictation tools: minimal UI, fast streaming, and no subscription layer in the middle.

• –The standout feature is true streaming via Deepgram WebSocket, which avoids the usual batch-mode lag that makes many Whisper wrappers feel sluggish.
• –The hold-to-talk Fn workflow is especially well matched to AI coding, where speaking long prompts into Claude Code or Cursor is often faster than typing them.
• –Because it is open source and BYO-API-key, FnKey is appealing to technical users who want control over cost, privacy tradeoffs, and backend choice.
• –The tradeoff is setup friction: users need macOS accessibility, microphone, and input-monitoring permissions plus their own Deepgram or Groq keys.
• –Compared with polished commercial dictation apps, FnKey is narrower in scope, but that focus is also its advantage for developers who just want speech-to-text anywhere on macOS.