PH · PRODUCT_HUNT// 28d agoOPENSOURCE RELEASE

OpenFlow brings free, local voice dictation to Mac

OpenFlow is a free, MIT-licensed macOS menu bar app that transcribes speech to text entirely on-device using whisper.cpp — no account, no subscription, no internet. It's a direct open-source alternative to Wispr Flow ($8/month), offering the same hotkey-to-dictate workflow with zero data leaving your machine.

// ANALYSIS

The "why pay for cloud when whisper.cpp runs locally" argument has never been stronger, and OpenFlow is the cleanest macOS implementation of it yet.

–Uses whisper.cpp bindings (SwiftWhisper) with three model sizes (Tiny/Base/Small) to let users tune the speed-vs-accuracy trade-off
–Runs entirely on Apple Silicon or Intel Macs with macOS 14+, activates via a global shortcut from any app, and inserts transcribed text at cursor position
–Wispr Flow's $8/month subscription is its entire value proposition — OpenFlow eliminates it at the cost of context-awareness and cloud polish
–Built in Swift/SwiftUI with custom text-replacement rules, custom correction macros, and a ~3 MB install footprint
–The open-source whisper-for-dictation space is crowded (VoiceInk, open-wispr, VoiceTypr), but OpenFlow's clean UX and MIT license make it the most fork-friendly entry point

// TAGS

openflowopen-sourcespeechself-hosteddevtool

DISCOVERED

28d ago

2026-03-15

PUBLISHED

28d ago

2026-03-15

RELEVANCE

6/ 10

AUTHOR

[REDACTED]