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Handy
Free, open-source, cross-platform push-to-talk dictation that runs Whisper or Parakeet on your computer, with optional post-processing through Apple Intelligence or an LLM provider you choose.
github.com/cjpais/HandyActive
v0.9.8 released 2026-10-03; last push 2026-10-25 (gh api); 34.7k stars, the reference open-source app. (checked 2026-10-25)
In Voice dictation apps
Where it stands apart
- Which shared standard or format does it mainly build on? NVIDIA Parakeet models (17% of 18 others)
- Where does it run? several desktop systems (24% of 21 others)
What it shares with most of the community
- Is it actively maintained? active (100% of 21 others)
- Can it run entirely on your own device or infrastructure, without the maker's servers? yes (57% of 21 others)
- Do you need an account to use it? no account (68% of 19 others)
- Who is it for? non-developers (76% of 21 others)
- Where does speech recognition happen by default? on your device by default (65% of 20 others)
- Which open speech models can it run on your device? several model families (e.g. Whisper and Parakeet) (53% of 17 others)
- Does it also record meetings or calls? no (52% of 21 others)
Nearest neighbors
- Sayso 93% of 15 shared answers match
- BetterWispr 80% of 15 shared answers match
- SpeakoFlow 80% of 15 shared answers match
Every answer
| Question | Answer | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Is it actively maintained? | active | source 2026-10-26 |
| How is the main thing licensed? | permissive open source (MIT/Apache/BSD) | source 2026-10-26 |
| How is it mainly sustained? | individual with revenue (paid app, tier, ads, or donations) Started and led by CJ; funded by donations and sponsors (Wordcab, Epicenter, Bolt AI, Canty Digital), with many outside contributors. | source 2026-10-26 |
| Can it run entirely on your own device or infrastructure, without the maker's servers? | yes | source 2026-10-26 |
| Do you need an account to use it? | no account | source 2026-10-26 |
| Who is it for? | non-developers | source 2026-10-26 |
| Which shared standard or format does it mainly build on? | stands apart NVIDIA Parakeet models README marks Parakeet Unified EN as recommended; Whisper also offered. | source 2026-10-26 |
| Where does speech recognition happen by default? | on your device by default | source 2026-10-26 |
| Which open speech models can it run on your device? | several model families (e.g. Whisper and Parakeet) | source 2026-10-26 |
| Does it use an AI model to clean up or rewrite your dictated text, and where does that run? | AI rewrite on device or in the cloud, your choice Post-processing providers: Apple Intelligence (local), OpenAI, OpenRouter, Anthropic, Z.ai, or a custom base URL (e.g. local). | source 2026-10-26 |
| If you use cloud speech or AI, how is it paid for? | only with your own API key (you pay the provider) | source 2026-10-26 |
| What is the main way users pay the maker? | nothing | source 2026-10-26 |
| Where does it run? | stands apart several desktop systems | source 2026-10-26 |
| Does it also record meetings or calls? | no | source 2026-10-26 |
| Is 'your voice never leaves your device' the headline promise? | yes, it is the main promise 'Your voice stays on your computer'; also framed as free accessibility tooling. | source 2026-10-26 |
Sources
This page was derived from:
- GitHub · github.com/cjpais/Handy · read 2026-10-25
- GitHub · github.com/cjpais/Handy/blob/main/src-tauri/src/settings.rs · collected 2026-10-26
- Web page · handy.computer/ · collected 2026-10-26
- Web page · handy.computer/privacy · collected 2026-10-26
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