I built a local macOS dictation app using Nvidia Parakeet and MLX

Hacker News

I built a voice dictation app for macOS mostly because I was tired of how awful Siri is and I didn't want to pay a subscription for cloud tools. The app uses NVIDIA's Parakeet v3 (TDT) as the primary engine. Inference is handled by the FluidAudio library. It's insanely fast on M-series chips. For Intel users, I added local Whisper support ranging from Tiny up to Large v3 Turbo (quantized to save space). The interesting part was the AI integration. I originally tried to pipeline the ASR output into Apple's Intelligence Foundation Model. It was a nightmare, because the content moderation filter blocked nearly every useful request. So I scrapped that and moved to SwiftMLX. Now it runs Qwen 3.0 (0.6B to 8B) locally. You just set a hotkey, speak, and the local LLM handles formatting/rewriting/translation with very low latency. Zero data leaves your Mac. It's a one-time purchase (no monthly fee). I'd love to hear what you think about the latency compared to standard Whisper implementations.

Visit product View on Hacker NewsJan 27, 2026

Share card

Actual performance

1points

2comments

Did not reach leaderboard

Launch Intel predictions

Analyze your own launch →

Product HuntOn track for Day 1 leaderboard · Strong signals: mac, macos, model · Missing: agents, agent, cursor

94%94% predicted probability of success on Product Hunt, based on ML models trained on real launch data.

best fitHighest predicted score across all platforms for this description.

Indie HackersFits the IH revenue-focused audience · Strong signals: para · Missing: supports, reddit linkedin, podcasting

77%77% predicted probability of success on Indie Hackers, based on ML models trained on real launch data.

Hacker NewsMay not resonate with HN audience · Strong signals: pipe, io · Missing: https docs, excited, just released

43%43% predicted probability of success on Hacker News, based on ML models trained on real launch data.

nativeThis product was originally launched on this platform.

AppSumoMay struggle as an AppSumo deal · Strong signals: users · Missing: plus, platform, intuitive

30%30% predicted probability of success on AppSumo, based on ML models trained on real launch data.

TrustMRRLess likely to generate early MRR · Strong signals: month, monthly, users · Missing: mobile apps, ios, personal

27%27% predicted probability of success on TrustMRR, based on ML models trained on real launch data.

Acquire.comPre-revenue stage for this audience · Strong signals: subscription · Missing: arr, mrr, revenue

21%21% predicted probability of success on Acquire.com, based on ML models trained on real launch data.

BetaListMay not resonate with beta-testers · Strong signals: audio · Missing: web3, chat, crypto

0%0% predicted probability of success on BetaList, based on ML models trained on real launch data.

Correct prediction on native model

Similar products

I built a local-first macOS transcriber42%Launch Intel prediction score: how likely this product is to succeed on its source platform, based on its name, tagline, and description.

I built a local-first macOS transcriber

Hacker News2

TongueType for macOS91%Launch Intel prediction score: how likely this product is to succeed on its source platform, based on its name, tagline, and description.

Local dictation for macOS without the subscription

Product Hunt+109Productivity

5MB Local macOS Transcriber App52%Launch Intel prediction score: how likely this product is to succeed on its source platform, based on its name, tagline, and description.

5MB Local macOS Transcriber App

Hacker News2

Nvidia Jetson Cameras and NVR47%Launch Intel prediction score: how likely this product is to succeed on its source platform, based on its name, tagline, and description.

Nvidia Jetson Cameras and NVR

Hacker News3

Wordbird: free dictation for Mac running Nvidia Parakeet locally50%Launch Intel prediction score: how likely this product is to succeed on its source platform, based on its name, tagline, and description.

Wordbird: free dictation for Mac running Nvidia Parakeet locally

Hacker News5

The Z3 theorem can now be built using CMake46%Launch Intel prediction score: how likely this product is to succeed on its source platform, based on its name, tagline, and description.

The Z3 theorem can now be built using CMake

Hacker News2

I Built a SasS Using Vapor and Puppeteer71%Launch Intel prediction score: how likely this product is to succeed on its source platform, based on its name, tagline, and description.

I Built a SasS Using Vapor and Puppeteer

Hacker News12

Local-first dictation for macOS – Parakeet TDT, zero cloud calls53%Launch Intel prediction score: how likely this product is to succeed on its source platform, based on its name, tagline, and description.

Local-first dictation for macOS – Parakeet TDT, zero cloud calls

Hacker News1

Speakmac89%Launch Intel prediction score: how likely this product is to succeed on its source platform, based on its name, tagline, and description.

The offline dictation macOS should have had

Product Hunt+190Mac

Speakmac28%Launch Intel prediction score: how likely this product is to succeed on its source platform, based on its name, tagline, and description.

Dictation app macOS should have had

TrustMRRProductivity

Browse all products Analyze your launch