Native Mac  ·  Private beta

Private dictation
for your sensitive work.

Murmur lets you dictate into any Mac app without sending your voice, drafts, or unfinished thoughts to a cloud service.

Request beta access See how it works

Private beta macOS 14+ Apple Silicon Open source

The gap

Your rough thoughts
deserve privacy.

Dictation is not just input. It is often the first version of a private idea, client note, strategy memo, or difficult reply. Most voice tools process that raw thinking somewhere else.

Murmur keeps transcription on your Mac.

Before
Cloud dictation by default Fast enough for casual text, but uncomfortable when the content is confidential, personal, or not ready to be shared.
With murmur
Local by design. Press a key. Talk. Release. Your words appear in the active app while audio and transcripts stay on your machine.

Use cases

Works wherever you write.

One hotkey. Any text field. Any app.

💬
Slack & messaging
Dictate long messages without the cognitive overhead. Think out loud, send what you meant.
✉️
Email
Draft emails by talking. First draft is usually good enough. Stop laboring over every sentence.
📝
Docs & notes
Capture thoughts in Notion, Obsidian, or Google Docs as fast as they come — without breaking your flow.
💻
Code comments
Narrate what you're doing in your editor. murmur works in VS Code, Xcode, and Terminal alike.
🎙
Meeting follow-ups
Dictate action items while they're fresh. Walk away from a call and narrate your notes immediately.
🔒
Sensitive content
Client notes, private strategy, personal drafts, and work that should not be processed by someone else's server.

Architecture

Built the way a Mac app should be.

Not a browser extension. Not cloud transcription. Murmur is native, lightweight, and built around a verifiable privacy boundary.

Offline transcription

All transcription runs on your Mac via whisper.cpp. No audio upload, no API key, no round-trip latency. Model downloads and update checks are explicit user actions.

Engine: whisper.cpp · Metal + CoreML acceleration · faster than real-time on M1+

Zero cloud. Zero accounts.

Audio never leaves your device for transcription. No account is needed for the beta, no telemetry is built in, and the privacy guarantee is visible in the source.

Verified: no inbound network entitlement, only explicit downloads/updates · open source

System-wide, any app

Slack, Notion, email, Terminal, code editors — anywhere there's a text field. One hotkey, instant paste. No per-app setup, no integrations to configure.

Activation: configurable hotkey · hold to record · release to transcribe

Apple Silicon native

Built for M1, M2, M3, M4. Transcription runs on Metal and CoreML — faster than real-time, minimal battery draw, nothing polling in the background.

Models: tiny · base · small · medium — pick the balance of speed vs. accuracy

How to choose

Pick the architecture that matches the work.

Cloud dictation can be excellent for convenience. Murmur is for the moments where the spoken draft itself should stay local.

Feature Murmur Local-first Mac beta Cloud dictation Network-based ASR/AI Built-in dictation Bundled OS feature
Transcription can run offline ✓ Usually no Varies by OS mode
Audio stays on device For transcription Usually cloud Platform-dependent
Account required No beta account Often Apple account/OS
Open implementation Source-visible Usually closed Closed OS
System-wide hotkey ✓ Common Less direct
Native Mac app ✓ Depends ✓
Best fit Sensitive work Maximum polish Occasional use

This is an architecture comparison, not a certification claim. Murmur should be evaluated by inspecting the source and testing the app on your own machine.

Privacy

Your voice stays on your Mac.
Full stop.

Other apps certify their security practices, then send every word you speak to their servers. murmur is different at the architecture level. There is no server to send audio to.

  • No audio ever leaves your device
  • No account required for the beta
  • No telemetry, no analytics
  • Open source — verify it yourself
  • Update checks only when you ask

One shortcut

Press. Speak. Done.

One keyboard shortcut. Any app on your Mac. Your words appear the moment you release.

Tab
⌥ opt
space
⌘ cmd

Hold to record  ·  Release to transcribe

Can you reschedule tomorrow's standup to 10am? I have a conflict with the product review.

Private beta

Help shape the product before launch.

Murmur is not ready for broad paid distribution yet. The beta is for privacy-aware Mac users who can test real workflows and give direct feedback.

Now
Private Beta
$0
early testing, limited seats
  • Native Mac push-to-talk dictation
  • Local Whisper model support
  • No telemetry or account requirement
  • Direct feedback loop with the maker
  • Rough edges expected
Request beta access
Planned
Early License
$39
one-time early adopter price
  • Unlimited transcriptions
  • All local model sizes
  • Signed and notarized builds
  • App updates during early access
  • Founding-user feedback channel
  • Price honored before public launch
See the workflow
Later
Public License
$79
planned standard one-time price
  • Unlimited transcriptions
  • Polished onboarding
  • Automatic updates
  • Custom vocabulary
  • Command cleanup
  • Local-first roadmap
Follow on GitHub

You write sensitive work on a Mac and are not comfortable sending dictated drafts to a cloud transcription service.

1
Privacy-aware workflow
Client notes, strategy, private drafts

You are willing to test a beta build, report bugs clearly, and say where the product breaks down in real use.

2
Useful feedback
Reliability, accuracy, onboarding

You value local-first software enough to accept a narrower product before it grows into a full dictation suite.

3
Right expectations
Private, native, focused

Start with a murmur.

Private beta access opens after the first signed build is ready. Request a spot if you write sensitive work on a Mac and can test real workflows.

Only your name and email are sent to [email protected].

macOS 14+ · Apple Silicon · No account required for beta · replies come from [email protected]