System-wide voice transcription with AI formatting for macOS. Press a shortcut, speak naturally, get polished text.
Getting Started
From anywhere on your Mac. Any app. Any text field. No switching required.
Default hotkey - fully customizable in Settings.
Ramble, use filler words, pause to think. Shoute's AI cleans it all up - grammar, punctuation, formatting. Automatically.
Polished, formatted text lands right where your cursor was. In the app you were already using. No copy-paste. No editing.
Capabilities
Powered by the fastest speech-to-text AI available. You finish speaking - your text is already there. No loading screens.
Filler words (um, uh, like) removed. Grammar corrected. Punctuation added. Your rambling voice note becomes a clean paragraph.
Email. Slack. VS Code. Google Docs. Notion. If you can type in it, Shoute works in it. No plugins or integrations needed.
Every transcription saved in your menu bar. Copy, retry, or reuse any of your last 20 with one click.
Fastest, most accurate results powered by state-of-the-art speech AI. Audio is transcribed and immediately discarded - never stored.
Process everything on your Mac. Completely private, works offline. Apple Silicon optimized. No data ever leaves your device.
Enable "Local fallback" and Shoute automatically switches to on-device transcription when the cloud is unavailable.
Dark, Light, or System theme. Customizable accent colors. Configurable hotkey, microphone selection, and audio feedback.
The Floating Bar
Idle - Shows the Shoute icon and name. Hover to see your active microphone.
Recording - Audio level bars and a live timer. Hover to see the mic in use.
Processing - Pulsing animation while your audio is being transcribed.
Click - Start or stop recording.
Drag - Reposition anywhere on screen. Position is remembered across app restarts.
Double-click - Reset to the default centered position.
The floating bar appears on all Spaces and stays above other windows. When not dragged, it automatically centers at the top of your active screen.
If you move it to a custom position, it stays there - even through app restarts - until you double-click to reset.
First Launch
Introduction to Shoute and what it does.
Required so the global hotkey works system-wide and text can be auto-pasted into any app.
Needed to record your voice. macOS will prompt you to allow microphone access.
Quick test to verify your microphone is working correctly before you start using Shoute.
Review the default hotkey (⌥ Space) or set your own. Then you're all set.
Configuration
| Theme | Dark, Light, or System. Follows your macOS preference when set to System. |
| Mode | Cloud (fastest, most accurate) or Local (private, offline). Cloud requires an active subscription. |
| Model | Turbo (fastest, default) or Large (most accurate). Choose based on your speed vs accuracy preference. |
| Format with AI | Cleans up filler words, grammar, and punctuation automatically. Requires Cloud mode. |
| Local fallback | Automatically uses on-device model when Cloud is unavailable. Off by default. |
| Language | Auto-detect, English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean. |
| Visual feedback | Menu bar icon state changes, recording timer, and tooltips. On by default. |
| Start sound | Plays an audio chirp when recording begins so you know it's active. On by default. |
| Microphone | Choose which input device to use, or leave on System Default. |
| Hotkey | Click to record a new key combination. Default: ⌥ Space (Option + Space). |
| Status | Shows your current tier: Trial (with days remaining), Expired, Local, Pro, or Unlimited. |
| License Key | Paste your lic_... key after purchasing and click Activate. Tied to a device identifier, not personal info. |
Multilingual
Auto-detect enabled by default - just speak in any language.
Privacy & Security
Audio - sent over HTTPS, transcribed, immediately discarded. Never stored.
Device ID - a random UUID for rate limiting. Not linked to your identity.
License key - stored locally, sent for validation only.
No names, emails, or personal information collected through the app.
No transcription text stored on servers.
No usage tracking or analytics. No data sold to third parties.
When using Local mode, nothing ever leaves your Mac. Audio is processed entirely on-device using Apple's speech framework.
All settings, history, and metrics are stored locally at ~/Library/Application Support/Shoute/
Requirements
Ventura or later
Apple Silicon & Intel
Permission for global hotkey
Permission for recording
FAQ
Press ⌥ Space from any app. Speak. Press the hotkey again or click the floating bar to stop. Text appears where your cursor was.
Cloud - fastest and most accurate, powered by state-of-the-art speech AI. Local - completely private, works offline, but may be slower on older hardware.
Removes filler words (um, uh, like), corrects grammar and punctuation, formats into proper sentences. Requires Cloud mode.
No. Cloud: audio is transcribed then immediately discarded. Local: audio never leaves your Mac. Privacy Policy.
Yes. Open Settings > Input & Behavior > Hotkey - click it and record any new key combination you prefer.
Enable "Local fallback" in Settings. Shoute automatically uses the on-device model when the cloud service is unavailable.
After purchasing, paste your lic_... key in Settings > License Key > Activate. The key is tied to a device ID, not personal info.
Subscriptions: within 14 days. Local license: within 30 days. Email [email protected].
Troubleshooting
Make sure Shoute has Accessibility permission: System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility. You may need to remove and re-add the app.
Check that the correct microphone is selected in Settings. Verify Shoute has Microphone permission in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Microphone.
Enable "Local fallback" in Settings in case of network issues. Check your internet connection. Try switching to the Turbo model (fastest).
Ensure your cursor is in a text field before recording. Shoute pastes via the clipboard - some apps with custom text handling may require ⌘V manually.
Architecture
Cloud transcription powered by the fastest speech-to-text models available.
Edge proxy that handles authentication, rate limiting, and request routing.
Payment processing. Shoute never sees or stores your payment details.
Auto-update framework. Only sends app version and OS version to check for updates.
7-day free trial. No commitment.
Download for Mac