Handy is a free, open-source, offline speech-to-text application built for privacy, accessibility, and extensibility. Developed using Tauri (Rust + React/TypeScript), it runs natively across Windows, macOS, and Linux while performing local speech recognition without sending any audio to cloud servers. Handy allows users to start transcription instantly using a configurable keyboard shortcut—press to record, release to transcribe—and automatically pastes the resulting text into any active text field. Its backend leverages OpenAI’s Whisper models for GPU-accelerated speech recognition and Parakeet V3 for efficient CPU-only transcription with automatic language detection. To further refine accuracy and responsiveness, Handy integrates Silero’s Voice Activity Detection (VAD) for silence filtering, ensuring only speech segments are processed.
Features
- Fully offline speech-to-text transcription with Whisper and Parakeet models
- Privacy-first design with no cloud processing or data collection
- Cross-platform support for Windows, macOS (including Apple Silicon), and Linux
- Configurable hotkey system for instant push-to-talk or toggle recording modes
- Built with Tauri (Rust + React) for performance, extensibility, and low resource use
- Integrated Voice Activity Detection for efficient, real-time audio filtering