Questions
Is it really free?
Yes. There's no paid tier, no trial and no account.
Does anything leave my Mac?
Not unless you set it up that way. Out of the box, your voice and your words stay on your Mac, and the only network use is the one-time model download from Hugging Face, plus Check for Updates when you click it. See Privacy.
Why does macOS say it can't verify the developer?
LocalFlow isn't signed with an Apple Developer ID yet. The warning only offers Done; the way past it is in System Settings, Privacy & Security, at the very bottom: click Open Anyway next to LocalFlow. Or paste xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/LocalFlow.app into Terminal. The download page walks through both.
Which Macs does it run on?
Apple Silicon (M1 or later) on macOS 13 or later. 16 GB of memory is recommended: the cleanup model keeps about 5 GB loaded so it answers fast. Intel Macs are not supported.
How fast is it?
On our M-series Mac, a typical sentence goes from your last tap to pasted text in about a second; the cleanup step takes 0.4 to 0.7 seconds. The first dictation after you open the app is slower while the model loads.
Which apps does it work in?
Any app with a text cursor: Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, VS Code, your terminal, Slack, Mail, Notes. It pastes with Command-V.
Will it answer my question instead of typing it?
No. The cleanup step is built to return your question or request as text, never to answer or carry it out. In our 15-dictation test it did that every time.
How do I get updates?
Click the waveform icon in the menu bar and choose Check for Updates. LocalFlow never checks on its own. To install a new version, quit LocalFlow and drag the new one into Applications. Because LocalFlow isn't signed with a Developer ID yet, macOS may ask you to approve the new copy once and to switch Accessibility on for it again.
Can I pick my own shortcut?
Yes. In the setup window (open LocalFlow again, or Set Up LocalFlow in its menu), choose Custom shortcut and press the keys you want, such as ⌥ Space. Use at least one of ⌘ ⌥ ⌃ ⇧, or a key from F13 to F20, so normal typing still works.
Can I use fn instead of Caps Lock?
Yes, pick it in the setup window. Also set System Settings, Keyboard, "Press Globe key to" to Do Nothing. Some keyboards (many Keychron and Logitech) never send fn to macOS; use Caps Lock there.
Other languages?
Not yet. The speech model is English only.
How do I uninstall it?
Quit LocalFlow from the menu bar, drag it from Applications to the Trash, and delete ~/Library/Application Support/LocalFlow to remove the models.