macOS dictation with Deepgram stream
A tiny Rust menu bar app for macOS. Hold Fn to activate the mic, speak, release to paste. Audio streams to Deepgram Nova-3 in real time — no batch delay. Falls back to Groq Whisper. Open source, free.
FnKey is a lightweight menu bar app that requires minimal configuration: download, set API keys, grant system permissions, and start using. It integrates natively with macOS permissions (Input Monitoring, Microphone, Accessibility) and works with any application that accepts pasted text.
FnKey's design activates the microphone only while the Fn key is held down, showing a yellow macOS indicator as confirmation. This prevents constant background listening and gives users explicit control over when voice input is captured.
FnKey supports custom keywords configuration that users can edit via the menu bar. Keywords are sent to Deepgram as keyterms or to Groq as prompt hints, helping the transcription engine correctly recognize specialized terms, technical jargon, and proper names.
FnKey is free, open-source software distributed under GPL-3.0. Users only pay for transcription API usage (Deepgram offers $200 free credit; Groq provides free tier), making it a cost-effective alternative to commercial dictation tools.
FnKey lets users hold the Fn key, speak naturally, and automatically paste transcribed text into their active application. Real-time streaming via Deepgram Nova-3 provides fast, accurate transcription with smart formatting and punctuation, eliminating manual typing effort.