[!IMPORTANT] Prototype Release v0.1 Wisperlow is usable today, but it is still early. Expect rough edges with microphone devices, hotkey conflicts, and model latency on slower machines.
Download
Download the Windows installer from the GitHub release page:
Download WisperlowSetup-0.1.0.exe
After downloading:
- Run
WisperlowSetup-0.1.0.exe. - Follow the installer.
- Launch Wisperlow from the Start Menu.
- Press
Ctrl+Alt+PorCtrl+Alt+Space. - Speak, press the hotkey again, and Wisperlow pastes the cleaned text into the active field.
[!NOTE] Windows SmartScreen may warn because this prototype is not code-signed yet. Choose More info and Run anyway if you trust this build.
What Is Wisperlow?
Wisperlow is a Windows desktop dictation app focused on speed, privacy, and polished text. It listens when you trigger the hotkey, transcribes locally, rewrites the rough transcript into clearer text, and inserts it into the app you were already using.
Microphone -> Local Whisper STT -> Text cleanup -> Clipboard paste -> Active app
Features
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Global Dictation | Trigger dictation from anywhere on Windows with global hotkeys |
| Local Speech Model | Bundles a local Whisper model for offline-first transcription |
| Smart Cleanup | Improves punctuation, grammar, repeated words, and sentence flow before pasting |
| Floating Pill UI | Small black waveform pill while listening and processing |
| Active App Paste | Restores focus and inserts text into the currently active text field |
| Slash Modes | Supports /email, /professional, /casual, /slack, /short, and /raw |
| Cancel Flow | Cancel dictation without pasting using Ctrl+Alt+Backspace |
| Local Optional LLM | Can use a local Ollama model for stronger rewriting when available |
Quick Start
1. Install
Download and run the installer:
2. Start Dictating
Place your cursor inside any text box, then press:
Ctrl + Alt + P
Speak naturally. Press the same hotkey again to stop recording.
3. Get Clean Text
Wisperlow processes the transcript, cleans it, and pastes the final result into the active text field.
[!TIP] For the best first test, open Notepad, click into the blank document, press
Ctrl+Alt+P, speak one short paragraph, then pressCtrl+Alt+Pagain.
Hotkeys
| Hotkey | Action |
|---|---|
Ctrl+Alt+P |
Start or stop dictation |
Ctrl+Alt+Space |
Alternate start or stop dictation |
Ctrl+Alt+Backspace |
Cancel dictation |
If one hotkey is already used by another app, try the alternate hotkey.
Dictation Modes
Say a slash mode at the end of your dictation:
| Mode | Use Case |
|---|---|
/email |
Polished email-style wording |
/professional |
Clearer workplace tone |
/casual |
Natural everyday tone |
/slack |
Short chat-friendly message |
/short |
Concise rewrite |
/raw |
Minimal cleanup |
Example:
can you send over the updated prototype tomorrow morning slash email
Wisperlow rewrites it into a cleaner email-style sentence before pasting.
Architecture
Windows Hotkey
|
v
Overlay Bubble
|
v
Microphone Capture
|
v
Local faster-whisper Model
|
v
Cleanup + Optional Local LLM Rewrite
|
v
Clipboard Paste Into Active App
Runtime Components
| Component | Current Prototype |
|---|---|
| App Shell | Python 3.11 background app |
| Overlay | Tkinter + Pillow-rendered high-DPI pill/blob |
| Speech-to-Text | faster-whisper local model |
| Text Cleanup | Deterministic rewrite pipeline with optional Ollama |
| Insertion | Clipboard paste with focus restore |
| Packaging | PyInstaller + Inno Setup |
Privacy
Wisperlow is designed to run locally by default.
| Data | Default Behavior |
|---|---|
| Microphone audio | Captured locally while dictation is active |
| Transcript text | Processed locally |
| Cloud services | Not used by default |
| Ollama rewrite | Optional and local when pointed at 127.0.0.1 |
Developer Setup
Use this only if you want to run from source instead of installing the Windows setup file.
python -m venv .venv
.\.venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1
python -m pip install -r requirements.txt
python app.py
For a quick smoke test:
python app.py --self-test
Build Installer
The installer build uses PyInstaller and Inno Setup.
.\build.ps1
The output is written to:
release\WisperlowSetup-0.1.0.exe
Roadmap
- [x] Global hotkey dictation
- [x] Local Whisper transcription
- [x] Floating waveform pill
- [x] Processing pill
- [x] Windows installer
- [x] GitHub release asset
- [ ] Signed Windows installer
- [ ] Better first-run permissions screen
- [ ] Built-in model manager
- [ ] Usage dashboard
- [ ] Faster local rewrite model selection
Notes
- First launch may take longer while the local model warms up.
- Slower CPUs may take longer to process longer dictations.
- If speech dependencies are missing, Wisperlow should show an error instead of crashing.
**Made by [@YashasVM](https://github.com/YashasVM)** *Dictate anywhere. Keep it local. Paste clean text.*
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