Voice dictation on Linux

Voice dictation for Linux that works in any app

Whisperall has a native Linux app. Press Alt+X, talk, and it pastes clean text where your cursor is, with xdotool on X11 or ydotool on Wayland. Meeting recording, file transcription and the whole notebook come with it.

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Free to start · No card · Windows, macOS and Linux

How it works

Get the AppImage
A single 64-bit file. Make it executable and open it. There’s no deb, rpm, Flatpak or Snap package.
Press Alt+X
Global shortcuts work on X11, and on Wayland too, because there Whisperall runs in X11 compatibility mode.
Talk and it pastes
On X11 it pastes with xdotool. On Wayland it uses ydotool if you run it, and otherwise the text waits in your clipboard.

How pasting works in your session

Whisperall copies the clean text and sends Ctrl+V to the window you were in when you started dictating. It uses the tools you already have and never asks for root.

X11: xdotool, so keep it installed
Wayland: ydotool, if its service already runs for your user
Neither: the text stays in your clipboard for Ctrl+V
Alt+Shift+S pastes your last dictation again

Shortcuts on Wayland

On Wayland, Whisperall runs in X11 compatibility mode so its global shortcuts keep working. Key combinations like Alt+X are yours to change in Settings. A single key such as Right Ctrl works as a shortcut on X11 only.

Meetings need PulseAudio or PipeWire

To record a video call, Whisperall captures your computer’s audio from the monitor of your default output, which it finds with pactl on PulseAudio or PipeWire. It checks for it before offering the Virtual mode. The In person mode only needs your microphone.

The rest of Whisperall, on Linux too

Dictation is only the start. The same app transcribes audio and video files of up to 10 hours, records meetings with each speaker separated, and keeps your notes, tasks and flows connected in one notebook. It can also open your Obsidian folder.

The Whisperall graph connecting notes, tasks, flows and transcriptions

Frequently asked questions

No. Whisperall comes as a 64-bit AppImage, a single file you make executable and run.

Yes. Whisperall runs in X11 compatibility mode so its global shortcuts work. To paste on its own it uses ydotool if you run it, and otherwise it leaves the text in your clipboard.

Wispr Flow’s help center says it has no native Linux app. Whisperall has one: press a shortcut, talk and get clean text in any app, with meetings and file transcription included.

Yes, with PulseAudio or PipeWire. Whisperall records your computer’s audio and your microphone, with no bot in the call. Without them, the In person mode still records your microphone.

No. Dictation and transcription need the internet. The audio is saved on your computer while you talk, so you can transcribe it once you’re back online.

Dictation uses about 3 credits a minute. The free plan includes 150 credits to start, and the $9 Starter plan 2,000 a month, about 11 hours of dictation.