man spellkey

Under the hood

The short pitch is on the home page. This is everything underneath: the speech engines, how the AI runs, every knob you can turn, and the questions people ask.

spellkey --engines

Three speech engines, pick by need

Recognition runs entirely on your Mac. Start on the bundled one, switch anytime in Settings, no re-install.

engine	size	best at	availability
SenseVoice	228 MB	Fastest (~0.06s). Chinese-first; speaks zh / en / ja / ko / yue mixed in one sentence.	bundled · default
FireRed	~740 MB	Steadier on long recordings and dialects.	free download
Qwen3-ASR	~1.8 GB	Best zh/en mixing. 30 languages + 22 Chinese accents. Memory stays flat; your glossary doubles as built-in hotwords.	free download

spellkey --ai

AI clean-up: local, or your own key

The AI modes (tidy up, draft an email, act on selected text, translate) run one of two ways.

on-device

Local model: Qwen3-4B

Runs on your Mac. Offline and free. Loads only for the few seconds it's cleaning up, so idle memory is zero.

Routes by intent: a quick tidy takes ~1.7s; "write me an email" thinks for ~10s.

byok

Bring your own API key

Plug in any OpenAI-compatible endpoint for top speed and quality.

Your key lives in the macOS Keychain, never uploaded and never written to a log.

The backend tries in order: BYOK → local Qwen → regex fallback. If one fails it steps down, so it never loses your words.

spellkey --settings

Tune it to how you work

Almost everything is adjustable, and worded in plain language, so each switch tells you what happens when it's on.

triggers

remap any keyright ⌥ / ⌘ / ⇧, right Control, F1–F19, or your own.

switch mid-recordStart on the fast key, tap the AI key to stop, and it ends in that mode instead.

record capAuto-stops at a limit you set (30s–3m) so the mic is never left open.

output pipeline

filler removalDrops "um / uh / like" fillers. The word list is editable.

retract detectionSay "scrap that" and the whole take is voided. Phrases editable.

glossaryFixes names it mishears (Claude, SpellKey…). Also feeds the engine as hotwords.

Chinese outputUnify to Simplified or Traditional. Chinese numerals normalized to digits.

dynamic island & translate

island skinsFour looks: frosted white, black notch, blue, purple. Drag it anywhere.

translateSpeak once, land it in any of 30 languages via a dedicated key.

selection modeAct on selected text; the result dwells on the island for an adjustable time.

agent terminal

terminalRuns in Terminal or iTerm2, in the working directory you choose.

contextOptionally attach your selected text or Finder-selected files as context.

spellkey --faq

Questions people ask

Does it need internet?

Day-to-day is fully local and works offline: dictation, AI clean-up, and translation all run on your Mac. Only the first activation after purchase goes online once, to verify your code.

Is my audio uploaded?

No. Recording and recognition happen on this Mac; audio never leaves it and is never written to disk. Recent transcripts live in memory only and are gone when you quit.

What languages does it support?

The default SenseVoice engine handles Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean, and Cantonese, mixed in a single sentence. Switch to Qwen3-ASR for 30 languages plus 22 Chinese accents and the best zh/en mixing. A separate translate key sends any speech into 30+ target languages.

Do I need an API key?

No. AI clean-up and translation can run on a downloadable local model that works offline. You can also plug in your own cloud API key, locked in the macOS Keychain where the developer never sees it.

How does it compare to macOS dictation?

Local recognition is faster and more accurate, handles zh/en mixing, and auto-punctuates as text lands. On top of that it can draft and translate for you, all without a network.

Does it run on Intel Macs?

Apple Silicon (M-series) + macOS 14 or later only. The local models need an M-series chip to stay fast and smooth.

What's the refund policy?

14-day, no-questions-asked. Not for you? Get your money back. See the refund policy.

That's the whole machine.

One-time purchase, lifetime license, 14-day refund.

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