Type at the speed of thought. Fully offline. Fully private.
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Built with Tauri v2 (Rust) + React — Dictate anywhere, your words appear instantly in any application.
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All transcription runs locally on your device. No audio ever leaves your machine. No accounts, no cloud, no subscriptions. Your voice stays yours. |
Powered by optimized whisper.cpp and Parakeet engines for blazing-fast, real-time voice-to-text. Start speaking and see words appear instantly. |
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Optional LLM post-processing cleans up filler words, fixes grammar, and formats your text — all locally with offline models, or via cloud providers. |
Transcribe in over 50 languages with automatic language detection. Switch languages on the fly or lock to a specific one. |
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SONU types directly into any application — your browser, IDE, email client, Slack, Discord, Word — anywhere you can type. |
Connect to Groq, Deepgram, or your own self-hosted server for cloud-powered transcription when you want maximum accuracy. |
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Custom word corrections automatically fix domain-specific terms, names, and jargon that the model might mishear. |
Define shorthand codes that expand into full text blocks — perfect for emails, code comments, addresses, and common phrases. |
SONU v2.2.0 — Built with Tauri v2 (Rust + React). Lightweight, native, and fast.
The home screen shows your dictation stats (time, word count, WPM, time saved), a voice activation shortcut recorder, privacy status, and recent transcription history — all in a clean dashboard layout with local/cloud mode indicator.
Dictionary lets you add custom word corrections for domain-specific terms the model might mishear. Snippets are reusable text blocks you can expand with shorthand codes — perfect for emails, addresses, and common phrases.
Voice-powered sticky notes with color-coded cards (6 colors), search, grid/list view toggle, and per-note audio playback — saved/starred transcriptions become visual notes.
Choose AI dictation style presets organized by category: Personal, Work, Email, Other. Each style (Casual, Professional, Technical, Creative, etc.) transforms your raw transcription with LLM post-processing.
- General — Shortcut binding, language, microphone, audio feedback, push-to-talk
- Advanced — Autostart, overlay, clipboard handling, model unload timeout, AI post-processing toggle
- Cloud — Provider cards for Groq, Deepgram, and custom self-hosted servers with status indicators
- Post-Processing — LLM provider config, model selection, API keys, custom prompts
- History — Full transcription log with audio playback, copy, star/save, and delete
- Debug — Log level, sound themes, thresholds, recording retention, advanced toggles
- About — App version, language, data directory, credits, and links
📷 Screenshots coming soon — The Tauri v2 app is built and running. Take screenshots with
bun run tauri devinapps/tauri-v2/.
| Feature | SONU | Wispr Flow | Superwhisper | macOS Dictation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fully offline | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | Partial |
| Open source | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Free forever | ✅ | ❌ ($10/mo) | ❌ ($8/mo) | ✅ |
| Windows + macOS + Linux | ✅ | macOS only | macOS only | macOS only |
| 50+ languages | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Custom dictionary | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Text snippets | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| AI text enhancement | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Offline LLM support | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Cloud transcription option | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Self-hosted server | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Voice notes | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Push-to-talk + toggle | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Auto-type into any app | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Multiple Whisper models | ✅ (tiny → large-v3) | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Themes & customization | ✅ | Limited | Limited | ❌ |
| Platform | Download | Architecture |
|---|---|---|
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Download Installer (.exe) | x64, ARM64 |
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Download DMG | Intel (x64) + Apple Silicon (ARM64) |
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Download AppImage / .deb / .rpm | x64 |
Windows
- Download the
.exeinstaller from Releases - Run the installer and follow the prompts
- Launch SONU from the Start Menu or system tray
- Press your hotkey (default:
Ctrl+Shift+Space) and start speaking
macOS
- Download the
.dmgfrom Releases - Open the DMG and drag SONU to Applications
- Grant Accessibility permissions when prompted
- Press your hotkey and start speaking
Linux
- Download
.AppImage(portable) or.deb(Debian/Ubuntu) from Releases - For AppImage:
chmod +x SONU-*.AppImage && ./SONU-*.AppImage - For .deb:
sudo dpkg -i sonu_*.deb - Press your hotkey and start speaking
SONU supports multiple speech recognition engines and models:
| Model | Size | Speed | Accuracy | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| tiny | 75 MB | ⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡ | ★★☆☆☆ | Quick notes, low-resource machines |
| base | 142 MB | ⚡⚡⚡⚡ | ★★★☆☆ | Everyday dictation |
| small | 466 MB | ⚡⚡⚡ | ★★★★☆ | Professional use |
| medium | 1.5 GB | ⚡⚡ | ★★★★☆ | High-accuracy work |
| large-v3 | 3.1 GB | ⚡ | ★★★★★ | Maximum accuracy |
| Parakeet 0.6B | 600 MB | ⚡⚡⚡⚡ | ★★★★★ | English — best speed/accuracy ratio |
Models download automatically on first use. All processing stays local.
SONU/
├── apps/
│ ├── tauri-v2/ 🦀 Tauri v2 desktop app (Rust + React)
│ │ ├── src/ React/TypeScript frontend
│ │ └── src-tauri/ Rust backend (whisper.cpp, audio, models)
│ │
│ └── desktop/ 🖥️ Electron desktop app (Node.js + Python)
│ └── src/ Main process, services, IPC
│
├── server/ 🌐 Self-hosted transcription server (FastAPI + Docker)
├── docs/ 📚 Documentation & guides
└── plans/ 📋 Roadmap & improvement plans
| Layer | Technology |
|---|---|
| Desktop Framework | Tauri v2 (Rust) |
| Frontend | React 18, TypeScript, TailwindCSS |
| Speech Engine | whisper.cpp, Parakeet TDT |
| AI Enhancement | Local LLM (GGUF) + Cloud providers (OpenAI, Groq, etc.) |
| Cloud Transcription | Groq, Deepgram, Custom server (FastAPI) |
| Security | OS Keychain, Context Isolation, CSP, Input Validation |
| Testing | Vitest, Playwright, Rust tests, GitHub Actions CI |
- Bun (package manager) — bun.sh
- Rust toolchain — rustup.rs
- Tauri prerequisites — tauri.app/start/prerequisites
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/ai-dev-2024/sonu.git
cd sonu/apps/tauri-v2
# Install dependencies
bun install
# Run in development
bun run tauri dev
# Build for production
bun run tauri buildbun run dev # Start Vite dev server
bun run tauri dev # Start full Tauri dev environment
bun run build # Build frontend
bun run tauri build # Build production binary
bun run test # Run Vitest unit tests
bun run test:e2e # Run Playwright E2E tests
bun run lint # ESLint check
bun run format # Prettier format
bun run typecheck # TypeScript checkRun your own transcription server with Docker:
cd server
docker compose up -dSee server/README.md for full setup instructions.
SONU is designed with security-first principles:
- 🔒 No telemetry — Zero data collection, no analytics, no phone-home
- 🔐 OS Keychain — API keys stored in your OS's secure credential store
- 🧱 Context Isolation — Renderer process fully sandboxed
- 🛡️ CSP Headers — Content Security Policy prevents injection attacks
- ✅ Input Validation — All IPC parameters validated against schemas
- 📁 Path Sanitization — Prevents path traversal attacks
- 🚫 No eval() — ESLint enforces no dynamic code execution
- Offline voice-to-text with Whisper & Parakeet
- AI text enhancement (local + cloud LLMs)
- Cloud transcription (Groq, Deepgram, custom server)
- Custom dictionary & text snippets
- Voice notes with search & playback
- Multi-theme support (dark, light, custom)
- 50+ language support with auto-detection
- Cross-platform support (Windows, macOS, Linux)
- Real-time streaming transcription
- Custom model fine-tuning
- Plugin / extension system
- Voice commands & macros
- Team collaboration features
- Mobile companion app
- Browser extension
- Cloud sync (optional, encrypted)
We welcome contributions! Whether it's bug fixes, features, translations, or docs:
- Fork the repository
- Create a feature branch:
git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature - Make your changes and add tests
- Run checks:
bun run lint && bun run test && bun run typecheck - Commit:
git commit -m "feat: add amazing feature" - Push and open a Pull Request
See AGENTS.md for development guidelines and coding conventions.
| Document | Description |
|---|---|
| AGENTS.md | AI assistant guidelines & build commands |
| CHANGELOG.md | Version history & release notes |
| docs/DEVELOPMENT.md | Development setup guide |
| docs/CONTRIBUTING.md | Contribution guidelines |
| docs/TAURI_V2_MIGRATION_GUIDE.md | Tauri v2 migration guide |
| server/README.md | Self-hosted server setup |
| plans/CODEBASE_IMPROVEMENT_PLAN.md | Future improvement roadmap |
MIT License — free for personal and commercial use.
- whisper.cpp — Fast C++ Whisper inference
- Tauri — Secure, lightweight desktop framework
- NVIDIA Parakeet — High-accuracy English ASR
- Electron — Cross-platform desktop apps
Made with ❤️ for people who think faster than they type.
SONU is not affiliated with OpenAI. Whisper is a trademark of OpenAI.