nerd-dictation is the Unix answer to dictation: a single Python file, GPL-3.0, running VOSK offline, with no background service and no GUI. You bind it to a key, it records while held, and it types the result. Configuration means writing Python functions that transform the text — which sounds like a burden until you realise it means you can do literally anything to the output.
At a glance
Platforms
Linux — X11, Wayland, and TTYs, via a choice of input tools
Pricing
Free, GPL-3.0
Engine
VOSK-API
Offline
Yes, entirely
Dependencies
One Python file, Python 3.6+
Configuration
Python scripts
Maturity
~1,900 GitHub stars, 169 forks, 161 commits
What it does well
No background service. Nothing resident in memory between uses. On a machine where you care about what's running, this matters, and no other tool here can say it.
Configuration is real code. Your config is a Python function that receives the transcript and returns text. Arbitrary substitutions, domain vocabulary, formatting rules — anything you can express in Python.
Numbers as digits. Converts spoken numbers into properly formatted numerals, including ordinals — "three million five hundred and sixty second" becomes "3,000,562nd". A small thing done unusually well.
Works in a TTY. Dictation at a bare console, which nothing else in this directory attempts.
Minimal dependencies. One file, one runtime. Easy to audit, easy to package, easy to trust.
Where it falls short
VOSK is dated. It predates the Whisper generation and is meaningfully less accurate, especially on accents and technical vocabulary. This is the main reason to choose Vocalinux or VOXD instead, both of which run Whisper.
No GUI at all. No tray icon, no settings window, no visual feedback. Configuration means editing Python.
Slow on modest hardware. There's a documented suspend/resume mechanism specifically for slower systems, which tells you what to expect.
Assembly required. You choose your own audio recorder and input simulation tool and wire them together. The documentation is good, but this is a build, not an install.
No AI cleanup. Raw transcription. Any tidying is Python you write yourself.
Pricing
Free, GPL-3.0.
Who it's for
Linux users who prefer composable tools over applications and are comfortable configuring things in Python — the same people who script their window manager. If you want offline Linux dictation that just works with a tray icon and modern accuracy, Vocalinux or Handy will serve you far better. nerd-dictation's appeal is precisely that it's a script you fully control.
Last verified: 9 August 2026.
Similar to nerd-dictation
nerd-dictation: One Python file, no background service, configured by writing code – Dictation Database
