VOXD is a Linux dictation tool that adds the piece most of its neighbours are missing: an AI post-processing pass. Transcription runs on whisper.cpp locally, and the cleanup that turns a transcript into finished text can run through llama.cpp on your own machine or, if you'd rather, through OpenAI, Anthropic, or xAI. It types straight into whatever window has focus, offers CLI, GUI, tray, and voice-triggered interfaces, and explicitly doesn't need a GPU.
At a glance
Platforms
Arch, Ubuntu, Fedora, Pop!_OS, Mint, openSUSE. X11 and Wayland
Local AI cleanup on Linux. llama.cpp doing the polish pass offline puts VOXD alongside Amical as one of very few tools offering finished prose without a cloud service — and it's the only one on Linux.
No GPU required. Explicitly designed to run on CPU, which matters on the older or headless machines Linux users often have.
Four ways to drive it. CLI, GUI, tray, and voice-triggered. The CLI in particular makes it scriptable in ways a GUI-only tool isn't.
MIT licence. The most permissive of the Linux options here.
Where it falls short
Small project. ~288 stars, one primary maintainer, 19 open issues. Least battle-tested of the Linux options, and no independent reviews exist — everything here comes from the repository.
Two model stacks. whisper.cpp plus llama.cpp means two sets of weights and real RAM pressure, especially on the CPU-only machines it targets.
Cloud post-processing undercuts the privacy story. Point the polish pass at OpenAI or Anthropic and your transcripts leave the machine. Local llama.cpp keeps it contained, but it's a choice you have to make deliberately.
CPU-only means slow. No GPU required is a compatibility claim, not a speed one. Whisper plus an LLM on CPU is not fast.
Linux only.
Pricing
Free, MIT. Cloud post-processing costs whatever the provider charges.
Who it's for
Linux users who want the AI-polished output of the commercial tools and are willing to run two local models to get it — or who'll accept a cloud API for the cleanup step. It's the most capable Linux option on paper. If you want something more proven and are happy with a raw transcript, Vocalinux or Handy are safer picks.
Last verified: 9 August 2026. No independent reviews located; details are from the project's own repository.
Similar to VOXD
VOXD: Linux dictation with optional AI polish, and no GPU required – Dictation Database
