How do I switch between Whisper and VOSK?

You can switch engines via the settings GUI or command line. Use 'vocalinux --engine whisper' or 'vocalinux --engine vosk'. Whisper is recommended for accuracy, VOSK for speed.

Demo Features Install FAQ GitHub

Beta Release — Try it now!

Voice Dictation for Linux, Finally Done Right

100% offline voice dictation for Linux.

Just double-tap Ctrl and speak.

Install Now — It's Free Watch Demo

Quick Install (Interactive)

Guided installation with hardware detection

$ curl -fsSL raw.githubusercontent.com/jatinkrmalik/vocalinux/main/install.sh -o /tmp/vl.sh && bash /tmp/vl.sh --interactive

Compatible: Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian, Arch & more

No sudo required~1-2 min

whisper.cpp poweredAMD, Intel & NVIDIA GPUsFree & open-source

100% Offline

Privacy First

Open Source (GPL-3.0)

X11 & Wayland

Try It Yourself

Experience voice-to-text right here in your browser. Click the microphone and start speaking!

Checking browser support...

Double-tap Ctrl

In the real app, just double-tap Ctrl to start dictating anywhere

Real-time Transcription

See your words appear as you speak with minimal latency

Audio Feedback

Subtle sounds let you know when recording starts and stops

Why Choose Vocalinux?

Finally, Linux users get the voice dictation experience they deserve — no compromises on privacy, no cloud dependencies, just pure productivity.

100% Offline & Private

All processing happens on your machine. Your voice data never leaves your computer — complete privacy guaranteed.

Universal App Support

Works everywhere — terminals, browsers, IDEs, office apps, and any text input field on your Linux system.

Blazing Fast

whisper.cpp brings C++ optimized inference with Vulkan GPU support. Works with AMD, Intel, and NVIDIA GPUs!

Simple Activation

Double-tap Ctrl to start, double-tap again to stop. No complex keyboard shortcuts to memorize.

X11 & Wayland Support

Works seamlessly with both display servers. Modern Wayland and traditional X11 — we've got you covered.

Fully Configurable

Adjust model size, language, activation method, and more. GUI settings panel or config file — your choice.

The Linux Voice Gap, Solved

While macOS and Windows have had built-in voice dictation for years, Linux users have been left behind — until now.

No more cloud services that compromise privacy
No more janky solutions that only work in specific apps
No more complicated setup processes
Just install and start dictating

Vocalinux

Voice dictation, finally

Cloud calls

∞

Privacy

Get Started in Seconds

One command. That's all it takes.

Recommended: whisper.cpp (Default)

Fastest installation (~1-2 min), Vulkan GPU support for AMD/Intel/NVIDIA

curl -fsSL raw.githubusercontent.com/jatinkrmalik/vocalinux/main/install.sh -o /tmp/vl.sh && bash /tmp/vl.sh

OpenAI Whisper (PyTorch)

PyTorch-based engine, NVIDIA GPU only (~5-10 min, ~2.3GB download)

curl -fsSL raw.githubusercontent.com/jatinkrmalik/vocalinux/main/install.sh -o /tmp/vl.sh && bash /tmp/vl.sh --engine=whisper

VOSK Only (Lightweight)

For low-RAM systems (4GB or less) - minimal footprint (~40MB)

curl -fsSL raw.githubusercontent.com/jatinkrmalik/vocalinux/main/install.sh -o /tmp/vl.sh && bash /tmp/vl.sh --engine=vosk

What the installer does:

Installs system dependencies
Creates isolated virtual environment
Downloads speech recognition models
Sets up desktop integration
Adds vocalinux to your PATH
Creates application launcher

After Installation

Launch Vocalinux from your terminal or application menu:

vocalinux

System Requirements

• Ubuntu 22.04+ (or equivalent)
• Python 3.8 or newer
• 4GB RAM (8GB for large models)
• Microphone
• X11 or Wayland display server

Uninstall

Clean removal in one command

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jatinkrmalik/vocalinux/main/uninstall.sh -o /tmp/vul.sh && bash /tmp/vul.sh

Choose Your Engine

Vocalinux supports multiple speech recognition engines. Pick the one that suits your needs.

DEFAULT

whisper.cpp

High-performance C++ port of Whisper with Vulkan GPU support. Our new default!

10x faster installation (~1-2 min)
Universal GPU support (AMD/Intel/NVIDIA)
C++ optimized, true multi-threading
Tiny model only ~39MB

Model sizes: Tiny (39MB) • Base (74MB) • Small (244MB) • Medium (769MB) • Large (1.5GB)

Whisper (OpenAI)

OpenAI's original PyTorch-based Whisper model. NVIDIA GPU only.

PyTorch-based implementation
NVIDIA GPU support (CUDA)
Same accuracy as whisper.cpp
Larger download (~2.3GB)

Install time: ~5-10 minutes with PyTorch

VOSK

Lightweight, fast speech recognition engine perfect for lower-powered systems.

Very lightweight and fast
Low memory footprint
Great for real-time streaming
CPU only, minimal resources

Footprint: ~40MB model, minimal CPU/RAM usage

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Vocalinux really 100% offline?

Yes! All speech recognition processing happens locally on your machine. Your voice data never leaves your computer. No internet connection is required after installation (models are downloaded during setup).

Which Linux distributions are supported?

Vocalinux works on most modern Linux distributions including Ubuntu 22.04+, Fedora, Debian, Arch Linux, Linux Mint, Pop!_OS, and more. It supports both X11 and Wayland display servers.

How do I switch between speech engines?

You can switch engines via the settings GUI or command line. Use "vocalinux --engine whisper_cpp" (default, recommended), "vocalinux --engine whisper" (OpenAI), or "vocalinux --engine vosk" (lightweight). whisper.cpp offers the best balance of speed and accuracy.

What are the system requirements?

Minimum: 4GB RAM, dual-core CPU, Python 3.8+. For Whisper large models: 8GB+ RAM recommended. The tiny/base Whisper models and VOSK work great on modest hardware.

Can I use it in languages other than English?

Yes! Whisper supports 99+ languages with varying accuracy levels. VOSK has models for 20+ languages. Download additional language models as needed.

How do I customize the activation shortcut?

The default is double-tap Ctrl. You can customize this via the GUI settings dialog or by editing ~/.config/vocalinux/config.yaml. Any key combination is supported.

Is Vocalinux free?

Yes, Vocalinux is completely free and open-source, licensed under GPL-3.0. No premium tiers, no subscriptions, no tracking — just free software.

Ready to Ditch Your Keyboard?

Join the growing community of Linux users who have discovered the power of voice dictation. It's free, it's private, and it just works.

Install Vocalinux Star on GitHub