You talk. Hams types.

Slack · #design

Heard

um pushed the overlay fix uh can you pull and check it on your intel machine

Written

Pushed the overlay fix, can you pull and check it on your Intel machine

Messages · to Sam

running like ten minutes late save me a seat

Messages · to Sam

Heard

Um, running like ten minutes late, uh, save me a seat.

Written

Running like ten minutes late, save me a seat

Mail · Re: Launch notes

Heard

hi priya thanks for the notes um yeah I'll send the draft by friday

Written

Hi Priya,

Thanks for the notes. I'll send the draft by Friday.

Hams · Notes · 38 min meeting

Launch review with the design team

The launch moves from Tuesday to Friday.
Priya sends the draft notes tonight.
Sam books the room for the demo at ten.

Hams is a free Mac app. Hold ⌘⇧Space in any app, speak, let go, and clean text appears at your cursor.

Download for Mac or install with one line

Type it the way you’d say it

Heard

So, um, Tuesday at ten. Scratch that. Friday at ten.

Written

Friday at ten.

7 words removed

Or try

This box runs Hams’ own clean-up rules in your browser. In the app, Whisper does the hearing on your Mac, and if you turn on AI polish it also fixes grammar and punctuation.

What it does, quietly

Polite in Mail, brief in Messages

Hams sees which app you’re in. Email gets full sentences and a greeting on its own line, chat stays short, and code editors get exactly what you said. You can rewrite each style or pin an app to one.

The Styles screen in Hams: the Messaging style, its instructions for the AI and a Try it panel.

Long talks become notes

Record a lecture or a meeting for as long as it runs. Hams writes it down half a minute at a time while you listen, then saves the transcript with a title and the key points.

A voice note in Hams: key points and action items above the full transcript.

It learns how you spell things

If Hams keeps writing “tory” when you mean Tauri, teach it once. Fix a word in History and it suggests the change for next time.

The Dictionary in Hams: learned spellings waiting for approval, and your words.

Every dictation, kept and searchable

History shows what was heard and what was written, side by side. Copy one again, rewrite it as an email, or pin it.

A dictation opened in History, showing what was heard and what was written.

Your languages, and only yours

English, Malayalam, Malay, Hindi, Tamil, Arabic and more, mixed if you like. Tick the ones you speak, so a strong accent can’t turn your English into another language.

Speech settings in Hams with English and Malayalam ticked as the languages you speak.

Works offline
No account
Open source

Your voice stays on your Mac

Hams (همس) is Arabic for a whisper. Your voice is heard by Whisper, the open speech model, running inside the app on your Mac’s own chip. Nothing is recorded to keep, nothing is uploaded, and it works on a plane.

AI polish is optional. Turn it on and only the written text goes to the provider you pick, with your own key, stored in the Mac’s keychain. Or run it locally with Ollama.

Hold, speak, let go

As long as you talk

First, hold the shortcut and speak. A small pill shows Hams is listening.

Half a second

Then Whisper writes it down, on your Mac.

About a second

Next, the ums and “scratch that” go, and AI polish runs if it’s on.

Instantly

Last, it’s pasted where your cursor was.

Everything you can press or say

The pill sits at the bottom of your screen and never takes the focus from your app.

Shortcuts and voice commands
Press	Hold `⌘⇧Space`	Dictate while held
Press	Tap it twice	Hands-free until you tap again
Press	`Esc`	Cancel, nothing is pasted
Press	`⌘⌥⇧V`	Paste the last one again
Select	Hold `⌃⇧Space`	“Make this more formal”
Say	“scratch that”	Drops the last sentence
Say	“new line”	Starts a new line
Say	“new paragraph”	Leaves a blank line
Say	A snippet’s name	Inserts your saved text

Before you install

How do I install it?

The quickest way is the one line for Terminal under “Ready to talk?” below. It downloads Hams, puts it in Applications and opens it, with no warnings.

Or download the DMG and drag Hams into Applications. Because Hams isn’t registered with Apple, macOS says it can’t check the app the first time you open it. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll down and click Open Anyway. You do this once; updates install from inside Hams.

Why does macOS warn about it?

Apple only trusts apps from developers who pay for its yearly program, and Hams is a free project that doesn’t. The warning isn’t about anything Hams does: its code is public on GitHub, and you can build it yourself.

What does it cost?

Nothing. AI polish is optional and uses your own key with Gemini, OpenAI, Anthropic, Groq or OpenRouter, or a free local model through Ollama.

Which Macs does it run on?

Any Mac on macOS 12 Monterey or later, Apple Silicon or Intel. On first launch Hams downloads its speech model (466 MB for the recommended one). A Windows version is in progress.

What permissions does it ask for?

The microphone, to hear you, and Accessibility, so the shortcut works in every app and Hams can paste at your cursor. The first launch walks you through both.

Does anything go online?

Not your voice. Hams downloads the speech model once and checks GitHub for updates, which install only when you click. If you turn on AI polish, the written text goes to the provider you chose.

Ready to talk?

Download for Mac or

curl -fsSL https://hams.wusla.co/install | bash

The Terminal line installs Hams into Applications and opens it, with no warning from macOS. Free, no account, for any Mac on macOS 12 or later. Read the code.