Yap for MAC
Free, open-source voice dictation for Mac: press a shortcut, speak, and your words appear in any app. Transcribed on your Mac, no account needed.
Yap Overview
Yap is a fast voice dictation app for the Mac that works anywhere you can type. Press its shortcut, talk, and press it again: your words are pasted into the text field you were using. While you speak, a small window near the bottom of the screen shows a live waveform and a running preview of what you have said. The default shortcut is Command-Shift-D, and you can change it or use a single key such as the right Shift key.
Yap transcribes on your Mac with the speech models built into macOS 26, so no audio leaves your computer, there is no model to download, and it never touches the network. It keeps a local history of your dictations that you can search, copy and delete. There is no account, no API key and no tracking. Yap is made by Frigade and is free and open source under the MIT license. It is a tiny 1.1 MB download and needs macOS 26 Tahoe on an Apple Silicon Mac; Intel Macs are not supported. It is still an early version.
Key Features
Yap turns your voice into text in any app.
- Works anywhere: dictate into any text field.
- On-device: transcribed by macOS itself, nothing sent online.
- Live preview: a waveform and running transcript as you speak.
- Custom shortcut: or trigger it with a single key like right Shift.
- History: search, copy and delete past dictations.
- Discard: press Escape twice to cancel a dictation.
- Follows your microphone: switches when your default mic changes.
- Tiny and private: no account, no network, no tracking.
What’s New in Version 0.1.14
Yap 0.1.14 fixes a crash.
- Fixed a crash some users hit when starting a recording, especially after switching microphones or Bluetooth devices
Yap FAQ
Is Yap free?
Yes. Yap is free and open source under the MIT license, with no account or API key.
Which macOS version does Yap need?
Yap needs macOS 26 Tahoe or later on an Apple Silicon Mac.
Does Yap work on Intel Macs?
No. It uses the on-device speech models of macOS 26, which run on Apple Silicon only.
How do I dictate with Yap?
Press the shortcut, Command-Shift-D by default, speak, and press it again. The text is pasted into the field you were using.
Is my voice sent to the internet?
No. Yap transcribes on your Mac with Apple's built-in speech models and makes no network calls.
Does Yap need a large download?
No. It uses the models built into macOS, so the app itself is about 1 MB.
Which permissions does Yap ask for?
Microphone, Speech Recognition, Accessibility to see which app you are typing in, and Automation to paste the text.
Can I change the shortcut?
Yes. You can rebind it or use a single modifier key, such as the right Shift key.
Can I install Yap with Homebrew?
Yes. Run brew install --cask frigadehq/tap/yap.
Where does the Yap download on yap.FULLMAC.app come from?
The download button leads to the official Yap website at https://frigade.com/yap. yap.FULLMAC.app does not change or repackage the app.
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