Core loop
Speak without slowing down.
Hold a key, speak, release. Foil puts fast, direct transcripts into the app where you were working.
Talk to agents at the speed of thought.
macOS dictation built for AI-first work - fast, direct prompts for agents and polished text for humans. Run local models or connect to a transcription API.
macOS 14+ · Apple Silicon and Intel
Built for AI-first work
Capture intent at the speed you think, then use Cleanup Groups to decide how much polish each app needs.
Provider choice
Local whisper.cpp, Groq, OpenAI Whisper, or custom OpenAI-compatible transcription.
Direct for agents. Polished for humans.
Assign agent apps to raw transcription. Give messaging, email, and document apps their own cleanup, tone, and vocabulary.
Paste recovery
Auto-paste, clipboard fallback, Paste Last, retry, copy, edit, export, and delete.
Usage Insights
Local words, sessions, time saved, daily trends, and top apps without transcript analytics.
Recording control
Visible recording, transcription, cleanup, and paste states while focus stays in your app.
Trust controls
Keychain keys, local history controls, redacted diagnostics, and explicit provider routes.
Run local models or connect an API
Choose where audio and cleanup run, with separate routes for each.
Local whisper.cpp
Transcribe through a localhost OpenAI-compatible server.
- No hosted transcription required
- Uses localhost by default
- Copyable setup commands
Groq Whisper
Fast hosted transcription with your Groq API key.
- Quick setup
- Good fit for daily dictation
- Can also be selected for cleanup groups
OpenAI Whisper
Use OpenAI Whisper with your OpenAI API key.
- Uses the whisper-1 transcription model
- Separate OpenAI key setup
- Cleanup groups can separately use OpenAI chat models
Custom OpenAI-compatible
Point Foil at your own compatible endpoint and model.
- Bring your own transcription endpoint
- Optional API keys when your server allows it
- Separate custom chat routing for cleanup groups
Set agent apps to stay raw and direct. Route human-facing apps through the cleanup provider you choose.
Questions before installing
Short answers to the setup, provider, and reliability questions that usually matter before trying Foil.
How do I install Foil?
Homebrew is the primary install path. Run brew tap mean-weasel/foil https://github.com/mean-weasel/homebrew-foil, then brew install --cask foil. The cask installs Foil 1.13.13 from the signed, notarized, Sparkle update-signed macOS DMG published on GitHub Releases.
Prefer a manual DMG? Use the latest GitHub Release, or view all releases. SHA-256: 33f682b4...51d2e79.
Can Foil run transcription locally?
Yes. Start with a local whisper.cpp server on localhost, then select Local whisper.cpp in Transcription settings. Foil also supports custom OpenAI-compatible transcription endpoints.
Do I need a Groq or OpenAI key?
Not for the local whisper.cpp route. Groq Whisper and OpenAI Whisper require their own API keys, and custom endpoints only need a key when your server requires one.
Where does cleanup text go?
Cleanup is optional and group-based. It can use Groq, OpenAI, or a custom OpenAI-compatible chat endpoint, and transcript text goes only to the cleanup provider selected for the matching group.
What are Cleanup Groups?
Cleanup Groups let you assign different transcript behavior by app. Keep agent apps fast and direct with raw transcription, then use cleanup, tone, vocabulary corrections, and preferred terms for human-facing apps.
What happens to history and audio?
Transcription history stays on this Mac and can be limited or turned off. Successful audio files are deleted after transcription; failed audio may be retained locally only for retryable failures.
Are Usage Insights transcript analytics?
No. Insights is local usage metadata for words, sessions, trends, and top apps. It is separate from transcript text and can be deleted from the app.
What if paste does not land in the target app?
Paste automation depends on Accessibility permission and target-app behavior. Foil keeps History and clipboard fallback paths available so you can recover the transcript.