v1.0.0Import recordings, choose local speech voices, and export richer notes

Your words, written,
read, and remembered

Lafal is a private desktop assistant for dictation, writing, on-screen reading, and meeting notes. Use local models by default, with your own cloud provider available when you need it.

Download for macOS

Also available for Windows and Linux

Free to start · No account required for local transcription

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Privacy by default

Your data stays in your hands

No analytics. No trackers. No Lafal servers. What you say stays under your control.

Local by default

Local models handle dictation, screen reading, and on-device writing on your machine. Your audio is transcribed locally; nothing is sent to Lafal.

Cloud is opt-in

Bring your own provider and credentials. When you choose cloud writing or summarization, only the text needed for that request goes directly from your device to the service you selected.

No analytics or trackers

No telemetry, usage tracking, fingerprinting, or third-party SDKs phoning home.

Your notes stay yours

History, meeting and imported-media transcripts, recordings, and Markdown exports are stored locally and remain under your control.

Write, dictate, listen, remember

One private desktop assistant for voice dictation, screen reading, meeting notes, and better writing. Keep processing local by default, or connect the provider you already trust.

Speech to text

Hold a hotkey and speak, then release. Local Whisper transcribes your words and types them wherever your cursor is — with push-to-talk, toggle, and multilingual model choices.

Local WhisperMultilingualPush-to-talk or toggle

Proofread

Grammar, spelling, and punctuation corrected right where you wrote it — no rewrites, no rewording, just a cleaner version of your own words.

Concise

Cuts the filler, keeps the point. Shortens your text in place while preserving exactly what you meant to say.

Rephrase

One idea, any voice. Rewrite what you wrote in the tone the moment calls for.

BarbaricCasualStandardFormal

Summarize

Get the gist in seconds. Opens in a tidy popup you can copy from or close the moment you're done.

Fact check

A six-level verdict on any claim — with a plain-English explanation, a source link when one's available, and a one-click Google fallback whenever the answer is inconclusive.

Text to speech & Lafalify

Drag over any region of your screen and hear it read aloud. Local OCR recognizes the text, highlights each row and word as it plays, and gives you pause, skip, speed, volume, and local voice controls.

Local OCRLocal voicesPlayback controls

Meeting recording & summary

Start a meeting from the tray. Lafal transcribes in the background, captures system audio when supported, and saves a titled note with timestamps, summary, transcript, and recording.

TimestampsSummaryMarkdown export

Import audio & video

Have a recording already? Choose an audio or video file from Home and process it as a meeting note or a concise summary. Lafal extracts the audio and transcribes it in bounded, timestamped chunks.

Audio + videoMeeting or summaryLocal processing

Notes that fit your workflow

Keep notes in Lafal's searchable history or export them to a folder you choose. Meeting exports include linked transcripts and recordings; concise summaries can land in a QuickNote folder.

MarkdownLinked recordingsQuickNote

Local-first models

Choose separate local tiers for text, speech, and voices. They download once and run on your machine — no account or API key required. Connect your own cloud provider when you want to, with model lists refreshed on demand.

Text, speech, and voice tiersModel refreshBring your own key

History that stays useful

Search past text transformations and browse saved meeting or imported-media notes from one desktop app, with configurable retention and local Markdown exports for your own folders.

Simple, honest pricing

Free to use with local models — no account or subscription required.

Free

$0forever

Everything you need to write, speak, listen, and keep track of what happened.

  • Unlimited local dictation and text tools
  • Lafalify screen reading with OCR
  • Meeting recordings, transcripts, and summaries
  • Import audio/video as a meeting or summary note
  • Local speech and voice model choices
  • Searchable local history and Markdown notes
  • Bring your own cloud provider or API key
Download for free

Enjoying Lafal? Consider buying me a coffee to support development.

Frequently asked questions

Yes. After the one-time download, Lafal's local speech model can transcribe on your device without an internet connection. Local text models and local screen reading can work offline too.