Secretary42
Speak instead of type —
right where you work.
Secretary42 is a local-first desktop dictation app. Press a global hotkey, speak, and your words are transcribed on your device and pasted straight into whatever you're writing.
Press a hotkey. Speak. Paste anywhere.
Stay in the document, email, or editor you're already in. Secretary42 turns speech into text on your machine and drops it at your cursor.
From thought to text in four steps
No app switching, no copy-paste dance. Dictation happens where you're working.
-
1
Press your hotkey
A small overlay starts listening. The default is the backtick key (
`); pick your own anytime. -
2
Speak naturally
Talk the way you'd talk. Pause, think, and keep going — no special phrasing required.
-
3
Transcribed on your device
The bundled whisper.cpp engine turns your audio into text locally — no cloud transcription.
-
4
Text appears where you work
Your words are pasted at the cursor, or sent to the clipboard or a file — your choice. Transcripts can contain mistakes, so review important text before relying on it.
Simple pricing for local desktop dictation
Choose monthly or yearly billing.
Billed monthly. Manage billing through Paddle.
- Local on-device transcription
- Choice of Whisper models, from compact to high-quality
- Local transcription history
- Product updates while your subscription is active
- macOS 13 or later (Apple Silicon) and Windows 10 or 11 (x64 with AVX2)
Save 17% — just €8.33/mo, billed yearly
- Everything in Monthly
- Nearly two months free vs. paying monthly
- Choice of Whisper models, from compact to high-quality
- Local transcription history
- Product updates while your subscription is active
Buy through Paddle. Your activation key is delivered by email; paste it into Secretary42 to activate the app on up to three of your own devices.
Prices include VAT for EU customers; Paddle, the merchant of record, shows the final amount before you pay. Subscriptions renew automatically until cancelled — cancel any time via the link in your Paddle receipt email.
Checkout and billing are handled by Paddle. License activation is separate from the local dictation path. By purchasing you agree to the Terms; see the Privacy Notice and Refund & Withdrawal Policy.
Your dictation stays on your device
Audio and transcript text are processed locally by the bundled whisper.cpp engine. Secretary42 does not use cloud transcription, and there is no cloud transcription fallback.
On device Stays on your machine
- Microphone audio
- Transcribed text
- Your local transcription history
- Downloaded Whisper models
- App settings and your license
Online May use online services
- Paddle checkout & license delivery
- License activation & silent daily EU-service refresh
- Whisper model downloads
- App update checks & downloads
- Support requests
- Diagnostics — opt-in, off by default
Diagnostics are opt-in and off by default. If you turn them on, only sanitized crash and performance metadata is shared — never your audio or transcript text. Paddle checkout, license delivery, license activation and refresh, model downloads, updates, and support are separate online flows, not part of the local dictation path. The Privacy Notice describes each of them.
Built for fast, local dictation
Global hotkey
Start and stop dictation from any app with a customizable key.
On-device whisper.cpp
Speech-to-text runs locally with quantized Whisper models.
Bundled engine & FFmpeg
No Python and no separate FFmpeg install — it ships with the app.
Local model management
Download, select, and remove Whisper models from the control panel.
Local transcription history
Past transcriptions are stored locally in SQLite — view, copy, or delete.
Automatic paste
Text lands at your cursor; or route it to the clipboard or a file.
Choice of models
Trade speed for quality — from a compact model to large, high-quality ones.
macOS Globe key
Optional Fn / Globe-key trigger on macOS for hands-on-keys dictation.
Pick your speed-and-quality trade-off
Models download on demand and are stored locally. Small (Balanced) is the recommended default — a good mix of speed and quality.
Sizes are approximate download sizes for the bundled quantized models. Larger models need more disk space and processing time.
Dictate the writing you do every day
Email replies
Clear answers and follow-ups without typing them out.
Notes & docs
Capture thoughts and meeting notes while they're fresh.
Documentation
Draft internal docs and READMEs at the speed of speech.
Drafting
Get a messy first draft down, then tidy it with your hands.
Support replies
Answer tickets and messages without the typing strain.
Coding & product work
Dictate commit messages, issue reports, and review notes.
Understand the local dictation workflow
Practical guides grounded in the current shipping product — including its limits.
Private dictation for Mac
Use a global hotkey and local Whisper models across your everyday Mac apps.
PrivacyHow offline dictation works
See what stays on the device and which separate operations still use the internet.
ModelsWhisper dictation without setup
Compare the shipping model sizes and choose a speed-and-accuracy trade-off.
WorkflowDictation for developers
Draft issues, reviews and documentation while keeping transcription local.
Questions, answered
What is Secretary42?
Is Secretary42 available now?
How much does it cost?
Is my audio sent to the cloud?
What does connect to the internet?
Do I need an account?
How does Paddle payment work?
What platforms are supported?
Does it work offline?
What diagnostics are collected?
Secretary42 by Insight 42