Stays where you work
Hold a shortcut, speak, and the result returns to the cursor. No separate editor or browser tab to manage.
Speak the whole thought.
HoldType puts it where you’re working.
Long prompts, messages, docs, and notes—spoken directly into the Mac app where you’re working. HoldType uses your OpenAI API key and returns accepted text to the cursor in most Mac apps.
Free app · OpenAI API usage billed separately · macOS 14+
Even 100 dictations a day
≈ $0.10
for intensive use
Turn your voice into text—right where you are.
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⌘
Hold
Hold Right Command
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Speak
Say the complete thought
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Release
Let go of Command
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Inserted
Text appears at the cursor
Why HoldType
No subscription to remember
HoldType adds no monthly fee. OpenAI deducts the API usage from your Platform account when requests are made.
OpenAI by design
Start with one quality-first default. No provider comparison or local-model download is required before the first dictation.
For the writing that gets shortened when you type it.
HoldType is built for complete thoughts, whether the destination is a coding agent, a message, or a document.
Long AI prompts
Give Codex, Claude, or ChatGPT the context that is easy to skip when a prompt has to be typed line by line.
Everyday writing
Dictate mail, reviews, documentation, chats, and notes without moving the draft through another editor.
Bilingual work
Speak where the thought comes naturally, then insert the configured target language when translation is requested.
Product features
Language and vocabulary
Say it naturally. Insert it for the work in front of you.
Translation runs only when requested. Choose a target language, then use Right Command + Right Option to transcribe and translate in one flow.
Local Dictionary entries add spelling context for names, project terms, and file names to the transcription request.
Always within reach
Start, translate, recover, and adjust from the menu bar.
If insertion fails, the accepted transcript remains available as Last Result. Paste it with Control + Command + V without replacing the macOS system clipboard.
Optional OpenAI correction is off by default. Local typography cleanup can still run without another model request.
Cost and data boundary
Clear about what stays local—and what goes to OpenAI.
HoldType has no account system, product backend, telemetry, analytics, or cloud sync. Transcription itself is an OpenAI API request made with the key you configure.
- Microphone
- HoldType
- OpenAI transcription
- Active app
Your data path
- The API key is stored locally in macOS Keychain.
- Audio is sent to OpenAI for transcription.
- Optional correction and translation are separate text requests.
- Completed audio is not retained by default. Recoverable failures may keep bounded session-only audio for Retry.
- Optional recording-cache retention is local and user-controlled.
Pay for usage, not access
HoldType has no subscription. OpenAI deducts actual API usage from the Platform account connected through your key; HoldType does not collect a monthly fee.
One hundred quick messages. About ten cents.
One hundred quick messages add up to roughly 17 minutes of recorded speech. Repeat the same daily total for 30 days and the estimated transcription cost is about $3.
The Billing screen is a local estimate for successful audio transcriptions. It is not an OpenAI invoice and does not include correction or translation requests.
OpenAI API pricing
Why I built HoldType
Typing speed was not the problem.
The problem was how often a long prompt, review, or explanation became shorter before I finished typing it. Speaking made it easier to include the full thought.
I tried subscription tools and apps built around local and cloud model choices. They solve different problems. In my daily work, OpenAI transcription gave me the first pass I trusted most often.
I wanted a narrower setup: one provider, a sensible default, direct API billing, and no product subscription to remember. HoldType is built and tested through the same voice-first workflow it is meant to support.
Get started
From download to first dictation.
- Download the latest disk image from GitHub Releases.
- Drag HoldType into Applications and launch it.
- Grant microphone, global-shortcut, and insertion permissions.
- Add your OpenAI Platform API key in Settings.
Prefer Homebrew?
The project tap installs the same disk image published on GitHub Releases.
brew tap holdtype/tap
brew trust holdtype/tap
brew install --cask holdtype
open -a HoldTypeNew to API keys?
Create one in a couple of minutes.
An API key is a private credential that lets HoldType send audio for transcription through your OpenAI Platform account. It is separate from your ChatGPT login and subscription.
- Sign in to OpenAI Platform and open the API key page.
- Create a secret key and copy it when OpenAI shows it.
- In HoldType, open Settings → OpenAI, paste the key, and save.
OpenAI shows the full key only when it is created. Keep it private and paste it only into HoldType, which stores it locally in macOS Keychain. API billing is separate from ChatGPT, and a new Platform account may require prepaid credit.
Frequently asked questions
Short answers to the decisions that matter before installing.
Why is an OpenAI API key required?
HoldType sends transcription requests through your own OpenAI Platform account. The key is stored locally in macOS Keychain. If API keys are new to you, follow the three-step guide above.
Is ChatGPT Plus enough?
No. ChatGPT subscriptions and OpenAI Platform API billing are separate. HoldType needs an API key with Platform billing configured.
What does dictation cost?
HoldType has no fixed fee. OpenAI deducts API usage from your Platform balance, and new API accounts may require prepaid credit. HoldType’s Billing screen estimates successful transcriptions on this Mac; optional correction and translation are separate requests.
What data is sent to OpenAI?
Audio is sent for transcription. Optional correction and translation send transcript text in separate requests, and optional nearby context sends a short excerpt with the transcription request.
Is audio stored?
Completed audio is not retained by default. A recoverable failure may keep bounded session-only audio for Retry, and optional recording-cache retention is local and user-controlled.
Which Mac apps work?
HoldType inserts accepted text in most Mac apps through macOS Accessibility support. If handoff fails, Last Result remains available for recovery.
Which languages are supported?
Transcription can use automatic or fixed source-language settings. Translation uses the target language you configure in HoldType.
Why does HoldType need macOS permissions?
Microphone access records speech, Input Monitoring supports the global shortcut, and Accessibility enables text insertion into the active app.
Is HoldType open source?
HoldType is source-available under FSL 1.1 with an MIT future license. Each released version converts to MIT two years after release.
Speak the thought. Keep the context.
Free app · No HoldType subscription · OpenAI usage billed directly · macOS 14+