Download YapToText for your Mac

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Install YapToText from the Mac App Store. It is free, and both models come inside the app, so it dictates with Wi-Fi off from the first launch. If you would rather use Terminal, one Homebrew command installs the same app without the models, and you download a speech model before your first dictation.

Either way you need an Apple silicon Mac with macOS 14 or later, and two permissions: Microphone so the app can hear you, and Accessibility so it can type into other apps.

Download YapToText on the Mac App StoreThis app is completely free. You don't have to make an account. There are no subscriptions, no difficult downloads, and nothing is locked. Made for Apple silicon Macs. Source on GitHub.

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On this page: 10 sections
  1. Steps
  2. Check that your Mac can run it
  3. Install it from the Mac App Store
  4. Or install it with Homebrew
  5. Grant the two permissions
    1. Step 1: Let it hear you
    2. Step 2: Let it type for you
  6. Make your first dictation
  7. If it does not type anything
  8. Update it, remove it, or build it yourself
    1. Build it from source
  9. The short version
  10. Questions

Steps

  1. Install YapToText from the Mac App Store, or run brew install --cask ryleighnewman/yaptotext/yaptotext in Terminal.
  2. If you used Homebrew, open the AI Models page and download Whisper Large v3 Turbo (Q5), plus Phi-3.5 Mini Instruct if you want the modes that clean up your words.
  3. Open YapToText and allow Microphone access when macOS asks.
  4. Press Grant next to Accessibility on the Home page and switch YapToText on in System Settings, Privacy & Security, Accessibility.
  5. Click where the text should go, tap Right Command, talk, and tap Right Command again.

Check that your Mac can run it

YapToText has three requirements. You need an Apple silicon Mac, macOS 14 or later, and about 2.9 GB of space for the App Store build.

  • An Apple silicon Mac. Nothing has been tested on an Intel Mac, so I do not support one.
  • macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later. The Homebrew cask refuses anything older. On macOS 26 the interface picks up the Liquid Glass look.
  • A microphone. The Mac's own microphone works, and it hears you better than a Bluetooth headset, which sends sound at phone quality.

The App Store build needs about 2.9 GB of space, most of it the two models. The Homebrew build is about 12 MB to download and about 18 MB unpacked, plus the models you download. There is no iPhone, iPad, Windows or Linux version.

Install it from the Mac App Store

The Mac App Store build is the one I recommend, because there is nothing else to set up. It costs nothing, with no paid tier and no account to make. The pricing page says what free means here. The only thing in the app that takes money is a tip jar you can ignore, and no feature is locked behind it. Both models ship inside the App Store build, so there is nothing else to download.

  • You: Open YapToText on the Mac App Store and download it.
  • macOS: Downloads about 2.9 GB, most of it the two models: Whisper Large v3 Turbo (Q5) for speech, 574 MB, and Phi-3.5 Mini Instruct for cleanup, shown as 2.3 GB.
  • Check: YapToText is in your Applications folder, and when you open it, the capybara appears in your menu bar.

Updates come through the App Store like any other app. YapToText never checks a server for updates on its own.

App Store poster headed Yap it. Bam. It's typed. over the YapToText Home window and the three floating panel layouts.
Figure 1. One of the App Store posters, so you know the listing when you see it: the Home window, with the floating panel in its three layouts.

Or install it with Homebrew

Homebrew installs the same app from the same source, with three differences. It is signed with a Developer ID and notarized instead of App Store signed, it ships without the models, and it can trail the App Store build by one release. The What's new page lists both. Install it, then download a speech model before your first dictation.

Terminal: Install YapToText from my Homebrew tap.

brew install --cask ryleighnewman/yaptotext/yaptotext

What happens: YapToText lands in your Applications folder after a download of about 12 MB, and Homebrew prints a note to open AI Models and download a speech model. The app cannot dictate until one is installed.

The AI Models page in YapToText: Whisper Large v3 Turbo (Q5) and Phi-3.5 Mini Instruct marked Included, model library below.
Figure 2. The AI Models page. On the App Store build both defaults read Included, as here. On the Homebrew build, download a speech model on this page first.
  • You: Open YapToText, go to the AI Models page and download Whisper Large v3 Turbo (Q5), 574 MB. Add Phi-3.5 Mini Instruct, 2.3 GB, if you want Auto mode, Quick Edit or any other mode that cleans up your words.
  • YapToText: Fetches the files over HTTPS from Hugging Face and keeps them in its own container, where they survive updates. That download is the only network traffic the app starts, and only when you click it.
  • Check: The model shows as installed, and a test dictation types text. Until then, a dictation reports that no speech model is installed.

Raw Transcription needs only the speech model. Every other built-in mode, Auto mode's formatting and Quick Edit also run the cleanup model. The AI Models help page explains every model in the library.

Two more things to know. The cask installs YapToText into /Applications, so it replaces an App Store copy if one is there: pick one install method. And the models stay out of this build for a plain reason: with them the app is past GitHub's 2 GB limit for a release file, and without them it unpacks to about 18 MB.

Grant the two permissions

The first launch walks you through both permissions, and the Get set up card on the Home page shows them again any time. Microphone is required. Accessibility is what lets YapToText type into other apps. Without it, every dictation is still transcribed and copied to your clipboard instead.

Step 1: Let it hear you

  • You: Press Continue next to Microphone in the Get set up card, or start your first dictation.
  • macOS: Asks once whether YapToText may use the microphone. Allow it.
  • Check: The Microphone row shows a green check. If you declined by mistake, turn YapToText on in System Settings, Privacy & Security, Microphone.

Step 2: Let it type for you

  • You: Press Grant next to Accessibility in the same card.
  • macOS: Opens System Settings, Privacy & Security, Accessibility. An app cannot switch this on for itself, so you flip the switch next to YapToText.
  • Check: Within a couple of seconds the Get set up card leaves the Home page, because both permissions are now on. If the switch will not stay on, press Show in Finder and drag the app into the list, then press Recheck.
YapToText's Home page: the Start Dictation button, the Keys card with Right Command and Right Option, and Intelligent Insert.
Figure 3. The Home page once both permissions are on: the Get set up card is gone, and Start Dictation sits right under the welcome.

Accessibility also powers the Right Command key and reading the text you have selected. The backup shortcut, Control Option Space, works without it.

Make your first dictation

Your first dictation is one key, tapped twice. Click where the words go, tap Right Command, talk, and tap again. The words land where your cursor was. While you talk, Space pauses, Esc cancels, and a number key picks a mode.

The first dictation guide has the step-by-step version, with what you see at each step, and the keys and shortcuts page shows how to hold to talk or pick another key.

YapToText's floating dictation panel on a Mac: a live waveform, the sentence being typed, and cancel, pause and stop buttons.
Figure 4. The floating panel that appears when you tap Right Command: your voice as a wave, your words as they form, and the mode chips underneath.

If it does not type anything

  1. Click into the app first. YapToText never types into its own window, so a dictation started while it is in front goes to the clipboard. Press Command V to paste it.
  2. Turn on Accessibility. In System Settings, Privacy & Security, Accessibility, switch YapToText on. Without it, every dictation is copied to the clipboard instead of typed, and Right Command does nothing.
  3. Download a speech model. On the Homebrew build, nothing can be transcribed until Whisper Large v3 Turbo (Q5) or another speech model is installed on the AI Models page.
  4. Check the microphone. If the panel says it did not catch that, the app heard silence. Pick your microphone in Settings, General, Microphone, and watch the live meter while you talk.

The troubleshooting page goes further, and the help index lists every guide. If it is Apple's own dictation that is giving you trouble, start with Mac dictation not working instead.

Update it, remove it, or build it yourself

The App Store build updates through the Mac App Store. The Homebrew build updates with one command.

Terminal: Update the Homebrew build to the newest version in my tap.

brew upgrade --cask yaptotext

What happens: Homebrew replaces the app with the newest cask version. Your settings, history and downloaded models stay, because they live in the app's own container.

The first Homebrew build, 1.3.1, could not use the microphone. 1.4 fixed it, so if you installed that early, upgrade.

To remove the Homebrew build together with what it stored, use the zap option.

Terminal: Uninstall YapToText and its data.

brew uninstall --zap --cask yaptotext

What happens: Homebrew removes the app and moves its container and support folders to the Trash, which takes your settings, history, saved audio and downloaded models with them.

For the App Store build, Erase All Data in Settings, Advanced deletes your settings, modes, dictionaries, commands, AI actions, history and saved audio, then relaunches at the welcome screen. After that, move the app to the Trash.

Build it from source

The whole app is on GitHub under the GPL-3.0. You need Xcode 26 or later. Clone it, open YapToText.xcodeproj, choose the YapToText scheme and press Command R. It is sandboxed and builds the way it ships. The source on GitHub can trail the App Store build by a release. What's new lists both.

The short version

  • Most people. Install from the Mac App Store. Both models are inside, so it works offline from the first launch.
  • Homebrew users. Run the one command, then download Whisper Large v3 Turbo (Q5) on the AI Models page before you dictate.
  • Everyone. Grant Microphone and Accessibility, click where the words go, and tap Right Command twice.
  • The price. It is free. The pricing page says what free means.
  • Still choosing. The comparison sets it beside the other Mac dictation apps.

Install, grant two permissions, tap Right Command, talk. If something here does not match what you see, tell me on GitHub. Every issue gets read.

Download YapToText on the Mac App StoreThis app is completely free. You don't have to make an account. There are no subscriptions, no difficult downloads, and nothing is locked. Made for Apple silicon Macs. Source on GitHub.

About the author. Ryleigh Newman is a developer whose hands make typing difficult and who dictates every day with YapToText, the app this site describes. Facts about other apps come from their own sites, with the date they were read. More about the project.

Sources

Questions

Is the Homebrew version of YapToText the same as the App Store version?

Almost. It is built from the same source, but it is signed with a Developer ID and notarized, it ships without the speech and cleanup models, and it can trail the App Store build by a release.

Which model should I download after installing YapToText with Homebrew?

Whisper Large v3 Turbo (Q5), the recommended speech model, at 574 MB. Raw Transcription needs only that. Add Phi-3.5 Mini Instruct, about 2.3 GB, for Auto mode, Quick Edit and the other modes that clean up your words.

Does YapToText need an internet connection?

No, not the App Store build. Both models are inside the app, so it works offline from the first launch. The Homebrew build needs a connection once, for the model download you start yourself.

Can I have the App Store and Homebrew versions installed at the same time?

No. The Homebrew cask installs YapToText into /Applications and replaces an App Store copy that is already there. Pick one install method.

How do I update YapToText?

The App Store build updates through the Mac App Store. The Homebrew build updates with brew upgrade --cask yaptotext. The app never checks for updates on its own.