AirType

AirType is a Windows desktop application for system-wide voice dictation. It records from a selected microphone, transcribes locally or through a configured cloud provider, optionally cleans the transcript, and inserts the result into the active application.

Release status: AirType's official Windows packages are currently distributed without an Authenticode signature. Stable MSI and ZIP filenames retain -unsigned so their signature status is never hidden. Download only from this repository's Releases page and verify the published SHA-256 digest.

Features

• Configurable global recording hotkey and microphone selection.
• Local ASR using faster-whisper with a portable Python runtime.
• Cloud ASR through Gemini, Groq, or OpenRouter using your own credentials.
• Optional transcript cleanup with context, formatting, prompts, and dictionary guidance.
• Context-aware insertion with clipboard-preserving fallbacks.
• Local history containing audio, raw ASR text, cleaner text, duration, and provider metadata.
• Per-session ASR/cleaner transcript switching and history reruns.
• Vocabulary, correction dictionary, notes, prompts, statistics, tray, and startup controls.
• Light and dark themes with a compact recording capsule.

Data And Privacy

AirType does not require an AirType account and does not send product telemetry to an AirType-operated server. Recordings, transcripts, notes, settings, logs, and provider traces are stored under %LOCALAPPDATA%\AirType\.

Cloud ASR and cleanup send audio or transcript content to the provider selected in Settings. Local ASR keeps transcription on the computer, although model or runtime installation requires downloading release/model files. Read PRIVACY.md before using sensitive recordings.

Installation

The primary Windows package is a self-contained x64 MSI installer. A matching self-contained ZIP is available for portable use. Neither distribution requires a separate .NET Desktop Runtime, Windows App SDK, or Python installation.

Download only from GitHub Releases and verify the matching SHA-256 sidecar before running the MSI or extracting the portable ZIP. Because current packages are unsigned, Windows may show Unknown publisher or a Microsoft Defender SmartScreen reputation warning. See docs/INSTALL.md before choosing to run the package.

Building From Source

Requirements:

• Windows 10 build 19041 or later, or Windows 11, on x64.
• The .NET 8 SDK selected by global.json.
• PowerShell and Git.
• Python 3.12 for worker tests or notification-sound regeneration.

From the repository root:

dotnet clean .\AirType\AirType.csproj
dotnet build .\AirType\AirType.csproj
.\tools\test.ps1 -NoRestore
dotnet run --project .\AirType\AirType.csproj

Run Local ASR worker tests:

Set-Location .\AirType.LocalAsrWorker
python -m pip install -e ".[dev]"
python -m pytest .\tests -q

Prepare the portable Local ASR runtime used by release builds:

.\tools\prepare-local-asr-runtime.ps1 -SkipModel

This downloads pinned CPython, Python wheels, and Microsoft Visual C++ runtime components into ignored build directories. The script uses a pinned WiX build tool to extract Microsoft-signed app-local runtime files; it does not install Python or the Visual C++ Redistributable globally.

Repository Layout

• AirType/: WPF application and first-party production assets.
• AirType.LocalAsrWorker/: faster-whisper worker and Python tests.
• AirType.Tests/: xUnit application and packaging tests.
• docs/: installation, architecture, privacy-adjacent, and release guidance.
• tools/: deterministic build, audit, packaging, and asset-generation scripts.
• .github/: continuous-integration, security, and release workflows.

See docs/ARCHITECTURE.md for service boundaries and the transcription data flow.

Release Integrity And Code Signing

Current official packages are explicitly unsigned and follow the AirType Release Integrity and Code Signing Policy. AirType does not claim endorsement or signing services from SignPath. Stable unsigned package names retain -unsigned, include SHA-256 sidecars, and must match the exact hashes documented in their GitHub Release notes.

Contributing And Security

Read CONTRIBUTING.md and sign every contribution under the Developer's Certificate of Origin. Follow CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md. Report vulnerabilities privately as described in SECURITY.md.

License And Branding

First-party source and reproducible first-party assets are licensed under AGPL-3.0-only. Third-party components retain their own licenses as documented in THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md and each release's generated dependency inventory.

The source license permits commercial use subject to its terms. It does not grant rights to the AirType name, logo, or official-release identity. Modified distributions must follow TRADEMARKS.md.