Local-first AI for Mac
Muesli treats speech-to-text as a Mac-level feature. Dictation and transcription start on your device, not in a hosted speech pipeline.
AI that stays on your Mac.
Muesli turns speech into text locally, so everyday dictation and meeting transcripts do not have to begin with a cloud upload.
Private speech-to-text by default
Everyday voice input should not require uploading raw audio before it becomes text.
Open-source and inspectable
The app is public on GitHub, so model routing, permissions, paste behavior, and local storage choices can be inspected instead of guessed.
Privacy is easier when less leaves in the first place.
Speech-to-text should sit inside the device boundary. Your Mac hears the audio, transcribes it, and gives you text. More complex work can still go to stronger models when you choose, but transcription should not start with a cloud upload.
Transcribe on the device
Speech-to-text should feel like part of the operating system: speak, transcribe locally, paste or save the text.
Use cloud GPUs for harder work
Use the cloud for heavier reasoning, summaries, downloads, and integrations. Do not use it as the default path for basic transcription.
Inspectability over slogans
“Private” means more when the code, storage model, permissions, and integration boundaries are visible. Muesli is open-source so those claims can be checked.
Local transcription. Explicit connections.
Muesli is not pretending the internet does not exist. It makes the boundary clear: speech-to-text starts on the Mac, storage stays local, and external providers are named parts of the workflow.
Apple Silicon
Runs speech models on the Mac instead of sending every utterance to a server.
CoreML + Neural Engine
Keeps supported ASR models fast and Mac-native instead of wrapping a web app.
Local storage
Dictations, transcripts, and meeting records stay in app storage on the machine.
Optional providers
Cloud summaries and integrations are explicit choices, not the default transcription path.
Open-source is how trust is established.
A privacy claim is weak if the product is a sealed box. Muesli’s code is public, so the important details can be inspected: what permissions are requested, where transcripts are stored, which model path runs, and when an optional integration is allowed to send data elsewhere.
Permissions are tied to features
Microphone, Accessibility, Input Monitoring, Screen Recording, and Calendar each map to concrete app behavior.
Storage is local by default
Dictations, meetings, transcripts, and notes are kept in app storage on the Mac instead of a hosted dashboard.
Integrations stay visible
OpenAI, OpenRouter, ChatGPT, Google Calendar, and model downloads are optional layers, not hidden transcription defaults.
What local-first means here.
Short answers about Muesli’s local transcription path, optional network features, and open-source design.
What does local-first mean for Muesli?
It means speech-to-text runs on your Mac first. Dictation and meeting transcription start with on-device models and local app storage, not a hosted speech-to-text API.
Does Muesli work without the cloud?
Normal dictation and local transcription can run after models are installed. The network is still useful for downloads, updates, calendar integrations, and optional summaries.
Is Muesli open-source?
Yes. Muesli is open-source, so the app behavior, model choices, macOS permissions, and storage decisions can be inspected on GitHub.
Why does local-first matter for voice?
Voice often contains names, customer details, private thoughts, and unfinished work. Basic transcription should not require sending that raw audio to another service.
What data is still sent to third-party services?
Optional features can send data to services you configure, such as OpenAI, OpenRouter, ChatGPT, Google Calendar, or model/download providers. Those integrations are separate from the default local transcription path.
Is Muesli a native Mac app?
Yes. Muesli is a native macOS app built for Apple Silicon, CoreML, and the Apple Neural Engine rather than an Electron wrapper around a cloud transcription service.
Try speech-to-text that starts on the machine you already trust.
Open-source, Mac-native, and designed to keep the default path close.
Download Muesli