Use NVIDIA Parakeet for dictation on your Mac.
Parakeet is NVIDIA’s speech-recognition model family. Muesli uses CoreML versions through FluidAudio to run dictation on Apple Silicon. Install the app, download a model, and use a hotkey to paste transcribed speech at the cursor. No terminal setup or NVIDIA GPU is needed for this Mac workflow.
Updated
Model details checked against NVIDIA’s model card and Muesli 0.8.3 documentation on September 9, 2026. No new latency or accuracy benchmark was run for this guide.
Should I choose Parakeet v3 or v2?
The v3 model card lists Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, and Ukrainian.
NVIDIA’s model files and the CoreML files distributed for a Mac runtime are different packages. Use Muesli’s model manager for this workflow.
Scroll the table sideways to compare all columns.
| Model | Languages | Use in Muesli |
|---|---|---|
| Parakeet TDT v3 | 25 languages, including English; automatic language detection. | The recommended starting model in Muesli 0.8.3. Its app download is approximately 450 MB. |
| Parakeet TDT v2 | English only. | An alternative to compare with v3 on your own English recordings. App download is approximately 450 MB. |
| Whisper | Language support depends on the selected variant. | Compare when you need another language or get recurring recognition errors with Parakeet. |
Set up Parakeet dictation in Muesli
Install Muesli
Apple Silicon Mac, macOS 14.2 or later. Some models require a newer macOS version. Download the app and move it to Applications. You can also install the Homebrew cask.
Download Parakeet v3
Choose it during onboarding or open Models. Wait for downloading and preparation to finish. Select it as your dictation model.
Finish permissions and hotkey setup
Allow Microphone, Input Monitoring, and Accessibility access. Reopen Muesli if prompted, then complete the dictation test.
Dictate into a text field
Open Notes, place the cursor in a note, hold your configured hotkey, speak, and release. Review the pasted text.
Add the vocabulary you use
Use the personal dictionary for recurring names and terms. If mistakes persist, try another local model with the same sample.
brew install --cask muesliWhat does TDT mean?
TDT stands for Token-and-Duration Transducer. The model predicts text tokens and how far to advance through the audio. NVIDIA’s v3 model pairs this decoder with a FastConformer encoder.
That architecture is one part of dictation latency. Audio capture, model loading, recognition, optional text cleanup, and paste behavior all contribute to how quickly a sentence reaches your document.
How fast is Parakeet on my Mac?
Measure the time from releasing the hotkey until the final text appears. Record the Mac chip, app version, model, recording length, and whether cleanup is enabled. Compare the first run after launch with several subsequent runs.
A model benchmark on an NVIDIA GPU does not establish end-to-end latency on a Mac. Longer recordings and text cleanup can also change the result. Use the same phrases and settings when comparing Parakeet with Whisper.
What should I check if recognition is wrong?
Confirm that the model supports the language you are speaking. Check the microphone input and try a clear sample without background speech. For names and abbreviations, add dictionary entries and repeat the sample.
Parakeet transcribes speech. Meeting speaker labels, echo handling, and summaries are separate parts of Muesli. Choosing Parakeet alone does not guarantee accurate speaker assignments or a particular note format.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an NVIDIA GPU to use Parakeet on Mac?
No. Muesli uses a CoreML runtime on Apple Silicon for its Parakeet models. NVIDIA GPU instructions for other runtimes do not apply to this setup.
Is Parakeet English-only?
Parakeet TDT v2 is English-only. TDT v3 supports 25 languages. Check the specific checkpoint rather than assuming all Parakeet models have the same language support.
Can Parakeet dictation work offline?
Yes, with the local model installed. Use local cleanup or disable cleanup if you want the full dictation workflow to work without internet.
Is Parakeet always more accurate than Whisper?
No single model is best for every voice, language, or recording. Compare recognition errors and correction effort on examples from your own work.