Quickstart
From download to your first dictation in a few minutes. The one-time download and first-run setup take a little longer (see the notes below), but the hands-on steps are quick.
1. Download
Go to the
latest release
and download VoiceFlow-Setup.exe.
2. Run the installer
Double-click VoiceFlow-Setup.exe.
The installer is per-user (no administrator rights needed). It adds a Start-Menu shortcut and offers an optional start-on-login checkbox.
3. First launch (one-time auto-configuration)
The first time VoiceFlow runs, it configures itself for your hardware: it checks your CPU, memory, and GPU and picks the best local speech model and settings.
- This happens once, and runs entirely on your machine (nothing is uploaded).
- It typically takes about 30 seconds to a few minutes, depending on your hardware.
- You see a "configuring" indicator while it works: a normal wait, not a freeze.
4. Your first dictation
- Place your cursor where you want text (any app: editor, browser, chat).
- Hold
Ctrl+Space, speak a sentence, then release. - VoiceFlow transcribes locally, cleans the text, and pastes it at your cursor.
5. Settings and modes
Open the tray icon, then Settings, to change the hotkey, output mode, and providers. The
output mode (raw / clean / summary / prompt /
code) can also be switched per capture from the tray menu. See the
guide for what each mode does and how to enable optional LLM
cleanup. Settings live in %APPDATA%\VoiceFlow\.
FAQ
Is it really free?
Yes. VoiceFlow is free to use. It is proprietary software (the source is not public, and you may not copy, modify, or redistribute it), but you can install and run it free of charge for personal or internal business use. See the LICENSE.
Does it work offline?
Yes. On the default settings, speech-to-text and cleanup both run on your machine, and the installer bundles the speech models, so you can dictate with no internet at all.
Do I need a GPU?
No. VoiceFlow runs on CPU. An NVIDIA GPU (with CUDA) makes transcription faster, but it is optional. AMD and Intel GPUs are not used for acceleration; those machines fall back to CPU, which is still fast enough for everyday dictation.
Which languages does it support?
VoiceFlow uses Whisper, which supports many languages. It works best when you set your language explicitly in Settings (that is also faster than auto-detect).
How do I get better cleanup (summary and prompt modes)?
The clean mode works offline with no setup. For summary and
prompt, results are better with a language model:
- Local LLM: point VoiceFlow at a local OpenAI-compatible server (for example, Ollama or LM Studio). This keeps everything on your machine; see privacy for the on-device caveat.
- Cloud LLM: point it at a cloud provider for the fastest, highest-quality cleanup (your text is sent to that provider).
Both are opt-in and configured in Settings or the config file. If no LLM is configured,
summary and prompt fall back to the offline cleaner.
Does it send my voice anywhere?
No, not on the default path. Audio and text stay on your machine. Cloud providers are opt-in only. See privacy for the full statement and a recipe to verify it yourself.
How do I uninstall VoiceFlow?
Uninstall it like any Windows app: Settings, Apps, Installed apps, VoiceFlow,
Uninstall (or use the "Uninstall VoiceFlow" Start-Menu shortcut). That removes the per-user
install, including the bundled speech models. A couple of things are left behind on purpose so
you do not lose data if you reinstall (remove them manually for a clean wipe): your settings and
dictation history in %APPDATA%\VoiceFlow\, and any extra speech models you downloaded
later (in the faster-whisper / Hugging Face model cache).
How do I update to a new version?
VoiceFlow v0.1.x has no auto-update. To update, download the latest
VoiceFlow-Setup.exe from the
releases page
and run it over your existing install. Your settings and history in
%APPDATA%\VoiceFlow\ are preserved. Each installer is the full download; there is no
smaller delta update yet.
Is the source code available?
No. VoiceFlow is proprietary. It is not code-signed yet, so download only from the official releases page and verify the SHA-256 checksum to confirm your copy is intact.
Troubleshooting
Antivirus or "Windows protected your PC" (SmartScreen) warnings
This is the most common first-run question. VoiceFlow's installer is a native, compressed Windows binary, and it is a free release that is not code-signed (a code-signing certificate is a paid, recurring cost). Two things can trigger a warning:
- SmartScreen "unknown publisher". Because the installer is not signed, Microsoft SmartScreen cannot identify a publisher, so it shows "Windows protected your PC" with an unknown-publisher message. This is expected for an unsigned app; it is not a sign that anything is wrong with the file.
- Antivirus heuristics. Some antivirus engines flag freshly released, compressed, unsigned executables as a precaution (a false positive), even when nothing is wrong.
What to do: on the SmartScreen screen, click More info, Run anyway. If your antivirus quarantines the installer, you can allow or restore it in your AV's quarantine or exclusions screen. For peace of mind, download only from the official releases page and verify the SHA-256 checksum before running it.
No microphone / wrong device
If VoiceFlow cannot find a microphone, you get a clear error on the first capture (it does not fail silently). Check Windows Settings, System, Sound, Input and make sure the right device is set as default and is not muted, then try again.
My GPU is not being used
VoiceFlow only accelerates transcription on NVIDIA GPUs (CUDA). AMD and Intel GPUs are not used for acceleration; those machines run on CPU, which is still fast enough for everyday dictation.
The first dictation is slow or looks frozen
The first transcription after you launch VoiceFlow (or after an update) loads the speech model into memory, which adds a one-off delay of a few seconds. This is normal; subsequent dictations are fast. If it seems stuck for much longer than that, check the microphone advice above and the logs.
Models and offline
The installer bundles the speech models, so transcription works with no download. If you select a model that was not bundled, VoiceFlow may need to fetch it the first time, which requires a network connection.
Hotkey conflicts
If Ctrl+Space (or another hotkey) clashes with another app, rebind it in the tray,
Settings, Hotkeys.
Where are the logs and settings?
In %APPDATA%\VoiceFlow\: paste that into the File Explorer address bar. You find
the config and log files there, handy to attach to a
bug report.
Privacy
On the default path, nothing you say or type with VoiceFlow leaves your machine. This section explains exactly what that means, and how you can verify it yourself rather than take our word for it.
The guarantee
With the default settings (or a fresh install with no changes):
- Speech-to-text runs on your device. Your audio is transcribed locally by Whisper. The audio is never uploaded.
- Cleanup runs on your device. The built-in rule-based cleaner fixes punctuation and removes filler entirely locally. Your text is never uploaded.
- No telemetry. VoiceFlow does not phone home, send usage analytics, or report crashes to us.
What is opt-in (and off by default)
VoiceFlow can use cloud services, but only if you turn them on. Cloud speech-to-text and cloud LLM cleanup are disabled by default. Enabling them requires editing the configuration to point at a provider and supply credentials, so it cannot happen by accident. If you enable a cloud provider, then (and only then) the relevant audio or text is sent to that provider so it can do the work. That is the trade-off you opt into for cloud quality and speed.
:cloud) actually route through a remote server, so your text would
leave the machine despite the "local" label. For true zero-egress, use a genuinely on-device
model.Verify it yourself
You do not have to trust us. You can prove that a default dictation sends nothing over the network:
- Block VoiceFlow from the network. Either create an outbound block rule in Windows
Defender Firewall for the installed app at its full path
(
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\VoiceFlow\VoiceFlow.exe; a bare program name will not create a working rule, so use the full path), or simply disable your network adapter / unplug for the test. - Dictate as normal: hold the hotkey, speak, release.
- Confirm the text still appears at your cursor, with no network traffic (watch Resource Monitor, Network, or note that the firewall rule did not prompt).
If transcription and cleanup still work with the network blocked, you have confirmed the default path is fully local.
Verifying your download
Every VoiceFlow release ships with a SHA-256 checksum so you can confirm your
VoiceFlow-Setup.exe downloaded correctly and has not been tampered with before you
run it. The check takes under a minute in PowerShell.
Check the SHA-256 checksum
Each release includes a SHA256SUMS.txt file alongside the installer. Download both
from the official release, then in PowerShell (in the folder where you saved them):
Get-FileHash .\VoiceFlow-Setup.exe -Algorithm SHA256 Get-Content .\SHA256SUMS.txt
The hash printed by Get-FileHash must match the one in
SHA256SUMS.txt (case-insensitive).
If the checksum does not match
If the hashes differ, do not run the installer: your download is corrupted or has been tampered with. Re-download from the official releases page. If it still does not match, please report it privately via SECURITY.
Read the full guide, back to the home page, or download VoiceFlow.