Wordbird: free dictation for Mac running Nvidia Parakeet locally

Name: Wordbird: free dictation for Mac running Nvidia Parakeet locally
Availability: InStock
Author: earthnail

by earthnail·Mar 25, 2026·5 points·0 comments

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AI Analysis

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Free Wispr Flow alternative with WORDBIRD.md for project-specific term correction.

Strengths

•WORDBIRD.md file teaches model project-specific terminology and brand names
•LLM post-processing fixes transcription errors with contextual awareness
•VS Code extension works over SSH for remote development workflows

Weaknesses

•Apple Silicon only — requires MLX and macOS, no Windows or Intel support
•Nvidia Parakeet models may not match largest cloud APIs for edge cases

Post Description

Dear HN,

Wordbird is an open-source voice dictation app for macOS, powered by Nvidia Parakeet running entirely locally on Apple Silicon via MLX. You can teach it project-specific terms like brand names or frameworks using a project-level WORDBIRD.md file.

Press a hotkey, speak, and your words are transcribed and pasted into whatever app is focused. A small LLM post-processes the transcription to fix errors. If you use apps like VS Code, Zed, Terminal.app or iTerm, Wordbird will know which directory you're in, look up a project-specific WORDBIRD.md file, and if it exists, use it for post-processing the transcription. With the VS Code extension this even works via SSH.

My friend Till Hoffmann wrote this because he was "tired of yet another subscription", and standard dictation just gets too many technical terms wrong. I'm posting this here on his behalf because he's not as active on HN. I've really fallen in love with Wordbird, already made some small PRs, and I hope that many here will find it equally useful.

Really eager to hear feedback (I'll make sure Till monitors this thread as well)!