# Momo Whisper

> Momo Whisper (formerly Whisper Momo) is a free macOS menu-bar app for voice dictation and translation, currently in **public beta**. Hold Fn to dictate into any app, hold Fn+Shift to speak one language and have it typed in another (for example, speak Thai and type English), or highlight any text to translate it in place. It was made by a Thai designer for Thai speakers who work in English, and it supports 16 languages. It runs on Groq with your own free Groq API key (optional: without one it works in on-device Local mode; translation needs a key).

Key facts:

- **What it does:** press-and-hold voice typing for the Mac. Speak, release, and the cleaned-up text is typed right where your cursor is, in any app (browser, chat, email, docs).
- **Who it's for:** Thai speakers on a Mac who write in English at work, and anyone who wants dictation plus translation in one menu-bar app.
- **Three modes:**
  - Hold **Fn**: dictate in the language you speak.
  - Hold **Fn+Shift**: speak and get it typed translated into the target language you picked. The source language is auto-detected.
  - **Highlight to translate:** select text in any app, click the floating button, and the translation appears next to it. Pick any of the 16 target languages in the popup.
- **Languages (16):** Thai, English, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Malay, Hindi, Arabic, Russian.
- **Tone control:** six tones for Thai and English: Email, Professional, Workplace Chat, Casual, AI-prompt, No-filter. Other languages translate in a clean, natural style.
- **Personal dictionary:** teach it names and jargon the recognizer keeps missing (product names, teammates, Thai nicknames), and it fixes the mis-spellings from then on.
- **Screen context (optional):** Momo can read a little text near your cursor (names, terms, the chat you're replying to) so it spells them right. On-device, never stored; can be turned off.
- **Connect your AI (MCP, optional):** Momo ships a local MCP server (`/Applications/Momo Whisper.app/Contents/MacOS/momo-mcp`, stdio; its only outbound call is `send_feedback`, after you approve). Claude Desktop installs it in one click (momo-whisper.mcpb from the latest release); Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Gemini CLI and any local-MCP app connect via the command. Your AI can read your dictation history and dictionary and add corrections and vocabulary (shown as "Added by your AI" in Settings → Dictionary, removable there). It cannot change the app, settings, prompts or keys, run commands, or reach the internet (except that approved feedback); removing your own entries asks you first. Setup: server name `momo-whisper`, command `/Applications/Momo Whisper.app/Contents/MacOS/momo-mcp` (no arguments); Claude Code: `claude mcp add -s user momo-whisper -- "/Applications/Momo Whisper.app/Contents/MacOS/momo-mcp"`; most other apps: `{"mcpServers":{"momo-whisper":{"command":"/Applications/Momo Whisper.app/Contents/MacOS/momo-mcp"}}}`. Tools: recent_dictations (read recent history), get_dictionary (read the dictionary), add_correction (heard → meant), add_vocabulary (a term to listen for), remove_correction (its own entries; yours only after you click Remove in Momo's dialog), send_feedback (sends feedback to our inbox, only after you approve). In Claude Code the prompts appear as `/mcp__momo-whisper__fix-my-words`, `/mcp__momo-whisper__learn-my-names`, `/mcp__momo-whisper__review-dictionary`, `/mcp__momo-whisper__send-feedback` (type /mcp to see them). Your AI shows changes first; nothing is saved until you approve. Details: https://nabhak.github.io/Momo-Whisper/install.html#mcp
- **Hotkey:** Fn hold-to-talk by default, rebindable to any modifier or combo. Menu bar only, no Dock icon.
- **Engine:** Groq. whisper-large-v3 for speech, gpt-oss-120b for translation, with quota-aware fallback.
- **Price:** free to use (proprietary freeware, not open source). A Groq API key is optional: without one Momo works in on-device Local mode (Apple Speech Recognition plus local cleanup). A free key from console.groq.com gives better accuracy and enables translation; Groq's free tier is generous for everyday dictation.
- **Privacy:** pure Swift, no Electron. A key, if you add one, is stored locally, and audio and text go only to the Groq call you configured. Local mode keeps audio on the Mac. Momo can also read the text box you're typing in, only on your Mac and with no AI, for two things: to learn a word you fix right after dictating (it stops when you leave the box or after 3 minutes, never touches password fields, and you can turn it off in Settings → Privacy → "Learn from my fixes"), and for "Fix wrong keyboard", which converts the text you select when you tap right Option. Nothing from this is sent anywhere.
- **Requirements:** macOS 13 or later. Permissions: Microphone (to hear you) and Accessibility (to type into other apps); Speech Recognition is optional.
- **Install:** download the zip, unzip, and drag Momo Whisper into Applications. The app is not Apple-notarized, so the first launch shows "Apple could not verify…". Right-click the app and choose Open (or use System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway, or run `xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "/Applications/Momo Whisper.app"`). This is needed only once. Then grant permissions and, optionally, paste your Groq key in Settings.
- **Compared with other Mac dictation apps (such as Superwhisper or Wispr Flow):** Momo Whisper is a small, free app focused on translation: speak-to-translate, highlight-to-translate in any app, and Thai/English tones, running on your own Groq key.
- **License:** Momo Whisper is proprietary freeware (© 2026 Nabhak. All rights reserved.); its source code is not public.
- **Credit:** built on the open-source WhisperApp by Gamezxz (MIT license).

## Pages

- [Home](https://nabhak.github.io/Momo-Whisper/): features, demos, and FAQ
- [How to install](https://nabhak.github.io/Momo-Whisper/install.html): six-step, beginner-friendly setup guide, including the first-open warning and the Groq key
- [How to install — plain Markdown](https://nabhak.github.io/Momo-Whisper/install.md): the full install + MCP setup guide as text (every step, every config snippet), for AI assistants
- [Full text for AI](https://nabhak.github.io/Momo-Whisper/llms-full.txt): this summary plus the complete install guide in one file
- [Story](https://nabhak.github.io/Momo-Whisper/story.html): why it was made, and why macOS shows a first-open warning (Apple's $99/year notarization)
- [Feedback](https://nabhak.github.io/Momo-Whisper/feedback.html): send a note to the maker (bug, wrong word, feature wish); optional email for a reply

## Download

- [Latest release (zip)](https://github.com/Nabhak/Momo-Whisper/releases/latest/download/Momo-Whisper.zip): always the newest version
- [Claude Desktop connector (.mcpb)](https://github.com/Nabhak/Momo-Whisper/releases/latest/download/momo-whisper.mcpb): one-click MCP install for Claude Desktop
- [All releases](https://github.com/Nabhak/Momo-Whisper/releases)
- [GitHub](https://github.com/Nabhak/Momo-Whisper): releases and website (no source code)

## Optional

- [Original WhisperApp by Gamezxz](https://github.com/Gamezxz/WhisperApp): the MIT-licensed app Momo Whisper is built on
- [Groq console](https://console.groq.com): where to get the free API key