Offline Whisper dictation for Windows, focused on privacy and local typing
Experience live voice typing into any focused text field by pressing a global hotkey: transcription appears as an overlay and the text is typed where the cursor sits. Eqho, from Daniel Mevit, is a minimalist Windows utility that runs OpenAI Whisper models locally. It supports GPU acceleration or CPU fallback, uses Alt+Q to start and stop dictation, and aims at privacy-conscious writers, developers, and professionals who need offline, local speech-to-text.
What does Eqho actually do?
Eqho runs speech-to-text locally using OpenAI Whisper models and injects the transcribed text into the currently focused application as virtual keyboard input. The app shows a live transcription overlay while you speak and uses a global hotkey (default Alt+Q) to toggle listening. Because it types into any field where you can normally enter text, it works with web browsers, editors, chat clients, and word processors without special integration.
Does Eqho slow down your system during transcription?
Performance depends on available hardware: Eqho supports GPU acceleration for NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel on Windows, and falls back to CPU when no dedicated graphics card is present. That means systems with a supported GPU get faster processing, while desktop machines without one run on CPU-only transcription. The app's minimalist tray interface suggests a small runtime footprint rather than a background service that consumes many resources.
Is Eqho safe to use on a production machine?
Eqho performs all recognition locally, so no audio leaves the computer and there are no API keys or cloud calls required. The project is open source under AGPL-3.0, which makes its operation transparent and auditable. These facts support a privacy-first deployment on machines where sending audio offsite is not acceptable, while also allowing administrators to inspect the code if they need to verify behavior.
Do I need technical knowledge to operate Eqho?
The app uses a single global hotkey to start and stop dictation and exposes a minimalist system tray interface, keeping interaction simple for non-technical users. Setting up hardware acceleration may require selecting the appropriate GPU support on Windows, which is a more technical step for users who want faster transcription. The developer targets a lightweight experience rather than layered onboarding or account setup.
Clear fit for privacy-minded dictation users, with a hardware trade-off
Eqho suits users who must keep speech data local and prefer a compact tool that types into any application. The main trade-off is hardware sensitivity: transcription speed and responsiveness depend on whether your system can use GPU acceleration or must rely on CPU-only processing. For those priorities, Eqho is a practical local dictation option with a single notable limitation tied to system resources.
