Handy
Handy is a desktop speech-to-text app for macOS that lets you record with a shortcut and paste locally transcribed text into other apps.
What is Handy?
Handy is a speech-to-text app for macOS that helps you turn spoken words into text anywhere you can type. It is designed for quick dictation workflows: you press a keyboard shortcut, speak, stop recording, and Handy pastes the transcription into the active text field. The app runs transcription locally on your device, supports multiple downloadable models, and lets you choose options based on language, speed, and accuracy needs. It also includes settings for microphone selection, push-to-talk or toggle recording, audio feedback, paste methods, and shortcut customization. For users who want more control over output, Handy supports post-processing workflows and custom word handling. Published by Christopher Pais, it is aimed at people who want fast desktop dictation without relying on a browser tab or a cloud-first writing workflow.
Key features
- Start and stop dictation with a customizable keyboard shortcut.
- Transcribe speech locally on your device using downloadable speech models.
- Paste recognized text directly into the app or text field you are using.
- Choose from multiple paste methods for different apps and workflows.
- Select a preferred microphone and adjust recording behavior such as push-to-talk.
- Use post-processing to clean up or reformat transcribed text.
- Customize audio feedback, language settings, and other advanced options.
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Safety overview
Status: Mostly safe
Handy’s requested permissions are consistent with its purpose. On macOS it may ask for Microphone access to capture speech and Accessibility access to paste transcribed text into other apps. The app’s documentation states that transcription runs locally on the device, with normal network activity limited to downloading models and checking for updates unless you choose an optional cloud post-processing provider. If you enable launch at login, macOS may show the developer name Christopher Pais in Login Items instead of the app name, which is expected for this app.
Recommendation: Keep Handy if you use voice dictation or shortcut-based transcription on your Mac. If you no longer need it, you can remove the app and its support files, but doing so will delete downloaded models, recordings, logs, and settings used by your transcription workflow.
Common paths
/Applications/Handy.app
Support paths
~/Library/Application Support/com.pais.handy
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