blitztext-app-linux/linux

Blitztext for Linux (native dictation)

A native Linux port of the Blitztext workflow: focus any text field → press a hotkey → speak → the text is typed into that field, optionally rewritten by an LLM first (e.g. turn rough speech into a nicer, more detailed email).

This runs on the host (not in a container), so it can type into any application — the Linux equivalent of the macOS app's Accessibility-based auto-paste. (A sandboxed Docker/browser version can't do that; an earlier experiment along those lines was moved out to ~/Docker/correspondence/blitztext.) Batch transcription is local via faster-whisper; live streaming can use a local Riva/NIM realtime server. Only the optional rewrite step calls out to an LLM.

  

Inspiration

Blitztext App Linux is inspired by cmagnussen/blitztext-app, the original macOS menu-bar workflow for turning speech into text and cleaner writing. This Linux version keeps the workflow but uses Linux-native pieces: GTK, AppIndicator, global hotkeys, faster-whisper, optional Riva/NIM realtime STT, and xdotool.

How it works

hotkey ──▶ record mic (pw-record/arecord) ──▶ faster-whisper (local)
                                                    │
                          ┌── mode "transcribe" ────┤
                          │                          └── mode "rewrite": LLM (OpenAI-compatible)
                          ▼
                 xdotool types it into the focused window

mode "stream" ──▶ mic PCM chunks ──▶ Riva/NIM realtime WebSocket ──▶ live xdotool typing

Each normal hotkey toggles: press to start recording, press again to stop — then it transcribes, optionally rewrites, and types the result where your cursor is. Streaming workflows type stable words live while you speak.

Cancel by voice: say "abbrechen" (or "cancel") at the start or end of a clip and the whole dictation is discarded — never routed, rewritten, or typed. It's the rescue for an accidentally triggered (e.g. wakeword) recording. Set the words under [routing] cancel_keywords (default ["abbrechen", "cancel"]; an empty list turns it off).

Send by voice: say a distinctive phrase like "computer send" at the start or end of a clip and the word is stripped, then the rest is typed and submitted with Enter — the spoken equivalent of "stop + paste + Enter", ideal hands-free. Off by default; set the phrases under [routing] send_keywords (use a multi-word phrase so a sentence merely ending in "send" doesn't submit by accident).

While you dictate, an optional on-screen overlay (Settings → General → "Visual overlay", default on) shows a translucent bubble at the cursor with a pulsing microphone, a live waveform of your mic level, and the recognised text — word-by-word in streaming mode, or the final result as a brief confirmation. Its tail points at the text caret (via AT-SPI accessibility) or the mouse pointer; it is click-through, never steals focus, and also gives hands-free wakeword sessions visible feedback. Tune the anchor with [general] overlay_anchor. X11 only.

Screenshots

Everything is configured in the Settings window — the sidebar gives quick access to every page. Click any image to open it full size.

Main panel & overlay

 

Left: Control panel listing all presets with icons, descriptions, and hotkeys.    Right: On-screen overlay showing the live waveform while listening.

Overlay after transcription — preset name and recognised text appear at the cursor.

Settings — General & Input

 

Presets — dictation actions with keywords, hotkeys, LLM mode, and custom prompts.    General — microphone, output mode, language hint, notifications, overlay, autostart.

 

Keyboard — modifier-key scheme or direct hotkeys, quality gate, audio cues.    Wakeword — hands-free dictation via a Wyoming/openWakeWord server, with live level meter and model picker.

Settings — Engines

 

STT Engines — speech-to-text back-ends (local faster-whisper, OpenAI-compatible server, or Riva realtime), with green/red status dot and Test button.    LLM Engines — language-model back-ends for text rewriting (LAN server or cloud service).

Settings — Benchmark

 

Benchmark — STT — compare engines against a reference WAV + transcript; table shows speed, accuracy, device, and language support.    Benchmark — Wakeword — stress-test wakeword detection via a TTS server, reporting recall and false-fire rates per voice.

Settings — Log & About

 

Log — live activity log for recording, transcription, routing, and wakeword events.    About — version, source link, inline changelog, and licence.

Requirements

• X11 session (this uses xdotool; Wayland would need ydotool/wtype).
• Host tools: xdotool, notify-send (libnotify-bin), and a recorder (pw-record from pipewire, or arecord/parecord).

  sudo apt install xdotool libnotify-bin pipewire-bin
  

• Python 3.11+.
• Optional realtime STT streaming: a Riva/NIM realtime server such as Nemotron ASR Streaming, reachable through /v1/realtime.

Install

Option A — Debian package (recommended on Ubuntu/Debian)

Build a .deb and install it with the Software app or apt:

cd linux
bash packaging/build-deb.sh            # -> dist/blitztext_<ver>_arm64.deb
sudo apt install ./dist/blitztext_*.deb   # or double-click the .deb in Files

This installs blitztext to /opt/blitztext (a self-contained bundle — no pip step), adds a Blitztext entry to your app grid, and pulls in the system deps (python3-gi, xdotool, libnotify-bin, a recorder). Launch it from the app grid, or run blitztext / blitztext gui from a terminal. Remove with sudo apt remove blitztext.

Option B — run from source (venv)

cd linux
./install.sh

This creates .venv, installs the Python dependencies from requirements.txt, and writes the default config to ~/.config/blitztext/config.toml.

For the tray from source, the venv must be built on a Python that can see the system python3-gi — install.sh uses python3 -m venv --system-site-packages, so use the system /usr/bin/python3 (a conda/miniforge Python won't see the apt-installed gi). The .deb handles this for you.

Run

Three front-ends, same engine layer (STT engines + global hotkeys + xdotool typing):

# optional: only needed for the "rewrite" workflows
export OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...

.venv/bin/python -m blitztext tray   # system-tray menu (macOS-menu-bar-like, default)
.venv/bin/python -m blitztext gui    # control-panel window
.venv/bin/python -m blitztext run    # headless, hotkeys only

Realtime STT streaming

For Nemotron ASR Streaming, add a realtime engine in Settings > Engines with + Stream, save/restart, then create or edit a workflow with mode = "stream". The default realtime URL is:

[[stt_engine]]
name = "Nemotron ASR Streaming"
type = "riva_realtime"
url = "http://127.0.0.1:8006/v1"
model = ""

[[workflow]]
name = "STT Streaming"
hotkey = "<ctrl>+<alt>+s"
mode = "stream"

The current Nemotron ASR Streaming model exposed by the tested NIM is English en-US, so use language = "en" or language = "en-US" in [general] for that engine.

System tray (recommended)

The tray is the closest match to the macOS menu-bar app: a status icon with a menu listing every workflow (click to record), plus Show panel, Settings…, and Quit. It needs PyGObject (python3-gi) and the GTK/AppIndicator typelibs — already present on a standard Ubuntu GNOME install (the .deb declares them as dependencies):

sudo apt install python3-gi      # usually already installed
.venv/bin/python -m blitztext tray

If PyGObject isn't visible, tray prints this hint and falls back to the window. The venv is created with --system-site-packages so it can see the system gi — build it from /usr/bin/python3, not a conda/miniforge Python.

Either way, focus any text field and trigger a workflow — by tray menu, panel button, or hotkey (defaults):

Hotkey	Workflow	What it does
Ctrl+Alt+Space	Transcribe	Types the raw transcript
Ctrl+Alt+E	Nicer email	Rewrites speech into a polished email
Ctrl+Alt+I	Improve text	Proofreads / improves wording
Ctrl+Alt+C	Calm down	Rewrites an angry message into a calm one
Ctrl+Alt+J	Add emojis	Adds fitting emojis

Configuration

Everything lives in ~/.config/blitztext/config.toml (python -m blitztext config-path prints the location). You can change hotkeys, the Whisper model, and the rewrite endpoint, and add/edit [[workflow]] blocks with your own prompts.

Local Whisper

[whisper]
model = "small"      # tiny|base|small|medium|large-v3, or a local model path
device = "auto"      # auto tries cuda, falls back to cpu
compute_type = "auto"

On this arm64 host the pip ctranslate2 wheel is CPU-only, so it runs on the Grace CPU with int8. That's fast for dictation (≈2s for a 10s clip with small). device = "auto" attempts CUDA and falls back automatically — to get GPU you'd need a CUDA-enabled CTranslate2 build for aarch64/sm_121.

Rewrite endpoint (OpenAI or your local LLM)

[rewrite]
base_url = "https://api.openai.com/v1"   # or e.g. http://localhost:8000/v1 for vLLM/llama-swap
api_key_env = "OPENAI_API_KEY"
model = "gpt-4o-mini"

Point base_url at a local OpenAI-compatible server (vLLM, llama-swap) to keep rewriting fully on-box too.

Run on login

See blitztext.service for a systemd user unit.

Verified

On this machine (Ubuntu/GNOME, X11, GB10): recorder → valid 16 kHz WAV; faster-whisper CPU transcription accurate; config + all hotkeys parse; and xdotool typing of German text into a focused GTK field. The live global-hotkey loop and the LLM rewrite HTTP call were not auto-tested here (the former hijacks the keyboard during a session; the latter needs your key) — try them with the run command above.

CLI

python -m blitztext tray               # tray menu (default)
python -m blitztext gui                # control-panel window
python -m blitztext run                # headless daemon, hotkeys only
python -m blitztext transcribe f.wav   # one-shot, prints text (no hotkeys)
python -m blitztext config-path        # print config location

License

Code is released under the MIT License. See ../LICENSE.

Project names, logos, and app icons are not automatically granted as trademarks or brand assets. See ../TRADEMARKS.md.

Legal / Impressum & Datenschutz

This is an experimental, non-commercial open-source project, provided as-is under the MIT License without warranty or support. Nothing is sold here and no installation or operation is performed on your behalf.

The companion website (blitztext.de) is operated by Blackboat Internet GmbH:

• Impressum: https://martin-bierschenk.de/impressum/
• Datenschutz / Privacy: https://martin-bierschenk.de/datenschutz/