Integrations

OpenWhispr

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OpenWhispr is an open-source desktop dictation app for macOS, Windows, and Linux. Press a hotkey, speak, and the transcript is pasted directly into whatever window is in focus. Out of the box it supports local transcription via whisper.cpp and several cloud providers — including Smallest AI’s Pulse model.

Prerequisites

Setup

1

Get your API key

Sign in to app.smallest.ai and click Get API Keys in the dashboard.

Click Create API Key, give it a name, and copy it immediately — it is only shown once.

2

Open OpenWhispr Settings

Launch OpenWhispr and click the gear icon to open Settings, or press the settings hotkey.

3

Navigate to Speech to Text

In the Settings sidebar, select Speech to Text. Under the Cloud tab, find the Smallest AI provider option and click it.

4

Enter your API key

Paste your Smallest AI API key into the key field. OpenWhispr saves it to your local .env file so it persists across restarts.

5

Start dictating

Press your configured hotkey (default: backtick on Windows/Linux, Globe/Fn key on macOS), speak, then press it again. The transcript from Pulse is pasted into your active window.

How it works

When you finish recording, OpenWhispr sends the captured audio to the Pulse API as raw binary:

POST https://api.smallest.ai/waves/v1/pulse/get_text?language=en
Authorization: Bearer <your-api-key>
Content-Type: application/octet-stream
<raw audio bytes>

Pulse returns:

1{
2  "transcription": "your transcribed text here"
3}

OpenWhispr then copies the transcript to the clipboard and pastes it at the cursor position in the active window.

Language support

Pass a language code via the Language setting in OpenWhispr to target a specific language, or select Auto-detect to let Pulse identify the language automatically.

Pulse supports 39 languages including English, Hindi, Spanish, French, German, Arabic, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, and more. See the Pulse overview for the full list.

Activation modes

OpenWhispr supports two recording modes that work with Pulse:

ModeHow it works
Tap-to-talkPress hotkey once to start, press again to stop and transcribe
Push-to-talkHold hotkey while speaking, release to transcribe (Windows only)

Troubleshooting

Verify your API key is correct. Open Settings → Speech to Text → Smallest AI and re-enter the key. Check that you have an active internet connection — Pulse requires a network request for each transcription.

OpenWhispr writes the key to a .env file in your app data directory. If it disappears, check that the app has write permissions to its data folder. Re-entering and saving the key should resolve it.

Make sure your microphone is selected as the active input device in Settings → Audio and that OpenWhispr has microphone permission in your OS privacy settings.

OpenWhispr on GitHub

Source code and releases

Pulse STT Overview

Supported languages, features, and limits

Pulse API Reference

Full API specification

Get an API Key

app.smallest.ai