Vox

A macOS menu-bar push-to-talk dictation app. Hold fn ⌘ E, speak, release. The audio goes to Gemini, and the text is pasted into the app you're using.

Build & run

./build.sh
open build/Vox.app

On first launch:

1. Grant Accessibility (needed for the global shortcut and for auto-paste).
2. Grant Microphone.
3. Paste your Gemini API key in Settings (get one at https://aistudio.google.com/apikey).

Distributing

./make-dmg.sh       # next version (1.0 → 1.1) → build/Vox-1.1.dmg, signed and notarized
./make-dmg.sh 2.0   # or pick the version yourself

The current version and build number live in VERSION; make-dmg.sh bumps them only after notarization succeeds.

The DMG has the usual drag-to-Applications layout. make-dmg.sh builds with ./build.sh --release, which signs the app with the "Developer ID Application" identity in your keychain (hardened runtime, Resources/Vox.entitlements), then signs the DMG, notarizes it with Apple and staples the ticket, so it opens on other Macs without Gatekeeper warnings. It needs notarization credentials saved once as the vox-notary profile:

xcrun notarytool store-credentials vox-notary --apple-id <your Apple ID> --team-id <team ID>

The app icon lives in Resources/AppIcon.icns; regenerate it with swift scripts/make-icon.swift Resources/AppIcon.icns. The installer window background lives in Resources/DMGBackground.tiff; regenerate it with swift scripts/make-dmg-background.swift Resources/DMGBackground.tiff.

A plain ./build.sh (for development) signs the app with a self-signed "Vox Local Signing" identity (created on first build in ~/Library/Keychains/vox-signing.keychain-db), so the Accessibility grant survives rebuilds.

Settings (menu bar mic icon → Settings…)

• API key: stored locally in the app's preferences (UserDefaults).
• Model: defaults to gemini-3.8-flash. Type any model ID, or press ↻ to load the models your key can use and pick one.
• System prompt: context about you and how the text should come out (e.g. "I'm a software engineer; keep technical terms exact").
• Microphone: record from the system default input or a specific mic. If the chosen mic is disconnected, Vox falls back to the system default.
• Behavior: hold-to-talk or press to start/stop, and paste automatically or copy only.

The transcript is always left on the clipboard. You can copy it again with "Copy Last Transcript" in the menu.