Shortcut
ShortCut
Voice-to-text with AI text transformation — source-available, multi-provider.
No proprietary proxy. Your API keys, your providers, direct calls.
Dev flow is Docker-only. Do not run
npm installorcargo buildon the host — the supported workflow is containerized (see below).
Features
- Hold-to-record dictation — Soniox cloud (direct API) or local Parakeet ONNX (Windows)
- Fix grammar, translate, improve — any selected text, with any configured LLM
- Screen Question — ask AI about your screen using vision-capable providers
- Radial action wheel — quick access to all features from any app
- Global keyboard shortcuts — work system-wide without switching windows
- Activity indicator overlay — visual feedback during operations
Supported Providers
| Category | Providers |
|---|---|
| LLM | OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, Grok, Ollama |
| STT | Soniox (cloud, direct API), Parakeet ONNX (local, Windows) |
Quick Start
- Download from Releases
- Install and authorize — full step-by-step install guide (macOS Gatekeeper, Windows Defender walkthrough)
- Go to Settings → AI Providers and configure at least one provider
- Use
Alt+D(hold, orCmd+Shift+Don macOS) to start dictating
No token gate, no proxy account. Configure only the providers you want to use.
Default Shortcuts
| Action | Windows / Linux | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Dictation (hold to record) | Alt+D |
Cmd+Shift+D |
| Fix grammar | Alt+G |
Cmd+Shift+G |
| Translate | Alt+T |
Cmd+Shift+T |
| Improve | Alt+I |
Cmd+Shift+I |
| Action wheel | Alt+J |
Cmd+Shift+J |
| Screen Question | Alt+S |
Cmd+Shift+S |
All shortcuts are customizable in Settings.
Platform Support
| Platform | Status |
|---|---|
| Windows 10/11 | Primary target (includes local STT) |
| macOS | Supported (requires Accessibility + Microphone permissions) |
| Linux | Supported (X11/Wayland, no local STT) |
Tech Stack
| Component | Technology |
|---|---|
| Desktop framework | Tauri 2 |
| Frontend | Svelte 5 + SvelteKit |
| Backend | Rust |
| LLM providers | OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, Grok, Ollama — direct HTTP via reqwest |
| STT (cloud) | Soniox direct API |
| STT (local) | NVIDIA Parakeet TDT 0.6B v3 via transcribe-rs + ONNX Runtime |
Development
See docs/SETUP.md for full setup instructions.
Quick start:
git clone https://github.com/synthetixartifacts/shortcut.git
cd shortcut
docker compose build check
docker compose run --rm check
# Optional: faster validation profile used by PR CI
docker compose run --rm -e CHECK_PROFILE=fast check
docker compose up frontend-dev
For desktop smoke tests, build an artifact in Docker and run the output from dist/ on the target OS. frontend-dev is UI preview only and does not expose Tauri features such as tray, hotkeys, clipboard, or overlays.
Build for Windows (from Linux/WSL2):
docker compose build --no-cache build-windows && docker compose up build-windows
See docs/BUILD.md for all build targets and options.
Documentation
| Document | Description |
|---|---|
| docs/INSTALL.md | Step-by-step install guide (macOS + Windows) |
| docs/SETUP.md | Development environment setup |
| docs/BUILD.md | Build commands, Docker |
| docs/ARCHITECTURE.md | System design, data flows |
| docs/BACKEND.md | Rust modules, provider layer, commands |
| docs/FRONTEND.md | Frontend structure, Svelte 5 patterns |
| docs/PROVIDERS.md | Provider configuration guide (5 LLM + 2 STT providers) |
| docs/EXTENDING.md | Adding features, providers, shortcuts |
| docs/PRODUCTION.md | Distribution, signing, installers |
License
Free for personal and non-commercial use. See LICENSE (PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0).
Commercial use — including resale, paid support, hosted/SaaS offerings, or bundling into a commercial product — requires a separate agreement. Open an issue to discuss.
This is a source-available project, not OSI-approved open source. Contributions are welcome under the project's inbound-license rule; see CONTRIBUTING.md.
Security
To report a vulnerability, see SECURITY.md. Do not open a public issue for security bugs.
Changelog
See CHANGELOG.md for release history.
