Boca LibreDownload freeFor Mac

Made for macOS

Your voice.
Your Mac.
Your words.

Hold Right Option, speak, and release. It is ready by default, and Boca Libre types wherever your cursor is—with a free Apple on-device mode that keeps your dictation on your Mac.

Download free for macOS
Download on your MacOpen bocalibre.app on your Mac to install Boca Libre.
See how privacy works

macOS 15 or newer · Apple silicon and Intel

New note

Anywhere you can type

The clearest tool is the one that disappears.

ListeningApple On-Device
Free to useNo accountApple on-device modeSigned & notarized

First-time setup

Download to dictation
in about two minutes.

Boca Libre is a menu-bar app, so it stays out of your Dock and out of your way. Here is exactly what to expect after downloading it.

  1. Boca Libre
    Boca Libre
    AApplications
    1

    Move it to Applications

    Open the downloaded file, drag Boca Libre onto Applications, then open it from your Applications folder.

  2. Allow Boca LibreThese stay under your control.
    Microphone
    Speech Recognition
    Accessibility
    2

    Allow access once

    Follow the prompts for Microphone, Speech Recognition, and Accessibility. Boca Libre cannot hear or type until these are allowed.

  3. ●  Finder◔⌁⌕
    Look here
    Boca Libre

    Ready to dictate

    Boca Libre Settings…
    3

    Look in the upper-right

    Boca Libre has no Dock icon or main window. Click its speech-wave icon in the Mac menu bar to open Settings and confirm it is ready.

After launch, nothing may appear in the center of your screen. That is expected—Boca Libre lives quietly in the menu bar at the upper-right.

One natural gesture

From thought to text without breaking your flow.

Right Option is the default. You can change the shortcut later in Settings, but you do not need to configure anything before your first dictation.

Wherever you can type

Can you those visuals a little bit better?

  1. 1
    HoldRight Option
    ⌥option
  2. 2
    SpeakKeep holding
    “unify”
  3. 3
    ReleaseIt types here
    Can you unify those visuals…

Right Option is ready out of the box. Hold it only while you speak.

Private by design

Your words do not become our data.

Boca Libre has no account system, transcript history, advertising profile, or transcription server. In Apple On-Device mode, audio is processed on your Mac and discarded after the active dictation.

Read the plain-language privacy policy
Audio recordingsNot stored
Transcript historyNone
Account or loginNot required
Apple mode network fallbackRefused
Optional usage insightsYou choose

Clear choices

Local first. Cloud only when you ask.

Start free with Apple. If you want to compare another model later, add your own OpenAI API key from Settings.

RecommendedFree

Apple On-Device

Speech-to-text runs locally using the best developer-accessible Apple engine available on your Mac.

  • Audio stays on your Mac
  • No API key or usage bill
  • Normal and Radiology modes
OptionalYour API key

OpenAI Transcribe

Compare cloud transcription without a Boca Libre proxy. Audio goes directly to OpenAI under your API account.

  • Key stays in macOS Keychain
  • Provider policies apply
  • Turn it off at any time

Built to grow with your Mac

Keep macOS current.
Boca Libre keeps up.

Boca Libre checks your macOS version and hardware, then uses the newest Apple transcription engine available to third-party apps on that Mac. Newer Apple model assets are managed and updated by the system.

If the newest engine is unavailable, Boca Libre uses a compatible on-device Apple recognizer instead—never a surprise cloud fallback.

How Apple’s on-device models work
Boca Libre automatically selects
Newer Apple transcriptionWhen supported by your Mac and macOS
Best available
Standard Apple transcriptionPrivate, compatible on-device fallback
On-device
Apple-managed model updatesInstalled by the system as improvements become available

Good to know

Simple answers.

Is Boca Libre really free?

Yes. Apple On-Device mode is free to use and requires no Boca Libre account. The optional OpenAI mode uses your own API account and may incur OpenAI charges.

Does Boca Libre save what I say?

No transcript or audio history is created. Audio and transcript state exist only for the active dictation and are released after insertion or cancellation.

Why does it need Accessibility permission?

macOS requires Accessibility access for Boca Libre to detect the Right Option shortcut and type the result into the field where your cursor started.

Is it in the Mac App Store?

Not currently. Cross-app typing relies on macOS Accessibility features that do not fit the Mac App Store sandbox. Boca Libre is distributed directly, Developer ID signed, and notarized by Apple.

Speak freely

Try private voice typing
on your Mac.

Free. No account. Your words stay yours.

Download Boca Libre
Come back on your MacOpen bocalibre.app there to download the free Mac app.
Version 0.3.2 · macOS 15 or newer