Up and running in two minutes.
braindumpi is a native Mac menu-bar app. Install it, grant a few permissions, and you're dictating clean text into any app. Here's the whole flow.
braindumpi is a native Windows app that lives in your notification area. Install it, allow the microphone, and you're dictating clean text into any app. Here's the whole flow.
01Install braindumpi
- Download Braindumpi.dmg from braindumpi.com/download.
- Open the downloaded .dmg, then drag the braindumpi icon into your Applications folder.
- Eject the disk image and launch braindumpi from Applications (or Spotlight).
braindumpi runs Apple silicon on macOS 14 and later. It lives in your menu bar — there's no Dock window to manage.
- Download Braindumpi-Setup.exe from braindumpi.com/download.
- Run it. Windows will show a blue "Windows protected your PC" box because the installer is not code-signed yet — click More info, then Run anyway.
- The installer sets braindumpi up for your account only, so it never asks for an administrator. It launches when it finishes.
braindumpi runs on 64-bit Windows 10 version 1809 and later. It lives in your notification area — there's no taskbar window to manage.
02First launch & sign-in
On first launch, braindumpi opens the Hub. Sign in with your email to sync your plan and settings across every machine you use — the same account works on Mac and on Windows, so if you already paid on one, just sign in with the same email on the other. You can dictate on the free tier right away — 2,000 words a week, no card. New installs also get 14 days of Pro to try everything.
03Grant permissions
macOS asks for three permissions so braindumpi can hear you and type at your cursor. Approve each when prompted, or set them under System Settings → Privacy & Security.
If dictation isn't landing, it's almost always a permission that got skipped. Re-check Accessibility and Input Monitoring in System Settings, then quit and reopen braindumpi.
Windows asks for one permission: the microphone. Allow it when prompted, or turn it on under Settings → Privacy & security → Microphone. There is no equivalent of the Mac's Accessibility or Input Monitoring consent, so there is nothing else to approve.
Make sure "Let desktop apps access your microphone" is on as well — it sits further down the same Settings page, and it is off on some machines even when the main switch is on.
04Push to talk
Put your cursor wherever you want text — an email, a chat box, your editor, a ChatGPT prompt. Then:
- Hold the fn / 🌐 globe key.
- Hold the right ctrl key.
- Talk normally. Ramble, correct yourself, whatever — the pill overlay shows it's listening.
- Release the key. A second later, clean, punctuated text appears at your cursor.
The push-to-talk key defaults to the Fn / globe (🌐) key. You can change it in the Hub's Voice settings if you'd rather use a different key.
The push-to-talk key defaults to right Ctrl — the one modifier that exists on every keyboard and does nothing on its own. You can switch it to Caps Lock or right Alt in the Hub's Voice settings.
05The pill menu
While braindumpi runs, a small pill / orb overlay sits near your cursor. Hover it to open the quick menu, where you can:
- Paste last dictation — drop your most recent result again.
- Language control — switch between Auto (detect the language you speak), Fixed (lock to one language), and Translate (speak one language, type another).
- Open the Hub for your dictionary, snippets, and settings.
06Paste the last dictation
Need your last result somewhere else? Press Ctrl Alt V to paste the most recent dictation at your cursor — no need to re-record. It's the same action as "Paste last dictation" in the pill menu.
Need your last result somewhere else? Press ⌥ ⌘ V to paste the most recent dictation at your cursor — no need to re-record. It's the same action as "Paste last dictation" in the pill menu.
07Switching languages
braindumpi handles 100+ languages. In Auto mode it detects what you speak and writes it back in the same language. Set Fixed to lock one language when auto-detect keeps guessing wrong. Use Translate to speak in one language and have finished text land in another — say a sentence in Hebrew, get English at your cursor. All three modes live in the pill's language control.
08Cloud and offline
braindumpi transcribes through the cloud by default. That is what keeps the download small, and on Hebrew it is measurably more accurate than any model that fits on your machine. Audio streams straight from your Mac to our speech provider while you hold the key, and the text comes back as you speak.
Behind that, quietly, a speech model downloads to your Mac. Nothing waits for it and you will not notice it arrive. Once it is there, braindumpi falls back to it automatically any time you have no connection, so dictation keeps working on a plane.
If you would rather nothing ever left your Mac, turn Cloud transcription off in the Hub. Everything then runs on the local model, always, with no network involved.
09Upgrade to Pro
The free tier gives you 2,000 words a week. When you want unlimited dictation, command mode, and shared dictionary and snippets, upgrade from the Upgrade button in the Hub:
- $6/month, $32/year (best value), or $470 one-time for lifetime.
- Checkout is handled by Polar. Every paid plan has a 14-day refund window.
See full plan details on the pricing section.
10Get help
Stuck on something not covered here? Email support@braindumpi.com. For how we handle your data, see the Privacy Policy; for plan and refund terms, see the Terms of Service.