Skip to content
Halopen
Get Pro · $19

Download

Hold the function key. Speak.

Halopen runs in the menu bar. One disk image — Apple Silicon and Intel together — ready in five minutes.

The Halopen app icon: a white pen lit from within, intersected by a horizontal audio waveform in cyan, periwinkle, and magenta, on textured cream paper.
Get Halopen for Mac · Free to start

Apple Developer ID signed · Apple-notarized · macOS 14.0 (Sonoma)+ · 8,000 words/month free

Halopen for Windows
Windows 10 / 11 · in development
Coming soon

Want to know when the Windows version drops? Email us and we’ll let you know.

Universal binary

Apple Silicon & Intel

One file. Halopen runs natively on M-series Macs and on the last generation of Intel Macs.

macOS 14 Sonoma+

Modern only

We support the current and previous macOS versions. Older systems don’t have the AVAudio and Accessibility APIs we depend on.

Signed & notarized

Trusted by macOS

Developer ID signed and notarized by Apple. macOS Gatekeeper launches Halopen without warning prompts.

Setup

Five steps. Most people are dictating within five minutes.

  1. 01

    Drag Halopen to Applications.

    Open the disk image, drag the Halopen icon onto the Applications folder shortcut, eject the disk image.

  2. 02

    Grant Microphone & Accessibility.

    On first launch, macOS prompts for Microphone access — click Allow. Then turn on Accessibility for Halopen so it can type at your cursor.

    Open Microphone settings → Open Accessibility settings →

  3. 03

    Tell macOS the fn key does nothing.

    On macOS Sonoma and Sequoia: open System Settings → Keyboard, click Keyboard Shortcuts…, then Modifier Keys in the left sidebar. Set Press 🌐/fn key to to Do Nothing. This stops the Emoji picker from opening every time you start dictating.

    Open Keyboard settings →

  4. 04

    Sign in.

    Click the Halopen icon in the menu bar and choose Sign in…. Sign in with Apple, Google, or email — whichever you prefer. Halopen Free starts the moment you sign in: 8,000 words a month, forever, no credit card.

    Why a sign-in: transcription happens server-side and your free-tier usage and Pro entitlement are anchored to your account. The first fn press without a signed-in account surfaces a calm Sign in to use Halopen pill in the menu bar; this step gets you past it.

  5. 05

    Speak.

    Place your cursor anywhere you can type — Mail, Notes, Terminal, a browser, your code editor. Hold fn, speak, release. The text appears at the cursor.

Ready?

Five minutes from here to first dictation.

Apple Developer ID signed. Apple-notarized. 8,000 free words a month, forever — no credit card.

Get Halopen 1.8.14 →

.dmg · Universal · macOS 14.0+