Musician-grade typing.
Dictate B flat major seven, G seven flat nine, slash chords, time signatures and tempo marks; get compact symbols such as B♭maj7, G7♭9, A/C♯, 6/8 and ♩ = 120.
Capture & Media
Speak naturally. Type like a musician.
NSM Flow turns speech into polished text in the app you are typing in, without a subscription or mandatory account. It understands musician language, Indian names and everyday work.
A practical setup
Free, open-source voice typing that runs on your own computer and writes chord symbols, Indian names and everyday English properly.
Dictate a lesson note with chord symbols
- 01
Install NSM Flow, allow the microphone and Accessibility, and download Whisper Small, the recommended speech model.
- 02
Click where the words should go, hold the shortcut (the ~ key on a Mac, Ctrl+Space on Windows and Linux) and speak.
- 03
Let go: the text appears where you clicked, with chords such as B♭maj7 and G7♭9 written as symbols.
Before you begin
Free public alpha for Mac (signed and notarized), Windows (unsigned installer, so Windows may warn) and Linux x64. Indian-accent accuracy and physical Windows and Linux dictation still need wider testing.
What it does
Local voice dictation for Mac, Windows and Linux, with Indian vocabulary and music notation. Free, open-source desktop alpha.
India-aware spelling.
A conservative built-in lexicon covers names, cities, clothing, food, deities, temples, schools, colleges and institutes without turning ordinary English into false matches.
Local-first and free.
Core transcription runs on your computer. No employee login, paid API, subscription or cloud upload is required.
Honest expectations
Mac packages are Developer ID signed and notarized. Windows installers remain unsigned. Linux x64 is an X11 alpha with manual upgrades. Installer checks and packaged Mac inference pass; Indian-accent accuracy and physical Windows, Intel Mac and Linux dictation/paste need broader testing.
Founder note
I built NSM Flow for the real mix of work at Nathaniel School of Music: emails, WhatsApp, prompts, lesson notes, Indian names and the chord symbols ordinary dictation tools mangle. — Jason Zac
What's new
- **Full audit release.** Shortcuts, text clean-up and speech models were checked end to end and 16 bugs fixed.
- **Mac `~` key:** a quick tap now still types the ` character. Hold to talk, double-tap for hands-free, Shift+Escape throws a recording away.
- **Shortcuts:** changing a shortcut can no longer leave dictation without a key; two actions can't share one key; the old key stops working as soon as you change it; if the key engine can't start, the built-in fallback takes over.
Downloads
Download for Mac - v0.3.0-alpha.821 MBDownload for Windows - v0.3.0-alpha.820 MBDownload for linux - v0.3.0-alpha.8152 MB
Known issues
- Windows installers are unsigned and may display an unverified-developer warning; the Mac packages are signed and notarized.
- Automated cross-platform installer builds do not replace a real dictation and paste test on physical Intel Mac, Windows and Linux hardware. Linux distribution/Wayland support and automatic updates are not certified.
- The India vocabulary is curated rather than exhaustive; testers should report missing spellings with the exact dictated phrase and expected output.
Follow NSM Flow
Release notes and early build calls for this product.
FAQ
Is NSM Flow really free?
Yes. Core local transcription has no subscription, mandatory account or paid API. Optional cloud formatting may cost money; downloaded models retain their own license terms.
Does it work without employee login?
Yes. Sign-in is optional and local dictation is available without it.
Does it understand music?
It formats accidentals, common chord qualities and extensions, slash chords, time signatures, tempo marks and explicitly dictated note or rest symbols.
Does it guarantee every Indian spelling?
No speech recognizer can honestly guarantee every accent and proper noun. NSM Flow ships a reviewed India-focused lexicon and an intern benchmark so errors can be measured and added safely.
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