claudio: system-wide hold-to-talk dictation using Deepgram Nova 3 via your Claude subscription

Ayush Kumar — Fri, 22 May 2026 01:02:50 +0000

Hold Space in any text field on your Mac, speak, release. Words appear as you talk.

What it does

claudio is a macOS menu bar app that intercepts the Space key globally and streams your voice through Anthropic's speech-to-text API (Deepgram Nova 3 under the hood). The transcript appears in whatever text field you have focused, in real time.

Works in any app: terminal, Slack, Notes, browser, Xcode, Claude.ai, anything.

Why it's different

Most dictation tools require their own subscription or API key. claudio uses the same Deepgram Nova 3 pipeline that Claude Code uses internally for voice input. If you already have a Claude subscription (Pro, Max, Team, or Enterprise), you already have access. The transcription doesn't cost tokens either, so it's effectively unlimited for normal use.

Authentication is handled automatically. When you run claude auth login, Claude Code stores your OAuth token in the macOS Keychain. claudio reads that same token at the start of each recording session. No separate setup.

Installation

git clone https://github.com/ayushkumar1808/claudio ~/dictate
cd ~/dictate && bash install.sh

Then open System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility and enable dictate.

Requirements

macOS 13 or later (Apple Silicon or Intel)
Claude Code installed and logged in (claude auth login)
A Claude subscription (Pro, Max, Team, or Enterprise)
Xcode Command Line Tools

How to use it

Click into any text field
Hold Space for ~0.2 seconds (menu bar icon turns to ●)
Speak
Release Space

The transcript corrects itself as you talk, so stumbling mid-sentence isn't a problem.

Menu bar icons

Icon	Meaning
🎙	Ready
●	Recording
🎙⚠️	Error (check logs)
🎙🔑	Token expired, run `claude auth login`

GitHub: https://github.com/ayushkumar1808/claudio

MIT license. Built at configAI.