Here's the thing I want, and couldn't buy: I hold a key, say "fixed the null check on login and added a test, make that a commit message," and a clean fix(auth): … lands at my cursor. Not a transcript I have to tidy — finished work. And I want it to happen on my own laptop, with nothing leaving the machine.
The tools that nail the "finished work" part today are all built the same way: they send your audio to a server, and several of them quietly screenshot your active window every few seconds so the AI has "context." It's a clever trick and it makes them feel smart. It also means I can't run them on my work laptop, where the code is under NDA and the security policy is very clear about what's allowed to leave the machine. Maybe you're there too — agency work, healthcare, finance, anything regulated, or a company that just takes its source seriously.
The local tools I could run, meanwhile, mostly just transcribe — they hand you raw text and leave the thinking to you. So the gap isn't "another dictation app." It's a tool that does the smart part and keeps everything on your machine.
That's what I'm building. It's called BoloMic — bolo is Hindi for "speak."
The rules I'm building it under:
Your voice never leaves your machine. Whisper transcribes locally; a small local model does the cleanup and the "make this a commit message" step. No audio upload, no screenshots to anyone's server. Want a bigger cloud model for a hard task? You bring your own key — your call, off by default.
It ends in finished work, not a transcript. "Make this a commit message." "Turn these notes into a ticket." "Summarize what I highlighted." Locally.
Mac first, done properly. Windows is on the roadmap, and the waitlist lets you vote for it — but I'd rather ship one platform that's genuinely good than two that are half-there.
Honest pricing. I'm allergic to subscriptions for tools that run on your own hardware and cost the maker nothing per use. Leaning free core + a small Pro. Tell me I'm wrong.
I'm writing this before the product is done on purpose. I'd rather find out now whether this matters to anyone than build in a cave for six months. If you've ever wanted to dictate at work and couldn't because of where the data goes, I want to talk to you.
Waitlist and a short concept demo: bolomic.com. And if you think the whole premise is wrong, that's the most useful comment you can leave.
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