The easiest way
to
record and transcribe
anything on your Mac
Podcasts, calls, apps without any special bots or sound cards
How it works
Start
Click the ring in the menu bar and press Start recording.
Talk
Water flows around the ring while Koe records.
Stop
Press Stop. A notification tells you when the transcript is ready.
Koe can also notice that a call has started
and offer to record it.
A text of the call, a minute or two after it ends
[00:12:34] Me: Let's move the launch to Thursday.
[00:12:41] Speaker 1: Works for me, I'll tell the team.
[00:12:47] Speaker 2: Then the release notes go out on Wednesday.
[00:12:52] Me: Good. I'll send the draft tonight.
Every line has a timestamp and a speaker. An hour-long call takes about a minute to transcribe on a MacBook Air M2.
How to install it
Download Koe and drag it to Applications.
Open it. Koe has no Dock icon, so look for the ring in the menu bar.
Follow the setup window. It asks for the permissions Koe needs and downloads the speech models (655 MB, once).
Made for real calls
Any call, no bot
Zoom, Google Meet, Telegram, a browser tab: Koe records your microphone and your Mac's system audio. Nobody joins the call, and there are no virtual audio drivers to install.
Only what you choose
Record the microphone, system audio, or both. If music is playing, tick the call app and Koe records only its sound.
Two or more microphones, no sound card
Two people, two mics, two tracks. Each microphone gets its own track and its own name in the transcript, and the tracks stay in sync for hours.
Tells voices apart
Koe works out how many people spoke and labels them Speaker 1, Speaker 2 and so on, in the order they first spoke.
25 languages
25 European languages detected automatically. Every word is written in its own language.
Survives surprises
Switch to AirPods mid-call, unplug a microphone, let your Mac sleep. The recording is kept and still gets transcribed.
Not only calls
Podcasts
One microphone or several, no sound card needed. Choose the quality: Compact, High or Lossless (24-bit WAV).
Voice notes
Just the microphone. Talk, press Stop and get the text.
Webinars and lectures
Just system audio. Koe turns the talk into text.
Everything stays
on your Mac
Recording and speech recognition run on your Mac. There are no servers, accounts or subscriptions.
Koe goes online for two things only:
- to download its speech models from Hugging Face, once;
- to check for updates on GitHub, once a day. You can turn this off.
The code is open, so you can check all of this yourself. How Koe handles your data →
FAQ
Does a bot join the call?
No. Koe records on your Mac, so no extra participant appears in the call.
Which apps does it work with?
Any app that makes sound: Zoom, Google Meet, Telegram, a browser tab. Record all system audio, or tick only the apps you want.
Do I need BlackHole or another audio driver?
No. Koe records other apps' sound without any virtual audio driver.
Can I record a podcast with it?
Yes. Plug in two USB microphones and tick both: each gets its own track, with no sound card or audio interface. Choose Lossless for 24-bit WAV. Koe records the sound as is, with no noise reduction or automatic level.
Why does Koe ask for Screen & System Audio Recording?
That's the macOS permission for recording other apps' sound.
Is it free?
Yes. Koe is free and open source under the MIT License. There is no subscription and no account.
Does it work offline?
Yes, once the speech models are on your Mac. They download once (655 MB). After that, recording and transcription work without internet.
Which Macs does it run on?
Macs with Apple Silicon (M1 or later) and macOS 15 or later. Intel Macs aren't supported.
Which languages does it understand?
25 European languages. Koe detects the language on its own. The app itself is in English.
How well does it tell speakers apart?
On recordings of real calls with 2 to 6 people, about 90% of the speech went to the right person. One 4-person recording did worse, at 75%. Quiet people who said little are the usual problem.
Is it legal to record calls?
It depends on where you and the other people are. Many places require everyone's consent. Koe doesn't notify the others on the call, so telling them is up to you.
Does it write summaries?
No. Koe gives you the transcript as a text file, plus the audio. Paste the text into any tool you like.
Can Koe replace Otter or Granola?
If you want transcripts that stay on your Mac, yes. Koe records and transcribes, and that's all: no cloud, no summaries, no team features.
Is there a version for Windows or iPhone?
For now, no. Koe is a Mac app.