For gamers and agentic coders
Press a key. Speak. Your words land at your cursor.
Wayfinder Aura is dictation that runs on your machine, not on a rented server. You speak about three times faster than you type, and Aura turns that gap into clean text in any app. Free is real dictation. Ultra is a one-time upgrade, not a rent payment.
Launch price. $60 after. 7-day refund, no questions.
Press D or tap the chip to try it·The real app triggers from any window. Here, a demo has to do.
- Local by default
- One-time Ultra
- Wayland + X11
- Steam Deck ready
faster than typing: you speak about 150 words a minute, most people type about 40
of speech processed on device by default
subscription fee, now or ever
refund window, no questions asked
How it works
- 1Press your hotkey
One key from any app. The overlay wakes up and starts listening.
- 2Say the thing
Whisper transcribes on your machine while a liquid waveform shows you are live.
- 3Words land at your cursor
A small local model strips the ums, fixes punctuation, and pastes clean text where you were typing.
A second hotkey cycles writing styles without leaving the app you are in.
Five ways to say it. One take.
A small local model reshapes what you said to fit where it is going. Pick a style and watch the same rambling take change clothes.
um so basically I was thinking we could uh maybe push the release to thursday, if that works for everyone
Your voice stays home
Cloud dictation ships your audio to servers you will never see and bills you monthly for the privilege. Aura inverts that. Here is the complete network story.
- Your voice, by default, always
- Transcripts and dictation history
- The cleanup model and everything it writes
- Your custom vocabulary and voice profile
- License activation, once: your key and a machine id
- Optional model-update checks, which you can turn off
- Optional cloud transcription, only if you enable it with your own API keys
The code is source-available under the Elastic License 2.0. Read it yourself. github.com/wayfindercollective/wayfinder-aura
Built for the Deck. Ready for the living room.
Most dictation software has never heard of SteamOS. Aura ships with a workflow built for it: the Steam Deck in your hands, the 2026 Steam Machine under your TV, and Bazzite rigs in between.
A back-button push-to-talk works in Game Mode itself. Bind a paddle, talk, and keep playing without touching a keyboard.
Controller rumble and audio cues confirm start, stop, and paste while the overlay is out of sight.
When a game is running, Aura steps aside automatically so your keys stay with the game.
A CPU-tuned build sized for the Deck, with battery-friendly overlay rendering. SteamOS and Bazzite both welcome.
Made for how you actually work
Speak whole prompts to Claude Code or your agent of choice. A paragraph of context in seconds, and Dev style keeps it clean.
Talk naturally. Casual or Professional cleans it up before it hits Discord, Slack, or Gmail.
Back-button trigger and game-aware behavior. Dictation that does not fight your game.
Legal, medical, and personal drafts that should never touch a cloud speech API.
See it
Free vs Ultra
Free is the full dictation experience, not a watermarked demo. Ultra unlocks speed, accuracy, and long-form power.
Forever. No card, no trial clock.
- Base/Base.en local transcription on CPU
- Local cleanup that strips filler and fixes punctuation
- Status overlay and system tray
- Instant paste into any app
- Dictation history
One payment. No subscription. Works offline after activation.
- GPU acceleration on supported AMD, Intel, and NVIDIA hardware
- Large and turbo models with measurably higher accuracy
- All writing styles, including Strong mode
- Custom vocabulary for names and jargon
- Voice profiles that learn how you write
- Unlimited-length recording
- Bigger local cleanup models
- Optional cloud backends with your own API keys
Install free
Wayfinder Aura is a Linux app for desktop and Steam Deck. Flathub is on the way; until the listing is live, install from the public source repo.
Flatpak app ID io.wayfindercollective.WayfinderAura. Build from source or use a local Flatpak bundle while Flathub review is in flight.
Not first-class Aura platforms yet. Do not grab "Wayfinder" desktop packages from other products; those are not Aura.
Open the app, go to Settings and then License, and paste your key. It keeps working offline after activation.
Source and issues: github.com/wayfindercollective/wayfinder-aura
FAQ
Yes, for dictation and cleanup. The network is only used for license activation, optional model updates, and any cloud backends you enable yourself.
By default, nothing from your microphone. Activation sends your license key and a machine id. Cloud transcription only runs if you turn it on and provide your own API keys.
Yes. Desktop and Game Mode both work, with a back-button trigger and rumble feedback. The same SteamOS runs the 2026 Steam Machine, and Bazzite works great too. Heavy GPU use and the large models are Ultra features.
No. One payment of $29.99 at launch, $60 after. Full refund within 7 days if it is not for you.
Into the app, under Settings and then License. One key covers up to 3 devices, and it keeps working offline after activation.
The Linux dictation app that feels finished
Local-first. Any app. Deck included. Free to start, one payment when you want everything.