Usage
Recording modes
Hold mode (default)
Hold right Alt (or the key you captured in Settings) to speak, then release to stop recording and start transcription plus optional polishing.
Press and hold right Alt to start recording
Release right Alt to transcribe, polish (optional), write the clipboard and show the overlay
Continuous mode
For longer speech. Double-press the trigger key to start continuous recording, then single-press to stop. In continuous mode you do not hold the key, so you can pause to think.
Double-press right Alt to start continuous recording
Single-press right Alt to stop, then transcribe, polish (optional), write the clipboard and show the overlay
Pipeline
After recording stops, altgo runs three steps in order:
- Transcription, with the engine selected in Settings. Local SenseVoice or FireRedASR2 CTC runs offline, and online transcription needs a network connection and an API key.
- Polishing. When the level is not
none, the text goes to the selected polishing engine. A remote engine calls the API you configured, and a local engine runs on this machine. - Output. The result is written to the system clipboard, shown in the overlay and appended to the history on the home page. Text only is saved, never audio.
If no clipboard tool is available, you can still click Copy in the overlay. The history list on the home page keeps the full text and lets you view, copy or polish it again.
Polishing levels
| Level | Use case |
|---|---|
none | You need the exact words and low latency |
light | Punctuation and typos |
medium | Everyday writing and smoother word order |
heavy | Formal documents and structured rewrites |
The levels apply to remote engines. The local engine has a single level: none turns it off and every other level turns it on.
Output and interface
- Clipboard: the result is written on success. Paste it in any application that accepts text with
Ctrl+V. - Overlay: shows the current result on one line. Hovering the capsule fades in a close button. The result is already on the clipboard, and the full text is in the history list on the home page.
- Main window: the home page shows the status, the latest transcription and the history list (view, delete, polish one entry again), plus a settings page. The first run walks through a short guide (trigger key, transcription engine, polishing). The Check trigger key button in the empty state checks on the spot whether the key you press is recognised. The prompt appears the first time you open the home page after installing, and skipping it does not affect use.
- Tray icon: show or hide the main window, or quit the app.
History is stored in ~/.config/altgo/history.json by default.
Command line
After installation, start altgo from a terminal:
altgo
The application does not parse command-line arguments. The configuration file is always ~/.config/altgo/altgo.toml, and the field reference is in the Configuration guide.
Development environment, build and tests are covered in CONTRIBUTING.md.