Hns
100% local speech-to-text CLI tool for developers.
If you live in the terminal and want free, offline, private speech-to-text, hns delivers. It's not for GUI lovers or streaming use cases, but for developers piping voice into AI agents, it's a perfect fit.
- Developers using AI coding agents with voice input
- Developers who want voice-to-text for note-taking or journaling
- Privacy-conscious users needing offline transcription
- Terminal enthusiasts building voice-driven workflows
- Users needing a graphical user interface
- Users who require real-time streaming transcription
- Users who need cloud-based speech-to-text with speaker diarization
We scan live Reddit threads, YouTube comments, X posts, G2 reviews and other communities — and hand you an honest verdict in under a minute.
- Honest verdict, not marketing
- Real pros & cons from real users
- Attributed quotes with receipts
3 free scans · no card needed
In short
Hns — 100% local speech-to-text CLI tool for developers. Best for Developers using AI coding agents with voice input, Developers who want voice-to-text for note-taking or journaling, Privacy-conscious users needing offline transcription. Free to use.
Viability Score
How likely is Hns to still be operational in 12 months? Based on 4 signals — momentum (how recently it shipped), wrapper dependency, revenue model, and web presence.
Last calculated: July 2026
How we score →Key Features
- 100% local speech recognition via Whisper
- Auto-copies transcription to clipboard
- Composable with other CLI tools (stdout/stderr)
- Multi-language support
- Offline transcription after initial model download
- Works on Linux, macOS, and Windows
- Install via uv, pipx, or pip
- No subscription or cloud dependency
- Open source (MIT licensed)
- Configurable models and languages via environment variables
- Voice programming with AI agents
- Voice journaling to file
- Voice typing with grammar correction via LLM
- Translation via language model
- Consumer-grade hardware support
About Hns
hns is a speech-to-text CLI tool that transcribes your voice from microphone directly to clipboard, running entirely locally on your machine. Built for developers, it follows the Unix philosophy of doing one thing well: capture speech and output clean text to stdout. No subscriptions, no cloud dependencies, no data leaving your device — just a single command that integrates seamlessly with Claude Code, Ollama, LLM, or any other CLI tool for powerful voice-driven workflows. Key features include 100% offline transcription via Whisper (after initial model download), auto-copy to clipboard, multi-language support, and composability through stdout/stderr. Installation is via uv, pipx, or pip, supporting Linux, macOS, and Windows. Environment variables let you configure models and languages on the fly. Use hns for voice programming with AI coding agents, voice journaling, dictation polish, or real-time translation. It's privacy-first, open source (MIT), and runs on consumer-grade hardware. Unlike cloud services, hns never sends your audio or transcripts to a remote server — your data stays under your control. hns is ideal for terminal enthusiasts and privacy-conscious developers who want voice input without subscription fees. It's less feature-rich than cloud STT APIs (no diarization, no streaming), but its simplicity and zero-cost make it a compelling choice for personal and developer workflows.
Behind the Verdict
hns nails the 'do one thing well' principle. It records audio, transcribes locally via Whisper, and spits the text to stdout — no frills, no fluff. That makes it instantly useful for developers who want to voice-prompt coding agents like Claude Code or Ollama. The privacy angle is real: no cloud, no account, no data leaving your machine. Where it excels is composability. The examples on the site show how to pipe hns into LLMs for grammar fixes, translation, or journaling. That's powerful. We'd reach for this when building voice-activated scripts or when we want to dictate notes without worrying about privacy. But it has limits. There's no streaming transcription — you speak, it processes, you wait. No GUI, no mobile app, no speaker diarization. If you need real-time captions or multi-speaker support, look elsewhere. Also, Whisper's accuracy depends on model size; the default small model may struggle with noisy environments. Compared to cloud STT services like Google Speech-to-Text or OpenAI Whisper API, hns is free and private but less accurate for difficult audio and lacks advanced features. For the developer use cases it targets, though, it's hard to beat the simplicity.
Researching Hns? Get your full AI stack in 60 seconds.
Free, no signup — tell us your goal and get tools matched to your budget & existing stack.
Use Cases
- Voice-program AI coding agents like Claude Code by piping spoken instructions.
- Transcribe daily journal entries by speaking instead of typing.
- Dictate polished emails and Slack messages by cleaning transcription with an LLM.
- Translate spoken English into polite Japanese using an LLM pipeline.
- Append raw transcription to a dated markdown file for automated note-taking.
- Integrate with any CLI tool for custom voice-to-text workflows.
Models Under the Hood
Limitations
- hns requires an initial model download (hundreds of MB) for first-time use.
- Transcription quality depends on microphone clarity and background noise.
- The tool currently supports only offline Whisper models, which may be slower or less accurate than cloud services for some languages or accents.
12-month cost
Project the real annual outlay, including the implied monthly cost when only an annual tier is published.
Vendor list price only. Add-on usage, seat overages, and contract minimums are surfaced under Hidden costs & gotchas.
Integrations
Resources & Guides
- Documentationhns-cli.dev
Docs · Hns
Full product docs from hns-cli.dev
- Quickstarthns-cli.dev
Quick Start · Hns
Get up and running fast from hns-cli.dev
- Documentationhns-cli.dev
Installation · Hns
Full product docs from hns-cli.dev
- Documentationhns-cli.dev
Configuration · Hns
Full product docs from hns-cli.dev
- Documentationhns-cli.dev
Cli Reference · Hns
Full product docs from hns-cli.dev
- Documentationhns-cli.dev
Use Cases · Hns
Full product docs from hns-cli.dev
Official links
Tools that pair well with Hns
Common stack mates teams adopt alongside Hns, with the specific reason each pairing earns its keep.
Featured Head-to-Head Comparisons
Alternatives to Hns
View allFrequently Asked Questions
Best-of guides
Used Hns? Help shape our editorial sentiment research.