Guide · Linux
Voice dictation on Linux, including Wayland
Dusk is a dictation app for Linux that runs entirely on your computer. Hold Ctrl + Alt,
speak, and let go: clean, punctuated text is typed at your cursor in any application. It works on GNOME's
Wayland session, Ubuntu's default, and on X11, and installs from a .deb or .rpm
package.
Last updated October 27, 2026
What works on each desktop
Wayland limits what one application can do to another, so what Dusk can do depends on the session you log in to.
| GNOME on Wayland | X11, any desktop | Other Wayland desktops (KDE Plasma and others) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dictation typed at your cursor | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Shortcuts, including Ctrl + Alt alone, and mouse buttons | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Commands that press keys, open apps and websites, and edit text | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Switching between windows by voice | Yes | Yes | Not yet |
| Clicking links and buttons by voice | Most | Yes | Most |
How Dusk works on Wayland
On Wayland, an application can't watch other applications' keys, type into them, or list their windows. That protects you from keyloggers, and it's why most Linux dictation tools only work on X11. Dusk uses what GNOME offers for each of these:
- Typing: through GNOME's remote desktop permission. GNOME asks you once. While Dusk runs, GNOME shows its remote control icon in the top bar.
- Shortcuts: Dusk reads your keyboards and mice directly, without taking keys away from other applications. The package installs a rule that lets the logged-in user read them. The keys only start and stop dictation: Dusk doesn't store or log them.
- Windows: Dusk's GNOME Shell extension, installed with the package, lists your windows and switches between them. GNOME loads it the next time you log in.
On Wayland, Dusk can't click at a position on screen, so it clicks only links and buttons that report an action of their own through accessibility. Most do.
Install
Ubuntu, Debian, Linux Mint, Pop!_OS
Download the .deb and open it with App Center, or install it from a terminal:
sudo apt install ./Dusk_amd64.deb
Fedora, RHEL, Rocky Linux
Download the .rpm and install it from a terminal:
sudo dnf install ./Dusk_x86_64.rpm
What you need
- A 64-bit x86 computer with 8 GB of memory.
- About 2 GB of disk space for the recommended models, which setup downloads the first time.
- A graphics card with Vulkan support makes clean-up faster, but isn't required. Setup recommends models that run well on the computer you have.
Speech recognition that runs on your computer
Dusk uses open speech and language models. Setup checks your memory and graphics card, recommends models, and shows each model's license before you download it. The models available in October 2026:
| Model | Does | Languages | License |
|---|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA Nemotron 3.5 ASR Streaming 0.6B | Speech, transcribed while you speak | English, Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese | OpenMDW 1.1 |
| NVIDIA Nemotron Speech Streaming English 0.6B | Speech, transcribed while you speak | English | NVIDIA Open Model License |
| NVIDIA Parakeet TDT 0.6B v2 | Speech, transcribed when you finish | English | CC BY 4.0 |
| Moonshine Base | Speech, transcribed when you finish | English | MIT |
| Qwen3.5 0.8B, 2B and 4B | Clean-up and commands | English clean-up | Apache 2.0 |
Questions
Does Dusk need Xorg?
No. It works on GNOME's Wayland session, which is the only session on Ubuntu 26.04, and on X11 sessions.
Does it work on KDE Plasma and other Wayland desktops?
Dictation, shortcuts and most commands work there. Commands that switch between windows need GNOME on Wayland or an X11 session, for now.
Is Dusk open source?
No. Dusk is proprietary, with a free plan that has every feature and a weekly word limit. The speech and language models it downloads are open models, each under its own license, shown in the app.
Does it work on ARM computers?
Not yet. The packages are for 64-bit x86 computers.
Does anything I say go online?
No. Speech recognition and clean-up run on your computer. See what stays on your computer for the few connections Dusk makes.