Support

Provider Setup Guide

Flutely works with cloud AI providers or fully local models. Pick the setup that fits your workflow.

Best for

Default

Flutely Cloud

Best for

Quick start

OpenAI

Best for

Speed

Groq

Best for

Google users

Gemini

Best for

Privacy

Local Whisper

Best for

No cloud

Local Whisper + Ollama

Best for

Multilingual

Cloud providers or a multilingual local Whisper model

Cloud providers

Bring your own key.

Flutely Cloud is the default transcription provider for new installs. OpenAI, Groq, and Local Whisper remain available as alternatives. Gemini is available after setup in Settings.

Flutely Cloud

Default transcriptionOnboarding + Settings

Transcription managed by Flutely. Key format: No key required

Included by default
  1. 1Choose Flutely Cloud during onboarding for the recommended setup.
  2. 2Allow permissions and start dictating without adding API keys.
  3. 3Enable local Whisper in Settings if you want offline mode.

No setup needed. Fair-use limits apply during Early Access.

OpenAI

Easiest cloud setupOnboarding + Settings

Transcription and text formatting. Key format: Starts with sk-

platform.openai.com/api-keys
  1. 1Sign in or create an account.
  2. 2Create a new secret key and copy it once.
  3. 3Paste it in Flutely during onboarding, or in Settings > API Providers.

Pay-per-use. Whisper transcription is billed per minute of audio. View current pricing

Groq

Fast cloud transcriptionOnboarding + Settings

Transcription only. Key format: Starts with gsk_

console.groq.com/keys
  1. 1Sign in or create a free account.
  2. 2Create an API key and copy it.
  3. 3Paste it in Flutely during onboarding, or in Settings > API Providers.

Free tier available with paid plans for higher usage. Check Groq for current limits. View current pricing

Google Gemini

Google ecosystemSettings only

Transcription and text formatting. Key format: Starts with AIza

Google AI Studio
  1. 1Sign in with your Google account.
  2. 2Create an API key in Google AI Studio and copy it.
  3. 3In Flutely, go to Settings > API Providers and paste it under Gemini.

Free tier available. Check Google AI Studio for current limits. View current pricing

Local setup

Run voice typing on your Mac.

Local mode has two independent parts: transcription turns speech into text, and formatting cleans up or rewrites that text.

Local Whisper

Whisper runs on-device using your Mac's hardware. No API key needed. Select Local during onboarding or in Settings.

English only

distil-medium.en Good balance of speed and accuracy.

Multilingual

small Supports all languages Flutely offers.

Low disk space

base.en Fastest, but lower accuracy.

Ollama

Ollama handles text formatting and rewriting locally. Whisper turns speech into text; Ollama cleans it up, fixes grammar, or applies a writing style.

  1. 1Install Ollama from ollama.com.
  2. 2Open Terminal and run ollama pull qwen2.5:7b.
  3. 3In Flutely, go to Settings > API Providers.
  4. 4Select Ollama for Formatting AI and confirm the URL is http://localhost:11434.

Recommended models: qwen2.5:7b or llama3.1:8b.

Compare

Which should I pick?

PriorityTranscriptionFormatting
DefaultFlutely CloudOpenAI
Quick startOpenAIOpenAI
SpeedGroq or Flutely CloudOpenAI or Gemini
PrivacyLocal WhisperOllama
No API key for transcriptionFlutely CloudOllama
MultilingualAny cloud, or Local Whisper multilingual modelOpenAI or Gemini

You can mix providers. For example, use Groq for transcription and Ollama for formatting. Change providers anytime in Settings > API Providers.

Security

Your keys stay on your Mac.

BYOK keys are encrypted using macOS Keychain through Electron safeStorage and stored locally. Keys are sent only to the provider you select. Flutely Cloud manages transcription without an API key; formatting still uses OpenAI, Gemini, or Ollama.

Need help? Email hello@flutely.app