Install Hex with Homebrew Cask

Project links

• Homepage
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

No executable aliases were found in the local package database.

Project history

HEX was created by Kit Langton as a voice-dictation application built around a global shortcut, local speech models, and insertion into the foreground application. The current implementation is native Rust and targets Apple-silicon Macs, with explicit permissions for microphone capture, global shortcut detection, and pasting.

The project grew beyond simple hold-to-talk dictation to include configurable modes, retained text history, optional voice commands and Voice Action, local model management, a Linux beta, and an embeddable transcription interface.

Adoption history

HEX is distributed as a signed macOS application and through the anomalyco Homebrew tap. Its official project also exposes a Linux beta and a TypeScript SDK, extending the project beyond the original desktop cask while keeping local transcription as its center.

The current Rust application succeeds an earlier Swift implementation. The maintainers deliberately require fresh setup rather than migrating the earlier application's settings and history.

How it is used

Install the cask, launch Hex, grant Microphone, Input Monitoring, and Accessibility access, and download a local transcription model. Hold the configured shortcut while speaking and release it to transcribe and paste.

Ordinary dictation is local and does not require a cloud transcription service. Provider-backed rewriting, Voice Action, and voice commands are separate optional features.

User settings and runtime state persist under the application's Application Support directory. Official diagnostics paths under that root may contain transcript text and application context, so logs should be reviewed before sharing.

Why package nerds care

HEX represents a modern local-first alternative to cloud dictation utilities: speech recognition runs on the user's machine, while network-backed rewriting and voice-action features remain separate opt-ins.

Its packaging is unusually interesting because the repository contains a native Rust desktop application, downloadable speech models, a Linux beta, Nix support, a Homebrew cask in a third-party tap, and a reusable TypeScript transcription SDK.

Timeline

• 2026: The native Rust generation documents signed macOS distribution, local model setup, and a separate handoff from the earlier Swift application.
• 2026: The project documents a Linux beta and publishes a TypeScript SDK for embedding its transcription engine.

Related projects

• OpenCode, used for optional provider-backed text processing and Voice Action
• The @kitlangton/hex TypeScript SDK
• The earlier Swift HEX application, whose settings are not migrated

Sources

• https://github.com/anomalyco/hex#readme
• https://github.com/anomalyco/hex/blob/main/AGENTS.md
• https://github.com/anomalyco/hex/blob/main/docs/features/README.md