Hukum for Linux

Voice typing for Linux, X11 and Wayland.

Hukum is a voice typing app for Linux desktops. Hold Ctrl + Space, speak, and let go: your words are typed into whatever app has focus, on X11 or Wayland. It ships as .deb, .rpm and AppImage for x64 and ARM64, runs offline by default with free speech models, and you pay for it once.

Last updated 29 September 2026

At a glance

Hukum on Linux, in one table.

Runs on
Linux on x64 and ARM64
Packages
.deb, .rpm and AppImage
Display servers
X11 and Wayland
Default shortcut
Ctrl + Space, hold to talk (customisable)
Offline models
Parakeet, Whisper, Moonshine and more, free to run
Cloud models
Optional, with your own key: Saaras, Deepgram, Groq, OpenAI, ElevenLabs
Account
None
Price
One-time purchase, announced at launch

Set up

From install to your first sentence.

  1. Install Hukum

    Use the .deb (Debian, Ubuntu), .rpm (Fedora, openSUSE) or the AppImage, for x64 or ARM64.

  2. Install one typing helper

    xdotool on X11, or wtype on Wayland (dotool works on both). Without one, Hukum falls back to a built-in method that is less reliable, especially on Wayland.

  3. Hold Ctrl + Space and speak

    Let go and your words are typed where your cursor is. Change the shortcut or switch to tap-to-talk in settings.

Typing helpers

X11: sudo apt install xdotool. Wayland: sudo apt install wtype. Either: dotool, after adding yourself to the input group.

The recording overlay

The overlay uses GTK layer shell. If it misbehaves on your compositor, start Hukum with HUKUM_NO_GTK_LAYER_SHELL=1.

Questions

Asked about Hukum on Linux.

Does Hukum work on Wayland?

Yes. Install wtype (or dotool) and Hukum types into Wayland apps. On X11, install xdotool.

Which Linux distributions does Hukum support?

Hukum ships as .deb, .rpm and AppImage for x64 and ARM64, which covers Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, openSUSE and most other distributions.

Does Hukum work offline on Linux?

Yes. The default models run on your computer, so after a one-time model download, dictation needs no internet connection.

Does Hukum send my voice to the cloud?

No. With an offline model, your audio is transcribed on your computer and never uploaded. Cloud models are optional and send audio straight to the provider you chose, with your own key. Hukum has no account and no analytics.