Overview

Minutes is a free, open‑source app that records meetings, voice memos and dictation, then transcribes them on your own computer into plain Markdown files. The tool runs locally, so no account, API keys or subscription are required, and the resulting files stay on the disk you control.

The core workflow is simple: you press a hotkey, speak, and Minutes captures the audio, runs a local speech model, and writes a Markdown document that includes timestamps, speaker labels, action items and decisions. The file is saved in a folder you choose, for example ~/meetings/2026‑02‑28‑pricing‑strategy.md, and can be opened with any text editor. Because the output is ordinary Markdown, standard tools like grep or your favorite IDE can search it without needing a proprietary workspace.

Minutes is aimed at users who want to keep a searchable, self‑hosted record of conversations for later use by AI assistants such as Claude, Codex, Gemini or any MCP‑compatible client. After a transcription is saved, you can invoke an AI client to query the file, retrieve specific decisions, or ask “What did we decide about consultant pricing?” The AI only receives the snippet you authorize, preserving the rest of the conversation on your machine. The app provides both a desktop GUI for macOS (Apple Silicon) and Windows, and a command‑line interface that can be installed via Homebrew or npm, allowing integration into shell scripts or other tooling.

The project ships with a demo mode that runs five bundled meetings through the pipeline, and on Apple Silicon it can install NVIDIA's Parakeet v3 model with one click. Transcription speed is reported as 51 ms per typical clip on the Parakeet model, compared with 168 ms for Whisper‑small on the same hardware. Minutes also supports a “daily‑note” mode that appends dictation to a running note file, and it can export a single durable Markdown file that includes all raw transcript data, timestamps and extracted actions.

Key features

Local‑only audio capture and transcription, no cloud upload by default
Output written as plain Markdown with timestamps, speakers, actions and decisions
Compatible with Claude, Codex, Gemini and any MCP client for AI‑driven search
Desktop GUI for macOS and Windows, plus CLI installable via Homebrew or npm
One‑click install of NVIDIA Parakeet v3 on Apple Silicon for faster transcription

Details

Pricing: Free
Category: Meetings

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Pros and cons

Pros

No external accounts or subscription fees required
Files remain on your own disk, giving you full ownership and long‑term readability
Works with a range of AI assistants through the MCP interface
Provides both graphical and command‑line entry points

Cons

Requires a compatible Mac (Apple Silicon) or Windows machine; no native Linux GUI listed
Pricing information is not disclosed because the product is free and open source
Limited to Markdown output; other formats are not mentioned
Installation relies on third‑party Homebrew taps, which may need manual trust steps.