Stop Typing App

Less typing, more talking.

A menu bar app that catches you typing paragraphs out of habit and nudges you to dictate instead. It won’t trigger on code or shortcuts.

Nothing you type is ever stored.

Download for Mac
MailFileEditViewMailboxMessage Mon 9:41
You’re typing a lot. Use dictation instead.
Still typing? Switch to your voice. It’s faster.
Weekly update

Hi team, quick update before Thursday. I think we should move the planning meeting to the afternoon so everyone in Berlin can join, and I’d like us to spend the first half hour walking through the launch checklist together. If that time doesn’t work for you, just reply here and I’ll find another slot.

  • Listen-only: it can’t delay or block a key
  • Nothing you type is stored or sent
  • Sandboxed, with no network access

Typing is a habit. This is how you break it.

You learned to type in school, and your hands still reach for the keyboard before you’ve thought about it. Dictation is fast and accurate now. You just forget to use it. Stop Typing App catches that moment and reminds you, until talking is the habit.

  1. You start typingOut of habit, a paragraph in.
  2. It nudgesA small banner, right where you’re typing.
  3. You say it insteadWith the dictation you already have.
Stop Typing App icon

Stop typing.
Start talking.

Make talking the habit.

Download for Mac

Requires macOS 15 or later

Or install with Homebrew:

brew install --cask kevintraver/tap/stop-typing-app

You type. It nudges.

Gently at first, and firmer if you keep going.

  1. 1 · Gentle nudge

    A few sentences in, a small banner suggests dictating. It never takes focus.

  2. 2 · Firm nudge

    Keep typing and the next one is firmer.

  3. 3 · Stop window

    Optional

    Turn it on and, instead of a firmer nudge, you get a window you have to click away.

It knows prose from everything else.

Only typing that reads like sentences counts. Shortcuts, code and Vim motions never do.

  • I think we should move the meeting to Thursday Counts as prose
  • jjjjkkkkhhhhllll Ignored · Vim motions, held keys
  • ⌘C ⌘V ⌥⌘T Ignored · Shortcuts
  • https://example.com/some/long/path Ignored · No word breaks
  • let x = foo(bar, 1); let y = baz(2, 3); Ignored · Mostly symbols

It counts your keys. It never reads them.

Each key press becomes a number the moment it arrives. The character itself is gone before anything else happens.

  • Listen-only

    Stop Typing App can observe key presses but can’t delay, change or block a single one.

  • Nothing is kept

    Characters are never stored, logged or sent anywhere. Even the stats only know how much you typed, not what.

  • Sandboxed and offline

    The app runs inside the macOS App Sandbox and makes no network connections.

  • Passwords stay invisible

    While you type in a password field, macOS hides your keystrokes from every app, Stop Typing App included.

  • Your permission, your call

    It needs Input Monitoring, which you grant in System Settings and can take back any time.

  • Stats stay on your Mac

    Today’s numbers are a nudge count and a word estimate, saved locally and reset each day.

Everything lives in the menu bar.

Stop Typing AppWatching for long typing
Today 3nudges ≈ 210words typed
Snooze 15 Minutes 1 Hour Until Tomorrow
Mail Ignore
Settings…Quit Stop Typing App

  • Snooze

    Quiet it for 15 minutes, an hour, or until tomorrow. It picks back up on its own.

  • Ignore an app in one click

    The menu offers the last app you used. Click Ignore and typing there never counts. Manage the full list in Settings.

  • Catch the habit

    See how often you reached for the keyboard today, and roughly how many words you could have said instead.

  • Tune it with sliders

    Set when to nudge, how long a pause ends a burst, and how long to wait between nudges, from 5 seconds to 10 minutes.

  • Notification Center, if you like

    Each nudge also appears as a notification, so you can find it later. Off by default.

  • Open at login

    Start it with your Mac and forget it’s there until the next paragraph.

  • Quiet when it counts

    No nudges while Focus or Do Not Disturb is on, and no stop window over full-screen apps. Both on by default.

  • Nudges where you’re looking

    Nudges appear on the screen you’re typing on. Drag one anywhere and it remembers the spot. Hovering keeps it up.

Questions

Does it do the dictation itself?

No. It’s the reminder, not the microphone. Use whatever you already have, like Superwhisper or macOS Dictation.

Will it bother me while I code?

No. Symbol-heavy code, shortcuts, Vim motions and held keys don’t count. For a terminal or editor you live in, click Ignore in the menu and nothing typed there counts at all.

Why does it need Input Monitoring?

To notice that keys are being pressed. It listens without being able to interfere, turns each key into a count straight away, and never stores what you typed.

Can I make it stricter, or gentler?

Yes. Settings has sliders for when to nudge, the pause that ends a burst, and the wait between nudges. For a hard stop, turn on “Stop me if I keep typing”.

Will it pop up during a presentation?

The stop window never covers a full-screen app, so a slideshow only ever gets the small nudge. Turn on a Focus or Do Not Disturb and it stays completely quiet.

What do I need?

A Mac running macOS 15 or later. Then use the built-in Mac dictation, or whatever dictation app you like.