OpenOats

# OpenOats

[![Auto-Maintainer](https://am.whhite.com/badge/yazinsai/openoats)](https://am.whhite.com)

A meeting note-taker that talks back.

<p align="center">
  <a href="https://github.com/yazinsai/OpenOats/releases/latest">
    <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Download_for_Mac-DMG-black?style=for-the-badge&logo=apple&logoColor=white" alt="Download for Mac" />
  </a>
</p>

<p align="center">
  <img src="assets/openoats-film.webp" width="720" alt="OpenOats walkthrough: meeting detection, live transcript, suggestions from your notes, hidden from screen sharing, notes and Ask" />
</p>

<details>
<summary>Watch with sound (30s)</summary>
  
https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/f4e7441b-a70a-4581-b6d1-3de3eb21abef

</details>

OpenOats sits next to your call, transcribes both sides of the conversation in real time, and searches your own notes to surface things worth saying — right when you need them.

> [!NOTE]
> **Sponsored by Recall.ai — API for desktop recording**
>
> If you're looking for a hosted desktop recording API, consider checking out [Recall.ai](https://dub.sh/openoats), an API that records Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, in-person meetings, and more.

## Features

- **Invisible to the other side** — the app window is hidden from screen sharing by default, so no one knows you're using it
- **Fully offline transcription** — speech recognition runs entirely on your Mac; no audio ever leaves the device
- **Runs 100% locally** — pair with [Ollama](https://ollama.com/) for LLM suggestions and local embeddings, and nothing touches the network at all
- **Pick any LLM** — use [OpenRouter](https://openrouter.ai/) or [Requesty](https://www.requesty.ai/) for cloud models (GPT-4o, Claude, Gemini) or Ollama for local ones (Llama, Qwen, Mistral)
- **Live transcript** — see both sides of the conversation as it happens, copy the whole thing with one click
- **Auto-saved sessions** — every conversation is automatically saved as a plain-text transcript and a structured session log, no manual export needed
- **Knowledge base search** — point it at folders of notes and it pulls in what's relevant using [Voyage AI](https://www.voyageai.com/) embeddings, local Ollama embeddings, or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint (llama.cpp, llamaswap, LiteLLM, vLLM, etc.)

## How it works

1. You start a call and hit **Live**
2. OpenOats transcribes both speakers locally on your Mac
3. When the conversation hits a moment that matters — a question, a decision point, a claim worth backing up — it searches your notes and surfaces relevant talking points
4. You sound prepared because you are

## Recording Consent & Legal Disclaimer

**Important:** OpenOats records and transcribes audio from your microphone and system audio. Many jurisdictions have laws requiring consent from some or all participants before a conversation may be recorded (e.g., two-party/all-party consent states in the U.S., GDPR in the EU).

**By using this software, you acknowledge and agree tha