CJ Pais creates open-source software, including Handy, an offline speech-to-text application. His work aims to make everyday technology easier to use while keeping the user’s data and tools under their control.[1][2][3]
Start with Handy →
Education
Links
Personal site Handy
GitHub 
X · cj_pais Career
Pais studied mathematics and computer science at the University of California, San Diego. His early programming work included molecular-dynamics simulations at the Lipomi Lab, followed by internships and two years working on 5G Layer 1 software at Qualcomm. He later left to pursue independent technology projects and describes himself as a software artist.[1]
Contributions
Handy records speech while a keyboard shortcut is active, transcribes it locally and pastes the result into the current text field. Voice-activity detection filters silence, and the application supports speech models such as Whisper and Parakeet. Running recognition on the computer avoids sending the recording to a hosted transcription service. This lets a person add dictation to an application that already accepts ordinary text input.[2]
Ideas
The project’s stated priorities are free access, open source, privacy and a simple interaction. Its official demonstration focuses on the shortcut, microphone activity and resulting text rather than asking users to adopt a new writing environment. The repository is open to extension, making the same basic workflow available for adaptation to other needs.[3][2]
Tools, writing & talks
Tools
Start here
Handygithub.comA desktop dictation application that transcribes speech locally and inserts text into the active application.
Start with the official demonstration linked in the README, then try a short dictation into a text field. Installation requires a supported desktop system and microphone and accessibility permissions; no programming background is needed for ordinary use.
Creator[2][3][4]Original source