Show HN: Orate – On-device neural text-to-speech queue for Mac
Orate is a new macOS application that provides on-device text-to-speech functionality, allowing users to listen to selected text in a queue. It emphasizes privacy by processing all audio synthesis locally without cloud tracking.
Why it matters
As privacy concerns grow, on-device AI tools offer a secure alternative for productivity software, appealing to users who want to avoid cloud-based data harvesting.
Select text in any app, press ⌥⌘L , and Orate reads it aloud in a natural voice, in a listening queue, entirely on your Mac.
Download for Mac See how it works Free 14-day trial. $4.99 one-time to keep · macOS 14+ · Apple Silicon (M1 or later)
Walden Henry David Thoreau · Heart voice -0:16 left 1.0× How it works From a highlight to a headphone moment. You don't copy-paste, upload, or wait on a server. Orate lives in your menu bar and turns anything you're reading into something you can listen to.
Select text in any app and press ⌥⌘L , or right-click and choose Add to Orate . The window title becomes the title.
It lands in your listening queue and starts rendering on-device, cleaned up for the ear, with paragraphs and pauses intact.
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