ClawBB (虾BB)#

Hold Globe key. Speak. Text appears. Free voice-to-text built for Vibe Coding.

• 🆓 Free forever — Google Gemini free tier, 250 transcriptions/day
• 🌏 Bilingual — Mixed Chinese + English, perfect punctuation for AI prompts
• 🔴 Live streaming preview — See text appear as you speak (Gemini Live API)
• ⚡ 341KB pure Swift — Zero dependencies, macOS native
• 🧠 LLM engine — Not Whisper ASR. Gemini understands meaning, not just sound.
• 📖 Open source — MIT License, Apple Notarized

Install#

Download the Apple Notarized DMG (app release v1.1.3): from GitHub Releases:

bash

curl -L -o /tmp/XiaBB.dmg "https://github.com/dyz2102/xiabb/releases/download/v1.1.3/XiaBB-v1.1.3-macOS-arm64.dmg"

Verify checksum before opening:

bash

echo "ce53a5b0ccc3b0993b284686ab05716f3e616969f98395d1baf8aec083f8d784  /tmp/XiaBB.dmg" | shasum -a 256 -c

Then open the DMG and drag XiaBB.app to Applications:

bash

open /tmp/XiaBB.dmg

The app is signed with Developer ID and Apple Notarized — no Gatekeeper warnings.

Build from source (optional)#

If you prefer to inspect and compile yourself:

bash

git clone https://github.com/dyz2102/xiabb.git /tmp/xiabb-build
cd /tmp/xiabb-build
# Review install.sh and native/main.swift before running
cat install.sh
bash install.sh

Requires Xcode Command Line Tools ( xcode-select --install).

Setup#

Gemini API Key#

Get a free key at https://aistudio.google.com/apikey, then configure:

bash

# Recommended: environment variable
export GEMINI_API_KEY="your-key-here"

Or configure via the app's menu bar → "Configure Gemini API Key...".

The key is stored locally at ~/Tools/xiabb/.api-key (chmod 600 recommended).

Permissions#

On first launch, macOS will prompt for:

• Accessibility: Required for Globe key detection (CGEventTap)
• Microphone: Required for voice recording

Both are standard macOS permissions for a voice input app. Grant them in System Settings → Privacy & Security.

Usage#

ActionResultHold 🌐 Globe keyStart recording, HUD shows live previewRelease 🌐 Globe keyTranscription pastes at cursorClick HUD 📋Copy last result

Security & Privacy#

• Open source: Full source at https://github.com/dyz2102/xiabb — review before use
• Apple Notarized: Signed with Developer ID, verified by Apple
• No account required: No signup, no tracking, no telemetry
• Audio processing: Audio is sent to Google Gemini API for transcription. Review Google's privacy policy if this concerns you.
• Local storage only: API key and config stored locally, never transmitted except to Gemini API

Links#

• 🌐 Website: https://xiabb.lol
• 📦 GitHub: https://github.com/dyz2102/xiabb
• 📄 MIT License