Version 6.4
Hey Ghost hears you better, even over music and shows.
- New: "Hey Ghost, turn up the volume" and "turn down the volume".
- Better: "Hey Ghost" catches more commands the first time and wakes by mistake far less, even over music.
- Better: pick any shortcut you like, with a warning if Windows already uses it.
- Better: if your microphone is muted, Ghost Writer says so and how to fix it.
- Fixed: screenshots taken by voice no longer show the ghost in the picture.
Version 6.3
Safer settings and lower power use.
- Better: your settings, history, stats and notes are never reset if Windows is slow at startup.
- Better: Search your PC and "Hey Ghost" use much less power.
- Fixed: on a slow PC, search boxes no longer get your words twice.
Version 6.2
Search your PC, smarter word choice and exact hands-free.
- New: Search your PC finds any file, folder, app or setting by name; Alt+Shift+S opens it anywhere.
- New: clearly misheard words are swapped for the sound-alike that fits what's already in the box.
- New: a Formatting page and Reset buttons in Settings, plus a choice of space between paragraphs.
- Better: hands-free types exactly what you say and ignores quieter voices from videos or TV.
- Better: rounded panels everywhere, and Home shows whether "Hey Ghost" is listening.
- Fixed: more reliable "Hey Ghost, hands-free", shortcuts and multi-screen use, plus a dozen smaller fixes.
Version 6.1
A new Help page, and hands-free keeps your words.
- New: a Help page; click the ? beside the gear or say "Hey Ghost, help".
- New: an Automatic paragraphs switch on Home.
- Better: hands-free keeps your words as said and only drops "um" and "uh".
- Changed: Launch when I sign in moved to Settings > App.
- Fixed: Advanced no longer drops soft first or last words, and taught words stop replacing real ones.
Version 6.0
Leaner, faster, and quicker voice commands.
- Better: the app is smaller, opens faster and uses less power while always listening.
- Better: quick commands like "Ghost paste" work said fast, with no pause.
- Better: dictate into the middle of text and the grammar check fixes the rest of that sentence.
- Better: the Voice commands tab is easier to scan.
- Fixed: no doubled sentences, no "Hey guys" typed as "Hey Ghost", and no stray capitals over selections.
Version 5.9
Hey Ghost understands more, and you can make your own voice commands.
- Hey Ghost understands commands where two s sounds run together, like close Spotify or Ghost, stop.
- Hey Ghost, stop ends hands-free more reliably, even right at the end of a sentence. Turn off hands-free and hands-free off work too.
- After Hey Ghost, the listening ghost waits 3.5 seconds for your command, then fades away. Say it in one breath or pause first; both work.
- Say Ghost or Hey Ghost before any command. Ghost, open Spotify works the same as Hey Ghost, open Spotify.
- New on the Voice commands tab: a wake word sensitivity slider, from Speak up to Ultra sensitive. The new default hears softer voices than before.
- Hey Ghost no longer wakes when someone nearby just says Hey Gus or a ghost in a sentence.
- New shortcuts: let go of Win+Alt to turn hands-free on or off. Hold Ctrl+Alt for a voice command. Win+Alt+R and other Win+Alt shortcuts still work.
- Fixed: the listening ghost could stay on screen after a tiny sound, or appear from keys another program sent.
- Fixed: with several screens, the helper ghost no longer jumps between them. It stays on the screen you're using.
- Fixed: sound from your own speakers, or a muted microphone's faint hiss, could wake Hey Ghost. Your voice is heard as before.
- Hey Ghost, hide works far more often, even when the speech model mishears hide.
- Say an email or web address and it's written as one: john dot smith at gmail dot com becomes john.smith@gmail.com.
- Improve writing now really edits: it cuts filler and wordiness and keeps your tone. Changed words show in color (Settings, AI rewrite).
- Hey Ghost guesses a command it doesn't know and asks: Did I get that right? Say yes and it learns your words. Switch it in Voice commands.
- New voice command diary (Voice commands tab): records every voice command for a day, on this PC only, so misses can be fixed.
- Settings has a search box and new groups. Sounds, the microphone, hands-free timing and double-tap speed can now be changed there.
- The Hey Ghost helper ghost is easier to see, with a slider in Settings. The ghost beside selected text has its own switch.
- Windows now calls the app Ghost Writer, not Python: on the microphone in use icon, in Task Manager, Startup apps and notifications.
- Pop-ups like Improve writing can be dragged anywhere on the screen.
- New rounded search bars in Settings and Notepad that keep their shape when you click them.
- Settings that change a look show a preview, like the helper ghost's visibility. The volume slider plays a sample sound.
- Make your own voice commands: up to 10 phrases each, for a site, an app, keys, text or any command, picked from a scrolling list. Voice tab or Settings.
- Say Ghost, pause, then the command: it now waits for you instead of saying it didn't understand.
- Just say a web address after Ghost (Ghost, walmart.com) and it opens. Ghost, close amazon.com closes that browser tab.
- Hey Ghost understands more of how the speech model writes commands, like GhostOpenAmazon.com, pull-up, or and Ghost, close Outlook.
- Apple Music opens its web player when the app isn't on your PC. The Voice commands tab explains everything more clearly.
Version 5.8
More ways to open and close apps by voice.
- Say run, open, or start to launch an app. Close, kill, exit, quit, or shut down closes any app you name.
- Hey Ghost understands many ways to open, switch to, or close an app, open a folder, go to a site, or search.
- If Hey Ghost does not know that app, the question mark ghost comes back. Open Apple Music opens applemusic.com.
- Open amazon.com opens that site. If the app is on your PC, open Amazon opens the app.
- Fixed: starting to dictate after Hey Ghost cancels that command and the listening ghost goes away.
- When a command works, the listening ghost steps aside and a card in the middle of the screen confirms it.
- Say stop to send the listening ghost away, or turn voice commands off.
- Hey Ghost runs play and pause right away, and a finished command is not read a second time.
Version 5.7
More Hey Ghost commands and a softer light mode.
- Hey Ghost understands more ways to move windows and tabs, and more ways to ask for the time, a timer, the volume, or a song.
- Say run, launch, or start plus an app name. Run Rocket League opens that game. If no app is found, its website opens.
- When a command goes through, the listening ghost steps aside and a small see-through note takes its place.
- Light mode uses a softer white, so the page is easier on your eyes.
Version 5.6
Hey Ghost runs your PC: apps, timers, music and more.
- A real word is corrected again only in the same kind of sentence. A name, or a pair you type yourself, is still corrected every time.
- Hey Ghost is heard more reliably. Speech that writes HeyGhost, Hey go, or He goes still counts; Hey gosh does not.
- Hold Win+Alt or Ctrl+Alt and say a command. A faint ghost with a question mark shows it is listening.
- Fixed: only one ghost appears when you ask for help, by keys or by saying Hey Ghost.
- Fixed: holding Win+Alt no longer types what you said. It runs it as a Ghost command.
- Hey Ghost runs your PC: open, switch to or close any app by name, open folders and Settings pages, go to a website, or search the web.
- Fixed: close Google or Chrome closes Google Chrome. Minimize Google minimizes that window instead of Ghost Writer.
- Say undo, save, select all, new tab, close the tab, go back, scroll down, zoom in, snap left, or minimize. Hey Ghost, send presses Enter.
- Set a timer or a reminder, ask for the battery or the volume, set the volume to a level, and play, pause, or skip music in any app.
- Fixed: Hey Ghost, unmute no longer mutes a PC that was not muted, and volume up or down now moves a step you can hear.
- Fixed: when paste does not land, the same words are typed in. In Wizard101, press Enter to open chat first.
- Fixed: Hey Ghost, new line or new paragraph no longer presses Enter a second time, which was making Windows play its error sound.
Version 5.5
Hey Ghost runs more of the app, and a fresh violet look.
- Hey Ghost runs more of the app in your own words: open a page, pop the Notepad out or put it back, and it stays on the screen you are using.
- Say it in one breath, or wait for the tick. A pause or a slightly off word still works, and a question mark shows when it does not understand.
- Ask the time or date and a large clock flashes by the ghost. Also mute, volume, lock, screenshot, Calculator, File Explorer, and show desktop.
- Turn hands-free off in your own words, or say Ghost, enter. Copy and paste work in the app you are in, and close shuts File Explorer or the window in front.
- Names you taught stay right with an accent. A fix is saved after two corrections, you can type your own, and clock no longer becomes a saved name.
- A sentence repeated at the end of a dictation is left out. After your words are typed, they come off the Windows clipboard.
- The window is more open, in violet and blue. The title fades between them, and the greeting says you are in Ghost mode.
- The line under the greeting says fully transparent, completely private. The listening ghost is a little easier to see on a light page.
- Light mode is a white page with light blue fields. The title, greeting, buttons, and voice answers stay easy to read.
- Voice commands lists every command in boxes you can open. Advanced ones are marked, the counts are easier to read, and opening a box no longer flashes.
Version 5.4
Hey Ghost is heard more reliably.
- Fixed: Hey Ghost is heard even when it isn't the first thing you said in a phrase.
- Fixed: in a noisier room, a long stretch of sound no longer makes Hey Ghost vanish.
- You can also say Hi Ghost or Okay Ghost; Ghost Writer treats those as Hey Ghost.
- Fixed: Hey Ghost no longer goes quiet after you dictate; it keeps using the same microphone.
Version 5.3
Drop files onto Transcribe, and a steadier Hey Ghost.
- Fixed: dragging a browser scrollbar no longer makes the selection ghost appear.
- Drop audio or video files onto the Transcribe page to start a transcript. Choose audio files still works.
- Fixed: dropping audio or video files onto Transcribe no longer closes Ghost Writer.
- The Transcribe drop area is twice as tall and shows a file drop icon.
- While you dictate or use Hey Ghost, Ghost Writer reduces computer playback and background noise on this PC.
- Fixed: Hey Ghost is less likely to miss a quiet start or end of your voice.
- After the chime, a slightly misheard Hey Ghost no longer loses the command.
- Short commands can start sooner when said in one breath; note titles and text still wait for the full phrase.
- Fixed: hands-free can stop when speech recognition hears "Hey Ghost, stop" as "and go stop" or "here goes stop".
- Fixed: Ghost Writer now tells you when it heard Hey Ghost but couldn't understand the command.
- Fixed: Ghost Writer waits for selected text to finish copying before it tries to rewrite it.
Version 5.2
Hey Ghost voice commands, and Ghost Writer learns from your fixes.
- Ghost Writer now reads the text already in the box you dictate into, and listens out for its names and terms.
- So a name or word that's already written, like a colleague's name or a product, is heard right far more often.
- Dictating into casual lowercase writing? Your words come out casual too (in the Relaxed and Natural styles).
- Fix a word Ghost Writer got wrong, and it learns: from then on it listens out for that word and fixes it for you.
- See and remove what it has learned in Settings, under Learning from your corrections. It all stays on this PC.
- Hands-free gets all of this too: each phrase hears the box you are in, matches its style, and your fixes are learned.
- The ghost now sits right at the end of the last word you selected, not after a space or on the next line.
- With several screens, the ghost, its menu and every pop-up open on the screen you are working on, never cut off.
- Right-click Ghost Writer on the taskbar: start hands-free, switch mode, a new note, writing style or Settings.
- The tray icon menu has hands-free, writing style and speech accuracy too. The taskbar now says Ghost Writer, not Python.
- Ghost Writer now looks for a new version every time it starts, and tells you with a Windows notification.
- Settings is now the gear at the top right, so the tabs are just what you do: Home, Notepad, Transcribe and About.
- What's new has a Check for updates button, and offers the update right there when there is one.
- Fixed: in a small window the Speech accuracy button on Home was cut off.
- Voice commands now start with "Hey Ghost", like "Hey Ghost, new paragraph". Without it, the same words are just typed.
- A new Voice commands tab lists every command with an example, and has a switch to turn them off.
- New, off by default: always listen for "Hey Ghost". Start hands-free, rewrite a selection and more, by voice.
- Say "Hey Ghost, stop" to end hands-free. Settings is now grouped: Dictation, AI, Keyboard and App.
- A command said on its own works too: say "Hey Ghost, new paragraph", then carry on. "Scratch that" removes your last dictation.
- Always listening gives a soft tick when it hears "Hey Ghost". Say "Hey Ghost", wait for it, then the command if you like.
- Your stats is now a tab of its own, next to Home.
- While Ghost Writer waits for your command, a faint ghost hovers at the bottom of the screen, then fades away.
- "Hey Ghost" is picked up far more reliably, and the chime comes as soon as you say it.
- While you dictate, only the dictation commands (new paragraph, new line, scratch that, lists) do anything.
- Fixed: "Hey Ghost" was sometimes written "Hay Ghost". Common words are no longer mistaken for names to listen for.
- Say commands your way: "Hey Ghost, start a new note and name it Daily Allowance". It does what it understands.
- Ask for several things at once, open any page, change the theme or check for updates, all by voice.
- One correction is enough: Ghost Writer learns it straight away, and a faint thinking ghost shows when it does.
- Always listening stays as you left it when Ghost Writer restarts, and Home shows when Ghost is listening.
- In hands-free, "Hey Ghost, stop" ends it. Voice commands are marked Beta while they are new.
- Fixed: in Chrome the selection ghost could appear by the mouse instead of after the selected words.
Version 5.1
Pop-ups close when you click away.
- Pop-ups no longer stay on screen when you leave: the ? explanations, pickers, menus and boxes close as soon as you click away.
- They also close when you switch to another app, so nothing is left floating over your other windows.
Version 5.0
Speech accuracy levels, the selection ghost and a roomier Notepad.
- Right-click in a note for Cut, Copy, Paste, Delete, Select all, Undo and Redo, plus Rewrite with AI.
- Right-click works in Ghost Writer's other text boxes too, like Search.
- Highlighted text in notes is easy to read now: dark ink on the highlight colour, like a real highlighter.
- Pop out the Notepad into its own big window, with nothing else around it. Close it to go back to the app.
- The ‹‹ arrow on the notes list folds it away, so the note you're writing gets the whole width. ›› brings it back.
- Attachments show a picture preview, or the file's type, with a ✕ to remove each one.
- Select text in a note and a small glowing ghost appears beside it: click it to rewrite just that part with AI.
- The AI rewrite button is now Ghost Writer's own glowing ghost.
- The ghost works on every PC: Quick fixes for spelling and grammar, more formal, and letter case need no AI.
- Spelling uses Windows' own spell checker, offline. Names and words it isn't sure about are left alone.
- Menus, like the ghost's rewrite options, close as soon as you click elsewhere or switch to another app or tab.
- Select text with the mouse in any app and a small glowing ghost appears beside it: click it for AI rewrite.
- To show it, Ghost Writer only checks that something is selected. Switch it off in Settings, under AI rewrite.
- Fixed: on smaller screens some pages (like Shortcuts) were cut off. Anything that doesn't fit now scrolls.
- Smoother scrolling everywhere: the mouse wheel and touchpad glide instead of jumping, and long notes no longer skip.
- Fixed: at the bottom of a page or note, the scrollbar showed as if it were at the top.
- The developer error log only lists real faults now, not things Ghost Writer handled as designed.
- If Advanced stops working mid-session, Standard types that dictation instead (nothing is lost) and Advanced restarts.
- Standard no longer sometimes drops the last unfinished words of a phrase when you pause mid-sentence.
- The bubble says "Starting mic" for the moment the microphone takes to start, then "Listening".
- The microphone stays ready for a minute after each dictation (was 20 s), so fewer first words are clipped.
- Ghost Writer uses far less processor while idle, which is easier on a laptop's battery.
- New in Settings: Speech accuracy. Balanced is the default; Most accurate makes about 40% fewer mistakes.
- Light is quickest, for older PCs. Your choice is saved and kept until you change it.
- Pick it from Home too: a power-level drop-down, shown while Standard does the transcribing. More power, more time.
- If dictation is slow on your PC, Ghost Writer suggests a quicker level once. It never changes it by itself.
- Standard hears soft voices and quiet microphones better (about 12% fewer mistakes there), at no cost in speed.
- Hands-free in Standard is more accurate: it no longer gets thrown off by sentences you already finished.
- Fixed: Always Listening now notices when its microphone fails or disconnects, retries it, and shows when it is starting.
Version 4.9
Shortcuts moved into Settings.
- Shortcuts has moved into Settings, so the tabs along the top are simpler. Edit on Home still opens it.
Version 4.8
A Notepad freeze fixed.
- Fixed: clicking ✨ in Notepad with no text selected made Ghost Writer stop responding.
Version 4.7
AI rewrite: improve, shorten or reshape your text.
- New: AI rewrite. Improve, shorten, or turn your text into an email, meeting notes or a summary.
- In Notepad, click ✨ in the toolbar. In any app, select text and press Alt+Shift+R.
- You see the result first; your text only changes if you choose Replace.
- Use your own local AI: pick a model you run with Ollama or LM Studio, in Settings under AI rewrite.
Version 4.6
Advanced mode on AMD and Intel graphics cards.
- Advanced mode now works on AMD and Intel graphics cards too, not just NVIDIA.
- It needs a card with its own memory: 4 GB for the big speech model, 6 GB for smart formatting too.
- Each PC downloads only what its card needs: 3.3 GB for AMD and Intel, 4.8 GB for NVIDIA.
Version 4.5
Your stats: words, speed and time saved.
- New in Settings: Your stats. Words dictated, speaking speed, time saved, streaks and a calendar of your activity.
- See which writing styles and apps you use most, and how much cleanup Ghost Writer did for you.
- Counted on your PC only (numbers, never your words). Reset it whenever you like.
Version 4.4
A formatting toolbar and attachments in Notepad.
- Notepad has a formatting toolbar, like a word processor: fonts, sizes, bold, italic, underline and more.
- Text colour, highlight, bulleted and numbered lists, alignment, and undo and redo.
- Attach files to a note (pictures, documents, anything). Click one to open it.
Version 4.3
New Transcribe tab: turn recordings into notes.
- New Transcribe tab: turn recordings into notes. Choose one or more audio files (MP3, WAV, M4A, FLAC, OGG, WMA and more, or the sound of a video).
- Each transcript is saved in the Transcripts folder of your Notepad, in paragraphs and in your Writing style.
- It all happens on your PC, and a file waits while you dictate.
Version 4.2
Its own installer, website and one-click updates.
- Ghost Writer has its own installer and website.
- Advanced mode installs from inside the app on PCs with an NVIDIA graphics card.
- Ghost Writer checks once a day for a new version and offers it with one click. You can turn this off in Settings, under Updates.
Version 4.1
A new ghost logo.
- A new look for the Ghost: the titanium ghost logo, with eyes and a halo that glow purple in dark mode and light blue in light mode.
Version 4.0
Light and dark themes.
- Light and dark themes: choose Dark, Light or System in Settings, under Appearance.
- System follows your Windows setting and switches by itself when Windows does.
- Dark stays the default. The recording bubble stays dark in every theme, so it reads well over any app.
Version 3.9
Note search highlights your words.
- Searching your notes softly highlights the words you typed, in the list and in the open note.
Version 3.8
Folders in Notepad.
- Notepad folders: sort your notes into folders you can open and close.
- Right-click a folder to add a note to it, rename it or delete it. Deleting a folder keeps its notes.
Version 3.7
Pin, export or delete notes with a right-click.
- Right-click a note in Notepad to pin, export or delete it.
- Each note shows when it was created and when it was last updated.
Version 3.6
A new tagline.
- New tagline under the name: "Private dictation that runs entirely on this PC, fully transparent."
Version 3.5
Notepad: as many notes as you like.
- Scratchpad is now Notepad: keep as many notes as you like, like the Notes app on a phone.
- Search your notes, pin the important ones to the top, and export or import them as text files.
- Start hands-free right from Notepad and dictate straight into a note.
- Your old Scratchpad text is kept as your first note.
Version 3.4
No more long dashes.
- Ghost Writer never types long dashes (—). You get a comma or a period instead.
- The app's name is always written as two words: Ghost Writer.
- On the About tab, "Ghost" is now in Ghost Writer's own lettering.
Version 3.3
Simpler Settings.
- Settings is simpler: a short list you click into, instead of every option at once.
- Writing styles are in order from least to most formal, starting with Caveman.
Version 3.2
New writing style: Caveman.
- New writing style, Caveman: just your words exactly as heard. No punctuation, no capitals, no fixes.
Version 3.1
This list of updates.
- Click the version number (bottom left) to see this list of updates.
Version 3.0
Slimmer scrollbars and easier-to-read grey text.
- Slimmer, rounded scrollbars that match the rest of the app.
- Grey text is lighter, so small print is easier to read.
Version 2.9
Ghost Writer's own question boxes.
- Questions like "Delete all?" now appear in Ghost Writer's own style instead of a plain Windows box.
- Ghost Writer quietly notes any problems it runs into so they can be fixed. It never records what you say.
Version 2.8
A status light fix.
- Fixed: the status light stayed yellow after you turned hands-free off.
Version 2.7
A new About tab, and nothing can reach the internet.
- New About tab: how Ghost Writer works and how it keeps everything private.
- New welcome line: "You are a Ghost. Welcome, Ghost Writer."
- Removed leftover code, so nothing in the app can reach the internet.
Version 2.6
A fresh, modern look.
- A fresh, modern look: rounded glass panels, buttons and tabs.
Version 2.5
Writing styles, and dictionary import and export.
- Writing styles: choose Relaxed, Natural, Polished or Formal for how your words come out.
- Dictionary: clear all words, or import and export your list.
Version 2.4
Smarter grammar fixes that suit the app you're in.
- Advanced mode looks back over your last few sentences and fixes small grammar slips.
- Ghost Writer notices which app you're in (chat, email, document, code) and writes to suit it.
Version 2.2
Quicker corrections.
- Corrections are quicker and only change the words that need it, instead of retyping everything.
Version 2.1
Fixes for deleted text and stray letters.
- Fixed: text was sometimes deleted by mistake.
- Fixed: stray letters appearing, and typing into Notepad not working.
Version 2.0
Hands-free understands pauses.
- Hands-free understands pauses: it types as you talk, then tidies up the whole thought when you finish.
- Uses your recent dictations to get names and your way of writing right.
Version 1.9
A Scratchpad tab and your last 50 dictations.
- Scratchpad tab: a notepad inside Ghost Writer to type or dictate into.
- Reads the text box you're writing in, so new words fit what's already there.
- A button to start and stop hands-free.
- Your last 50 dictations, each with a Copy button.
- A new look: the Ghost Writer lettering, a pulsing status light and a clearer mode badge.
Version 1.3 to 1.8
Advanced mode, smart formatting and your own shortcuts.
- Advanced mode: faster, more accurate speech recognition on NVIDIA graphics cards.
- Smart formatting by a small AI that runs on your PC.
- Choose your own keyboard shortcuts.
- Faster hands-free, and automatic paragraphs.
- Works on more PCs, with plain advice when something goes wrong.
Version 1.0 to 1.2
The beginning.
- The beginning: hold a shortcut, speak, and your words appear wherever you're typing. Everything stays on your PC.
