BYOAIK (Bring Your Own AI Key) is a directory of AI tools that run on your own API key.
Buzz
Cross-platform desktop app to transcribe and translate audio offline with Whisper, or via your own OpenAI-compatible API key.
- Category:
- Voice and Transcription Tools
- Maintenance:
- Actively developed (last commit yesterday)
- Pricing:
- Open Source
- Open source:
- Yes (MIT)
- Self-hostable:
- Yes
- Local-first:
- Yes
- Platforms:
- Desktop, CLI, Self-hosted, Docker
- AI providers (bring your own key):
- OpenAI, Groq, Anthropic, Google Gemini, Ollama, Hugging Face, Custom / OpenAI-compatible
- API key storage:
- Stored locally on device
- Key risk level:
- LOW
- Trust score:
- 90/100
Buzz is an open-source, cross-platform desktop application (macOS, Windows, Linux) built with Python and Qt that transcribes and translates audio and video. By default it runs entirely offline using local Whisper implementations (Whisper, Whisper.cpp, Faster Whisper, and Whisper-compatible Hugging Face models, with CUDA/Apple Silicon/Vulkan acceleration). For remote speech recognition, users can set their own OpenAI API key in Preferences. The Preferences screen also exposes a configurable Base URL (default https://api.openai.com/v1/), so the end user can point Buzz at any OpenAI-compatible endpoint. The maintainer-documented Discussion #827 confirms working setups with the user's own keys for Groq (https://api.groq.com/openai/v1, free transcription), Lemonfox, and self-hosted Whisper.cpp servers (RunPod/Vast.ai/TensorDock), and for the translation feature, OpenAI-compatible endpoints from Anthropic, Google Gemini, Ollama, and Groq via custom base URL plus API key. Exports to TXT/SRT/VTT; supports files, YouTube links, live microphone, watch folders, and a CLI.
Why this trust score (90/100)
Trust measures how the tool treats your API key and how much of that has been verified. It contains no popularity signal.
- Key Safety 25/25: The key is held on your own device. Observed using the operating system keychain rather than a file.
- Request Routing 17/20: Requests go straight from you to the AI provider.
- Transparency 20/20: Source is public under MIT, so anyone can check how the key is handled.
- Privacy 11/15: Local-first: it works without sending your data anywhere. Can be self-hosted, so the data path stays inside infrastructure you control. Analytics or error-reporting libraries are present; what they send was not established.
- Maintenance 10/10: Actively developed: commits within the last three months.
- Verification Confidence 7/10: Key handling was found in the published source by BYOAIK's scanner.
What was checked
Verification tier SOURCE_VERIFIED, derived from the evidence below and not set by hand.
- [REPORTED · RESEARCH] This listing was compiled by an AI-assisted research pass over the tool's public website, README and documentation. No person independently confirmed it.
- [STRONG · SOURCE_SCAN] Uses the operating system keychain / credential store to hold the key. source
- [REPORTED · SOURCE_SCAN] References PostHog, so some analytics or error reporting is present. This scan cannot tell whether it is opt-in or what it sends. source
- [CONFIRMED · SOURCE_SCAN] Most recent commit 2026-08-10, about 0 month(s) ago. source
How your API key is handled
Your API key is stored locally on your device. Requests are sent directly to the AI provider. Because it can be self-hosted, your key never has to touch a third-party backend.
Setup
Open settings, paste your provider API key, choose a model, and start. The key stays on your device.