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An offline Linux live-caption app with audio-source selection and a resizable multi-line display

desktop app real project •• multiple requests

Deaf and hard-of-hearing Linux desktop users rely on the FOSS LiveCaptions app for offline, on-device captions, but users filed fresh June 2026 requests for two missing controls: selecting one speech source instead of mixing all desktop audio, and resizing the caption window beyond a cramped single-line display. The value is making on-device captioning usable for real conversations and media on Linux without filtering games, music, and speech by hand.

builder note

Do not pitch this as 'Linux has no captioning' because Chrome's Live Caption already runs there. The real unmet need is per-source audio selection plus a readable resizable display, which even the leading FOSS tool lacks.

landscape (2 existing solutions)

On-device live captioning ships system-wide on Windows 11 and macOS and in-browser via Chrome on Linux, but Linux has no OS-level option, so deaf and hard-of-hearing Linux users depend on the FOSS LiveCaptions app, which still cannot target one audio source or show more than a line or two.

LiveCaptions (net.sapples.LiveCaptions) Linux and desktop only, offline and on-device. Its Flathub page shows it captions desktop and mic audio combined with no per-source selection, and display options are limited to font, size, and uppercase, with no resizable multi-line display or per-source input control. English only.
Chrome Live Caption Runs on Linux but, per Google's help page, only captions audio playing inside the Chrome browser, not arbitrary app or system audio.

sources (2)

other https://github.com/abb128/LiveCaptions/issues/120 "allow us to select a specific input device in the app" 2026-06-03
other https://github.com/abb128/LiveCaptions/issues/122 "one line is not enough... I want to increase the height" 2026-06-15
accessibilitycaptionsdeaflinuxoffline-ai