Download Holdkey for Windows

Starting your download… If nothing happens, use the button above.

Windows will warn you. This is expected.

When you run the installer, Windows shows a blue screen saying “Windows protected your PC”. Click More info, then Run anyway.

It appears because the installer isn’t code-signed yet; SmartScreen shows it for any new installer without a signing certificate. Signing is coming. Local recognition runs on your PC. Smart recognition is an explicit setting that sends only held dictations for managed transcription and falls back to Local if unavailable.

Windows 10/11, x64, about 10 MB. Speech models (about 3 GB) download on first run. All versions and checksums.

Command line (no SmartScreen prompt)

If you use winget, this installs the current release without the SmartScreen screen, because winget-fetched installers are not marked as downloads from the web:

winget install Noxxider.Holdkey

The manifest was submitted to the winget repository on 7 September 2026; until Microsoft merges it (usually a few days) winget reports “No package found”. The installer above is the same file.

After installing

Holdkey lives in the tray and starts with Windows. There is nothing to open.

Put the cursor in any text box, hold Right Ctrl, talk, let go. The text lands where the cursor is.

Local recognition is free. Clean includes 2,000 words a week; Founder Pro adds Smart recognition and removes the cap.