Coati
Coati is an iOS app that turns voice memos into clean Markdown notes in your Obsidian vault.
You record a memo, Coati transcribes it, sends the transcript to an LLM for cleanup, and saves the result as a .md file directly on your device. The original audio gets saved too, embedded in the note. A backlink gets inserted into your daily note so everything stays connected.
How It Works
- Record a voice memo in-app
- Transcribe on-device using Apple’s Speech framework
- Clean up the transcript with your choice of AI provider—Apple Intelligence, Claude, OpenAI, or Gemini
- Save a Markdown file to your Obsidian vault with YAML frontmatter, the cleaned transcript, and an embedded link to the audio
Local-First
Everything stays on your device. Transcription happens on-device through Apple’s Speech framework. If you use Apple Intelligence for cleanup, that’s on-device too—no API key needed, no data leaves your phone.
If you want a cloud LLM for better cleanup (Claude, OpenAI, Gemini), the transcript text gets sent to the API but the audio never does. No account, no cloud sync, no analytics.See Steph Ango - file over app
Markdown files are also easily accessible by Claude Code and other coding agents, so it is easy to include voice memos into your workflow.
Why “Coati”
A coati is a Sonoran desert animal—curious, resourceful, good at finding things. It does its job without making a fuss.
Coati is open source on GitHub, or you can join the TestFlight.