Voice-first coding · HackUMass 2026
Hear your code. Ship without sight.
A development environment built for blind developers. Speak a change, approve it yourself, and hear the real result beside your screen reader.
- 0 changes without your approval
- 1 voice at a time, never two
- 100% local speech recognition
The first request
Heard like this.
Activity log
- You say
- Artemis, create a Python program that prints Hello World.
- Artemis
- Heard: create a Python program that prints Hello World.
- Artemis
- Create project hello-world with 1 file: main.py, 1 line. No security findings. Enter to approve, Escape to reject.
- You press
- Enter
- Artemis
- Run main.py with Python. No security findings. Enter to run, Escape to reject.
- You press
- Enter
- Artemis
- main.py ran successfully. It printed: Hello, World!
Approval
Create project hello-world with 1 file: main.py, 1 line. No security findings.
+ print("Hello, World!")
Artemis speaks in its own voice while Orca keeps reading your screen, and keeps every line in a log you can review.
Built with
Built on Ubuntu, GNOME Shell, Orca, Whisper, ElevenLabs, Claude, axe-core, Bandit and Python. Features: the “Hey Artemis” wake word, push-to-talk, spoken diffs, keyboard approvals, security scans, Echo Check, local speech and a reviewable log.
What Artemis does
Code you can hear, changes you approve, results you can trust. Built for screen readers first, and fast where it counts.
- VoiceSpeak or type a request
Hold Ctrl+Shift+Space from any app. Artemis reads back what it heard first.
- ControlApprove the exact change
Enter approves, Escape rejects. A spoken "yes" never decides.
- RunsRun it for real
A fixed command, a time limit, and none of Artemis's secrets.
- SafetyCatch problems before they run
Python files are scanned before each write or run. A serious finding blocks it until you decide.
- Echo CheckHear what a page really exposes
Artemis reads a local web page's real accessibility tree and speaks the problems, most serious first.
- Screen readerIts own voice, beside Orca
Artemis speaks in its own voice. Orca keeps your screen, and every control works from the keyboard.
You have code to write and ideas to ship.
The last thing you need is a tool that hides its errors, talks over your screen reader, or needs someone sighted to click the button.
What you can do
From idea to running. Spoken, step by step.
- DEMO 1First program
Hello World, by voice
"main.py ran successfully. It printed: Hello, World!"
- DEMO 2Debugging
A failed run, explained
"main.py failed with exit code 1. NameError: name 'pritn' is not defined. Did you mean: 'print'?"
- DEMO 3Security Guardian
Risky code, blocked
"Blocked: 1 high-severity issue, main.py line 5, subprocess call with shell=True identified, security issue, and 1 more."
- DEMO 4Prompt injection
A hostile README, ignored
A README tells the AI to delete files. It's read as data, and the agent has no delete tool.
- DEMO 5Echo Check
A form, made accessible
On the sign-up fixture page, Echo Check found 7 accessibility problems before the fix and none after.
Two ways in
Speak it. Or type it.
Both paths go through the same approvals. The only thing that changes is how you start.
| Way 1Voice | Way 2Keyboard | |
|---|---|---|
| Start | Say “Hey Artemis”, or hold Ctrl+Shift+Space, and talk | Type the request, press Enter |
| Check | Artemis tells you its plan first | "Heard: …" is read back first |
| Approve | Enter approves, Escape rejects, on the focused dialog. With conversation mode on, you can also say “approve” for a clean change in your project once it has been read to you. | |
| Result | Spoken in Artemis’s own voice, and kept in the log. | |
| Best for | Hands on the keyboard, mind on the idea | Noisy rooms, precise names, no microphone |
All in one place
Stop juggling tools that were never built to be heard.
Every step is spoken, so no one has to read the screen for you.
Ask for the change in plain words; Artemis finds the files.
Exit code and final error line, read out word for word.
A spoken summary built from the real edit, steppable by line.
One voice speaks each line. If ElevenLabs can't be reached, the offline voice takes over.
Python files are scanned before each write or run, and nothing in your project runs without your approval.
How it works
From your voice to a running program, in five clear steps.
- Speak
You say “Hey Artemis” and talk.
The island lights up and Artemis listens. Or hold the shortcut instead. Either way it transcribes on your own computer.
- Plan
It tells you its plan.
The plan is the first thing you hear, and your words appear in the island’s panel. Not what you meant? Say “stop” and ask again.
- Review
You hear the exact change.
A summary built from the real edit, with the full diff to step through. Enter approves, Escape rejects.
- Scan and run
It checks the code, then runs it.
A security scan of any Python files first, then its own approval, a fixed command and a time limit.
- Hear
You hear what really happened.
What the program printed, or the exit code and final error line, then an explanation and a fix.
Built in one weekend.
Four students, one goal: a blind developer builds and runs real software with no sighted help.
merged by 8 AM Saturday, each reviewed.
run on Linux in every pull request.
Speech is recognised on your computer and never saved.
Voice, agent and safety, core, and the desktop island.
Why blind developers would choose Artemis.
- 01
You decide every change.
Nothing in your project is written or run without your approval. An approval covers the exact edit or run you reviewed.
- 02
Every result is real.
Programs really run, and you hear what they actually printed.
- 03
Errors are never softened.
Exit code and final error line come first, word for word.
- 04
Your screen reader comes first.
Artemis works beside Orca, never against it, and every control works from the keyboard.
Everything you need to know
Which screen readers does it work with?
Artemis is built and tested on Ubuntu 24.04 with Orca, the screen reader that comes with Ubuntu. It speaks in its own voice while Orca keeps reading your screen. Other screen readers aren't tested yet.
Does my voice leave my computer?
No. Speech is recognised locally with Whisper, held in memory only while you speak, and never saved or uploaded. The lines Artemis says aloud are sent to ElevenLabs to be voiced, with secrets removed first; without an ElevenLabs key, nothing is sent.
Is my code sent anywhere?
Your request, the open project's file names, the files the agent reads and its tool results (such as a program's output) go to Anthropic's Claude to plan changes. Artemis sends nothing else. An approved program runs on your computer with your permissions.
Can it run anything it wants?
No. Every run needs your approval, Python files are scanned first, and it runs with a fixed command and a time limit. It's gated and limited, not an operating-system sandbox.
What if the shortcut doesn't work?
Another app may own it. Say “Hey Artemis” instead, type in the island, or pick a different shortcut in the island’s Settings.
Ready to build without asking for help?
Artemis is in active development. The launcher runs the whole app with Claude or a scripted agent, and the browser-only in-memory demo uses a simulated assistant.