Recipes / Productivity
Local meeting notes with Meetily (no Otter bot)
An open-source desktop app that records system audio and mic, transcribes on your device with Whisper or Parakeet and summarizes with a local Ollama model (or Claude, Groq, OpenRouter, OpenAI).
Tool names link to each official site (opens in a new tab). Links marked “aff” are affiliate links. Disclosure
App vs bot, side by side
| Old app / habit | Bot | |
|---|---|---|
| Tool | Otter, Fireflies and Granola-style meeting note takers | Meetily desktop app + local Whisper/Parakeet transcription + Ollama summaries |
| Monthly cost | Not reported | Free (MIT); optional paid AI provider if you don’t run local models |
| Setup | None (already in use) | Not reported · Intermediate |
| Your time | Baseline | Not reported |
| Maintenance | Handled by vendor/you as before | Update the app and models; pick a summary model that fits your hardware. |
| Privacy | Data stays with the app vendor | With local models, audio and transcripts stay on your machine; cloud providers receive text only if you choose them. |
Full comparison
| Replaces | Otter, Fireflies and Granola-style meeting note takers |
|---|---|
| Bot / agent stack | Meetily desktop app + local Whisper/Parakeet transcription + Ollama summaries |
| Monthly cost before | Not reported |
| Monthly cost after | Free (MIT); optional paid AI provider if you don’t run local models |
| Setup time | Not reported |
| Time saved | Not reported |
| Skill level | Intermediate |
| Reliability | 3/5: widely used open-source tool; local models need decent hardware and you must remember to start recording. |
| Maintenance | Update the app and models; pick a summary model that fits your hardware. |
| Privacy & data | With local models, audio and transcripts stay on your machine; cloud providers receive text only if you choose them. |
| Best for | Privacy-conscious people who take many calls |
| Not for | People who want shared team notes in the cloud |
Pros and cons
Pros
- No meeting bot joins calls
- Runs offline
- Works with any meeting app
Cons
- Needs a capable computer
- Manual start of recording
How it works
- Install Meetily for macOS or Windows
- Download a Whisper or Parakeet model
- Install Ollama and a summary model (or add an API key)
- Record a meeting
- Review the transcript and summary
Source and evidence
Popular open-source project (31k+ GitHub stars, updated Sep 2026); vendor-built tool, and summary quality depends on the model you choose.
Read the original GitHub source ↗
“Not reported” means the source doesn't say. We never fill gaps with guesses. Numbers marked “per author” or “vendor claim” are the source's own and weren't independently tested. Source last checked 2026-10-16.
Our rating is an editorial opinion based on the public source above, not lab testing. Spot an error? Request a correction.
Plain-text summary (for search and AI assistants)
Local meeting notes with Meetily (no Otter bot). Replaces Otter, Fireflies and Granola-style meeting note takers with Meetily desktop app + local Whisper/Parakeet transcription + Ollama summaries. Cost before: Not reported. Cost after: Free (MIT); optional paid AI provider if you don’t run local models. Setup: Not reported, Intermediate. Time saved: Not reported. Reliability 3/5: 3/5: widely used open-source tool; local models need decent hardware and you must remember to start recording. Best for: Privacy-conscious people who take many calls. Not for: People who want shared team notes in the cloud. Source: https://github.com/Zackriya-Solutions/meetily
Related recipes
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- Executive-style daily meeting prep brief (3/5)
More: all Productivity recipes
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