Dicto
A fast, offline desktop dictionary for Windows and Linux — native, instant, and faithful to every dictionary's design.
The problem
Most dictionary apps today are either web pages wrapped in Electron, online-only, or stuck with one bundled dictionary. Meanwhile, the richest dictionary content on the planet — MDX/MDD packs, the format behind GoldenDict and MDict — sits on disk waiting for a reader that treats it like a native app should.
Dicto is that reader.
What it looks like
What it does
- Instant search — suggestions appear as you type; results load in milliseconds.
- Faithful rendering — full HTML output with per-dictionary CSS, so each dictionary looks exactly as its author intended.
- Multi-dictionary — load as many MDX files as you like; enable, disable, and reorder them live, without restarting.
- Built-in downloads — pick dictionaries from Settings (WordNet 3.1, 155k+ English words, is included); everything is indexed automatically.
- Truly offline — after downloading dictionaries, nothing leaves your machine.
Supported formats
| Format | Status |
|---|---|
| MDX v2 (UTF-8, UTF-16) | Full support |
| MDX v1 | Full support |
| MDD resource containers | Images, audio, CSS |
| Encryption levels 0, 2 | Supported |
Install
Arch Linux:
yay -S dicto # build from source
yay -S dicto-bin # pre-built binaryWindows: grab the installer or the portable zip from the
releases page. Linux users can also
download a generic x86_64 tarball, or build with
cargo build --release --package dicto.
Features
- Instant search-as-you-type
- Native UI — no Electron
- Faithful HTML rendering with per-dictionary CSS
- Multi-dictionary: enable, disable, reorder without restart
- Built-in dictionary downloads (WordNet 3.1 included)
- MDX v1/v2 + MDD, encryption levels 0 and 2
- Windows installer and portable; Linux binary and AUR