Voice dictation in Claude Code

Not yet tested in a recorded run. The steps on this page follow Claude Code's docs and how VocType pastes; the dated test results and a recording will be added here.

Start with /voice

Type /voice in Claude Code to turn on its voice input. By default you keep Space pressed while you talk and let go to finish. Run /voice tap instead and one press starts, the next one stops. In tap mode Claude Code sends the prompt for you once the transcript is three words or longer. On a Mac, the terminal app you run Claude Code in needs Microphone access the first time.

If you sign in with a Claude.ai account and run Claude Code in a terminal on your own Mac, try /voice first. It is built in and needs no other app.

Where /voice is not available

Claude Code's docs list these cases:

• You use Claude Code with an API key, or through Amazon Bedrock, Google Cloud or Microsoft Foundry.
• Your organization has turned voice off.
• You are in a cloud session on the web, connected over SSH, or working in VS Code Remote.

VocType works differently. It runs on your Mac and pastes with Command-V into whatever window is in front, so it does not depend on how Claude Code signs in. We have not yet tested VocType in each of those setups. Until the results are on this page, treat those setups as untested.

How a dictated prompt lands in Claude Code

Click into the Claude Code prompt, press Option + Space, and talk. Press it again when you are done (Esc also stops and still pastes). VocType pastes the text and stops there.

• VocType never presses Return, and Enter is what sends in Claude Code, so you read the prompt first and send it when it says what you meant. That differs from /voice tap, which sends on its own.
• When a paste runs past 800 characters or 3 lines, Claude Code shows it as [Pasted text #1 +N lines]. The whole text is still sent. If you want to edit it, dictate in shorter pieces.
• To add a line between two dictated parts, type a backslash then Enter, or Control-J. Shift-Enter works in iTerm2, Ghostty, Warp and Apple's Terminal; in the VS Code and Cursor terminals, run /terminal-setup once.
• VocType pastes where the cursor is when the text is ready. If you switch windows mid-recording, copy the text from History instead. See when pasting does not work.

Prompts worth saying out loud

The habit that pays off is talking the way you would brief a colleague. Three examples you might say:

A bug report with the evidence

The nightly import job fails on files with a byte order mark. The error is in the CSV parser. Write a failing test first, then strip the mark before parsing, and tell me if any other reader has the same problem.

A plan before any code

Don't write code yet. Read the auth middleware and the session store, then give me a plan to move sessions from cookies to the database, with the risks and the order you would do it in.

A note for CLAUDE.md

Add to CLAUDE.md that we use pnpm, never npm, and that every pull request goes to the dev branch.

Words to add to your Personal Dictionary

Claude Code has its own vocabulary, and a speech model will spell some of it wrong. Add these to the Personal Dictionary as a start:

• Vocabulary: Claude Code, CLAUDE.md, MCP, subagent, slash command, hooks, worktree, pnpm, plus the names of your repos, services and packages.
• Word replacements: "claude md" to CLAUDE.md, "sub agent" to subagent, "get hub" to GitHub, "mcp server" to MCP server, "pre commit" to pre-commit.

What Claude Code's own docs say

Checked on October 22, 2026. Each line links to where we read it.

• You turn on the built-in voice input with /voice. By default you hold Space while you talk; /voice tap makes one press start and the next stop, and sends the prompt when the transcript is three words or more. Source
• /voice needs a Claude.ai login. It is not available when Claude Code runs with an API key, Amazon Bedrock, Google Cloud or Microsoft Foundry, and an organization policy can turn it off. Source
• /voice does not work in cloud sessions on the web, over SSH or in VS Code Remote. Source
• /voice understands 20 languages, and on macOS your terminal app needs Microphone access in System Settings. Source
• In the prompt, Enter sends. A backslash then Enter, or Control-J, adds a new line; Shift-Enter works in iTerm2, Ghostty, Warp and Apple's Terminal. Source
• A paste longer than 800 characters or 3 lines shows as [Pasted text #1 +N lines] in the prompt, and the full text is still sent. Source

When you don't need VocType here

• You sign in with Claude.ai, work in a local terminal, and like /voice. It is built into Claude Code and right there in the prompt.
• You want the prompt sent the moment you stop talking. /voice tap does that; VocType always leaves sending to you.
• Your audio has to stay on your Mac. VocType sends each recording to the cloud to be turned into text, so it is not the right tool there.
• You only dictate in Claude Code, and you speak one of the 20 languages /voice supports.

Where else this helps

Claude Code is one stop in the day. The same hotkey works in your editor: see dictating in Cursor. For commit messages and pull requests, see dictation for developers, and for every other app, see system-wide dictation on your Mac.

Download VocType for Mac and start dictating in any app.