LesskeysVoice coding on Mac or Windows: dictate comments, commit messages and prompts
Lesskeys does not steer your editor: it dictates the words around the code, such as comments, commit messages and prompts. Hold the dictation key, speak, and Lesskeys turns your words into text for the app you are in.
macOS 13+ on Apple Silicon · No subscriptionWindows 10 and 11 · No subscription
Last reviewed
Dictate into the editor
Dictate into your terminal or editor
- Click where the text should go.
- Hold the dictation key and speak. Release it when you are done.
- The text arrives after you stop. Paste it if it is not there yet.
What you can say
What a developer can dictate
The words around your code.
- Comments and docstrings
- Commit messages and pull request descriptions
- Prompts for AI coding tools
- Docs, READMEs, tickets and replies
It works in every app you can paste into, in 99 languages. A tool name spelled wrong? Add a text replacement once. Clipboard history helps too: what people say.
Limits
What it does not do
It does not control your editor.
- No spoken editor commands
- No code grammar
- Text arrives after you stop
Say code out loud and you get words, not syntax. Dictate the prose around the code; type the code.
On a Mac
Dictating on a Mac
Hold ⌥., speak, release.
You can also tap it once to start and again to stop. The Mac App Store version copies the finished text to the clipboard, so you paste it; the website download can paste for you once you allow Accessibility access. Either way the words arrive after you stop talking, so say a whole sentence, then read it before it goes into a commit or a prompt.
On Windows
Dictating on Windows
Hold Alt+Space, speak, release.
You can also tap it once to start and again to stop. Lesskeys then pastes the text for you with Ctrl+V and puts your clipboard back. If the window refuses the paste, for example one running as Administrator, the text stays on the clipboard for you to paste yourself. The microphone is the only permission Lesskeys asks for. Either way the words arrive after you stop talking, so say a whole sentence, then read it before it goes into a commit or a prompt.
Questions
Questions about voice coding
Can I code by voice with Lesskeys?
Not with spoken commands. Lesskeys turns speech into text in the app you are in, so you can dictate comments, commit messages and prompts. It has no commands for moving around your editor.
Does voice coding with Lesskeys need the internet?
No. Lesskeys turns your speech into text on your computer, with no account and no upload. Your words stay on the device.
Can I dictate prompts to an AI coding tool with Lesskeys?
Yes. Click into the prompt, hold the dictation key, speak and release. The text arrives after you stop. Lesskeys then either pastes it for you or leaves it on the clipboard for you to paste; the section for your system says which.
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