Dictate in · Cursor
Use voice for agent prompts, Cmd K instructions, commit messages, and review notes. Keep syntax on the keyboard.
Dictate is our Mac app. Hold a key and speak; release to insert the words in the focused field.
Cursor voice mode covered the agent prompt in July 2026. Dictate covers other fields too.
New to dictating on a Mac? Start with how to dictate on a Mac. Prompting Claude Code in a terminal instead? See voice dictation for the terminal.
The long ones
A useful agent prompt covers what to change, what to preserve, the relevant files, and what success looks like.
Click the chat panel, hold the hotkey, and describe the change. Release, review the punctuated text, then press Enter.
The short ones
Select the function, press ⌘ K, and say what you want: "make this async and add a five second timeout."
Select code and accept the diff with the keyboard. Speak the instruction between them.
While the diff is fresh
Click the commit box while the diff is fresh, then say what changed and why.
A second spoken sentence adds context without much extra effort.
Writing about code
PR comments, TODOs, and documentation are prose. They are good candidates for dictation.
The same hotkey works in ChatGPT and other prompt fields.
The Electron part
Dictate inserts through the macOS Accessibility API and falls back to paste. Text lands in Cursor chat, Cmd K, the commit box, or the integrated terminal.
No Cursor extension, MCP server, models, or API keys.
Transcription needs a connection. Audio travels over TLS, is transcribed, then discarded. It costs $8 a month, one plan.
What people ask before dictating their first Cursor prompt.
Partly. In July 2026, Cursor voice mode worked in the agent prompt while requests for editor-wide voice input remained open. Dictate covers every focused field.
Click the chat, composer, or Cmd K field. Hold Dictate’s hotkey, speak, and release. No Cursor-specific setup is needed.
Yes. Dictate uses the macOS Accessibility API and falls back to paste. That covers Cursor, VS Code, other Electron apps, browsers, and terminals.
You can, but syntax is usually faster on the keyboard. Use voice for prompts, comments, and commit messages.
Transcription needs a connection. Audio travels over TLS, is transcribed, then discarded. History stores text only. The subscription check works offline.
$8 a month, with one plan. Unused subscriptions are refunded in full; after any transcription, the month is non-refundable.
$8/month flat. Cancel any time; unused subscriptions refunded in full.
