Practical guide · about 8 minutes
How to use voice to text on Mac — in any app.
Install once, press a global shortcut, speak, and your words appear wherever the cursor is. The default models work offline on Apple Silicon.
Quick start
Set up Mac voice typing in four steps.
VoiceToText works system-wide rather than inside one editor. Once the permissions are granted, the same shortcut works anywhere macOS shows a text cursor.
Install VoiceToText
Download the DMG, open it, and drag VoiceToText into your Applications folder. The app is signed and notarized for macOS.
Grant two permissions
Microphone lets the app hear you. Accessibility lets it paste the finished transcript into the app where your cursor is. You can revoke either permission in System Settings.
Put the cursor anywhere and press Option plus Space⌥Space
Open Mail, Notes, Slack, a browser, a terminal, or any other Mac app. Click where you want the text, press the shortcut, and speak naturally. Press Esc to cancel.
Stop, review, and paste
Press the shortcut again. Edit the transcript if needed, then press Return to paste it at the cursor. If you prefer zero friction, turn off review and the text will paste immediately.
Mac permissions
Grant only the permissions your shortcut needs.
The default setup needs Microphone and Accessibility. Input Monitoring is requested only when you choose Right Control as a standalone shortcut.
Microphone
Required to record your voice. Enable VoiceToText in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone; you can revoke access at any time.
Accessibility
Required for the global shortcut, Esc to cancel, and pasting the transcript into another app. VoiceToText does not use it to read your screen or log keystrokes.
Input Monitoring — optional
Only the standalone Right Control shortcut needs Input Monitoring. The default Option+Space shortcut does not require this third permission.
Models & languages
Choose an offline speech-to-text model for your language and Mac.
VoiceToText offers six local models. Each downloads once, runs on the Apple Neural Engine, and keeps subsequent recordings on your Mac.
Parakeet TDT v3
The fastest local option, designed for 25 European languages including English. It is a strong default when low latency matters.
Whisper Large v3 Turbo
A balanced local model with support for 99 languages. Choose it when you want broad language coverage without the slower Large v3 model.
Other Whisper sizes
Large v3 favors quality over speed; Small, Base, and Tiny use less storage but make more mistakes. All five Whisper options support 99 languages.
Want a deeper privacy walkthrough? Read how offline speech to text works on Mac.
Make it yours
Choose the dictation flow that feels natural.
Start with the defaults, then change only what removes friction from your own workflow.
Toggle or hold to talk
Tap the shortcut once to start and again to stop, or switch it to push-to-talk and hold the key only while speaking.
Local by default
Choose Parakeet or Whisper and transcription runs on your Mac after the model download. Your recording never leaves the device.
Review or instant paste
Keep the review panel for edits and AI actions, or disable it when speed matters more than a final check.
Use it anywhere
Dictate into Mail, Notes, Slack, browsers, and coding tools.
The focused text field receives the transcript. That includes documents, chat apps, browser search boxes, terminals, ChatGPT, Claude Code, Cursor, and nearly any native or web app.
- Notes
- Slack
- Notion
- Google Docs
- ChatGPT
- Cursor
- Terminal
Need longer-form capture? VoiceToText can also record and transcribe meetings on your Mac.
Troubleshooting
Fix common Mac dictation setup problems.
Check permissions and the selected model first; most shortcut, paste, language, and offline issues come from one of those settings.
The shortcut does nothing
Confirm VoiceToText is enabled under Accessibility, then check the shortcut in Settings. If another app owns the same combination, record a different shortcut.
Right Control does nothing
The standalone Right Control shortcut needs Input Monitoring in addition to Accessibility. Enable VoiceToText under System Settings → Privacy & Security → Input Monitoring.
The app can hear you but cannot type
Click a writable text field first, then re-open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility and make sure VoiceToText is enabled.
A local model is not ready
Local transcription starts after its one-time model download finishes. Open Settings → Models while online, install the model, and wait for it to show as installed before going offline.
It detects the wrong language
Language detection is automatic. If Parakeet does not cover the language you are speaking, switch to a multilingual Whisper model, which supports 99 languages.
Transcription is slow or inaccurate
Try Parakeet for local speed, Whisper Large v3 Turbo for a balance, or Large v3 when speed matters less. Speak close to the microphone and reduce background noise.
For model, privacy, and language details, read the complete VoiceToText FAQ.
Ready to speak
Try voice to text in the app you already use.
Free, local by default, and source available on GitHub. Download the DMG and dictate your first sentence in a few minutes.