Dictation for when typing hurts
Updated
Scribe is a Mac app that types what you say into whatever field has the cursor. Hold a key, speak, let go, and the text appears. Hands-free mode lets you release the key while you continue speaking.
If typing causes pain, speak to a health professional.
Can I dictate without holding a key?
Yes. Hold the talk shortcut, tap Shift, then let go. Scribe keeps listening in hands-free mode, and the floating bar shows Return to finish · Esc to cancel. Press Return to insert the text, or Esc to throw the take away.
Hands-free suits longer passages, such as an email or a set of notes, because you can speak without holding anything down. Scribe has no length limit on a dictation.
Can I use a foot pedal?
Yes, if the pedal can send a key. Set the pedal, or another button such as a Stream Deck key, to send a key between F13 and F20. Open Settings › General › Talk shortcut › Change…, then press the key from the pedal while the panel is open. Hold the pedal to talk and release it to insert the text. Tapping Shift while holding still switches to hands-free, and ⌘ still turns on Refine.
The talk shortcut page explains the setup in more detail.
How do I fix or change text by voice?
Select the text first. Hold the talk shortcut, press ⌘, and say what you want, for example “shorter”, “make it a list” or “more formal”. When you let go, the selection is replaced. If the change cannot be made, the selection is left as it was.
Plain dictation also tidies what you say. It removes fillers such as “um” and “uh”, adds capitals and fixes spacing. With ⌘ held, Refine goes further and removes false starts and repetition. See Refine for the tones it offers.
How do I stop repeating the same words?
Snippets are for text you type often. Add a short phrase, such as my address, and the full text it stands for. Say the phrase on its own and Scribe inserts the text exactly as you wrote it. Choose phrases you would not say by accident. The Snippets page has the details.
What about names and words Scribe gets wrong?
Add them to the Dictionary under Settings › Dictionary. Enter the correct spelling and any spellings Scribe tends to produce. Scribe offers to remember corrections too: when you fix a word it inserted, it can ask once whether to add the fix. Nothing is added unless you agree. Corrections are listed under Settings › Dictionary › Corrections.
How do I set it up?
Scribe for Mac needs Apple silicon and macOS 26. Download the app, drag it into Applications and open it. The setup asks for two permissions:
- Accessibility, so Scribe can notice your talk shortcut and type the text into other apps.
- Microphone, so it can hear you.
Practise in a blank note before you rely on it for real work. Speak at a pace that feels comfortable and don’t worry about small errors, because you can correct them as you go.
What still needs a click or key press?
Scribe inserts text where you placed the cursor, so start by clicking the intended field. Editing by voice begins with a text selection. Hands-free mode changes how you keep dictating; you still press Return or the shortcut to finish, or Esc to cancel. Try these controls in a blank document and choose a shortcut you can use comfortably.
If text goes to the wrong place, click into the intended field and choose Paste Last Dictation from the menu bar. The last ten dictations are also listed under Recent; clicking one copies it. These controls let you recover the words without speaking the passage again.
Does my speech leave the Mac?
Recognition and rewriting run on the Mac, and audio and text are not uploaded. Optional models are downloaded only when you ask for them. Refine uses Apple Intelligence by default; Macs without it can download Gemma 4 under Settings › Refine › Engine.
Try it
Download Scribe for Mac and dictate one short email into a blank note. Then read Dictate on Mac for the floating bar and the recovery controls, and Talk shortcut to choose a key that suits you.