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Dictation basics

Updated October 22, 2026

Dictation is the heart of Lipo. You click into any place you can type, press your hotkey, and talk. Lipo listens, cleans up what you said, and pastes finished text right where your cursor is. This article covers every control on the Dictation tab and everything you can do while recording. For the three writing modes and per-app modes, see Dictation modes.

The basic flow

1. Click into a text field in any app.
2. Press your dictation hotkey and speak. A floating pill near the bottom-left of the screen shows Lipo is listening.
3. Stop. Lipo transcribes your speech, applies your self-corrections, removes filler, and pastes the result at your cursor.

You don't need to talk like a robot. Hesitate, restart sentences, and correct yourself out loud. The cleanup step applies what you meant, not what you stumbled over.

Activation hotkey

The Activation section chooses the key that starts and stops dictation:

• Right Option: the default. The ⌥ Option key to the right of your space bar. Works well for most people.
• Fn or Globe: a good alternative on MacBooks, where the fn key sits in the bottom-left corner.
• Custom: click the field and press the key or combo you want. Use a side modifier, an F-key, or a modified combo. Press Esc to cancel while recording a new hotkey.

If a key is already taken (for example, it's your translation hotkey), Lipo tells you and asks for a different one.

Recording mode

• Hold to talk: Lipo records only while you hold the hotkey. Release to stop and paste. Best for short, frequent dictations.
• Toggle: press once to start, press again to stop. Best for longer dictations where holding a key would be tiring.

Skip stop, submit with Return

This option appears when Recording mode is set to Toggle. With it on, you can press Return instead of pressing the hotkey again: Lipo stops recording, pastes your text, and submits it in one step. That removes an extra click, which is especially useful in coding tools and AI chat boxes. In some apps, Return may only add a new line instead of submitting.

Language

Pick the language you speak for more accurate transcription. Auto works, but choosing a specific language helps, especially for names and less common words. Lipo supports 50+ languages; you set your default during onboarding and can change it here anytime. This same setting feeds Translation as your "You speak" language.

Polish text

The Polish text switch controls the AI cleanup step. When it's on, Lipo fixes punctuation, capitalization, and small mistakes before pasting. When it's off, your words are pasted exactly as you said them.

Each mode has its own default: Casual and Formal keep polish on. It's what makes the pasted text read naturally or professionally. Vibe Coding turns it off by default so your text pastes instantly with technical details untouched. See Dictation modes for the details.

Context awareness

The Context awareness switch lets Lipo read the text on your screen when you start dictating. Lipo uses it to spell names the way they are written on screen and to fit your words into the sentence you are writing. For example, if a message from Shahin is open and you say "thanks Shahin", Lipo uses the spelling from the message.

Lipo reads text, never pictures, and it skips password fields. The switch is off until you turn it on, and the same switch is on the Ask Lipo tab. See What is Context awareness? for exactly what Lipo reads.

Ask Lipo

To give Lipo an instruction instead of text, double-tap your dictation key, or press / while Lipo is listening. Lipo then writes or changes text from what you say, for example "make it shorter". Ask Lipo is part of Pro Plus. See Ask Lipo.

Microphone

The Input device picker chooses which microphone Lipo records from. Automatic follows your Mac's system microphone and is the right choice for most setups. If you pick a specific microphone and it disconnects, Lipo falls back to Automatic until it reconnects.

Mute music while dictating

Turn on Mute music while dictating in the Recording section, and Lipo turns your Mac's sound off while you speak, then back on when you stop. It is off until you turn it on.

• Lipo mutes only when another app is playing sound. It mutes as soon as you press your key, before the microphone opens, so the music is not recorded.
• When Lipo mutes, you don't hear its start sound, because your Mac's sound is off. The music stopping tells you Lipo is listening.
• Lipo does not mute while a call app such as Zoom, Teams, FaceTime, Slack or WhatsApp is playing sound, so you still hear the people you are talking to.
• If you muted your Mac yourself before dictating, it stays muted afterwards.
• macOS has no volume for each app, so Lipo mutes all of your Mac's sound, not only the music app.

Indicator

Show floating pill when idle keeps the small pill visible at the bottom-left of your screen even when you're not dictating, as a reminder that Lipo is ready. Turn it off and the pill appears only while recording and processing.

The floating pill

While you dictate, the pill gives you live controls. Hover any of them for a short hint:

• Mode icon: the small icon on the left shows your current mode (Casual, Formal, or Vibe Coding). Hover it to confirm which mode is active.
• Waveform: the moving bars in the middle show that Lipo hears you.
• Cancel (×): discards the recording without pasting. Pressing Esc does the same.
• Screenshot: click the camera icon, then drag to select an area. Lipo attaches the screenshot to this dictation and pastes it together with your text. A number badge counts your attached shots.
• Highlighter: draw on the screen to mark what matters. While it's on, the screen is locked for clicking; click the highlighter again to unlock. The capture is attached to the same dictation.

The screenshot and highlighter tools are covered in detail in Screenshots.

Frequently asked questions

Does dictation work in every app?

Yes. Anywhere you can place a text cursor: Mail, Slack, browsers, code editors, AI chat tools, documents, and search fields. Lipo pastes at your cursor position, so click into the field before you start talking.

Do I need to speak slowly or add punctuation out loud?

No. Speak at your natural pace and Lipo punctuates for you. If you correct yourself mid-sentence, Lipo applies the correction instead of transcribing both versions.

Why does nothing happen when I press my hotkey?

Check that Microphone and Accessibility permissions are on for Lipo in System Settings → Privacy & Security, and that no other app uses the same key. The Troubleshooting guide walks through the fixes.