Dictation in VS Code on a Mac: the built-in dictation, what it sends, and two other ways

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VS Code has dictation built in now. Microsoft's docs say it converts your speech to text in chat, the Agents window, editors and terminals, and that on an Apple silicon Mac it uses a speech model that runs on your device. It arrived as an experimental feature in VS Code 1.131 on July 29, 2026. Before that you needed the VS Code Speech extension. Apple Dictation and YapToText, the free app I built, also type into VS Code, and into every other app you use.

My hands make typing difficult, so I dictate every day, commit messages and prompts included. Everything here about VS Code comes from Microsoft's own docs and release notes, read on October 6, 2026. I have not tested VS Code's dictation, and Microsoft marks it experimental, so it may change.

Download YapToText on the Mac App StoreThis app is completely free. You don't have to make an account. There are no subscriptions, no difficult downloads, and nothing is locked. Made for Apple silicon Macs. Source on GitHub.

On this page: 9 sections
  1. Steps
  2. Compare the three side by side
  3. Use VS Code's built-in dictation
  4. What stays on your Mac and what does not
  5. Intel Macs, the Speech extension and Voice Mode
  6. Use Apple Dictation or YapToText in VS Code
  7. If VS Code dictation is not working
  8. The short version
  9. Questions

Steps

  1. Open VS Code on an Apple silicon Mac and click into the chat input or an editor.
  2. Press Command I in chat, or Option Command V in an editor, and allow microphone access.
  3. Speak, then press the same shortcut again to stop.
  4. Turn off dictation.experimental.llmCleanup if the transcript should stay on your Mac.

Compare the three side by side

VS Code checked October 6 and 7, 2026, on code.visualstudio.com. The docs page was dated September 30 on the first read and October 7 on the second, with no change to its text. Apple Dictation from Apple's Mac User Guide.

VS Code's built-in dictationApple DictationYapToText
Where it typesInside VS Code: chat, the Agents window, editors, terminalsAnywhere you can typeAny app, at the cursor
How it startsCommand I in chat, Option Command V in an editor; hold either for push-to-talkThe Microphone key or your Dictation shortcutRight Command, tap to start and stop
Where your voice goesAn on-device model on an Apple silicon MacOn the Mac or to Siri servers; Keyboard settings says whichStays on your Mac
Cleanup of what you saidBy a Copilot language model, on by default; the transcript text is sent to itAuto-punctuation in supported languagesOn the Mac; Raw Transcription keeps it word for word
Intel MacNot built in; install the VS Code Speech extensionYesNo, Apple silicon only
Stops by itselfAt 20 minutesAfter 30 seconds without speechAt a 30 minute safety stop

VS Code's own dictation is on-device for the audio. The cleanup step is the part that sends text out.

Use VS Code's built-in dictation

Microsoft's docs give one way to start for each place you can dictate. In chat press Command I, in an editor press Option Command V, and press the same keys again to stop.

  • In chat or the Agents window. Select the microphone button in the chat input or press Command I. Do the same again to stop and keep the text. Dictation fills the input and does not send the request. Escape cancels and removes what that session wrote.
  • In an editor. Run Voice: Start Dictation in Editor from the Command Palette, or press Option Command V. A microphone control appears at the cursor. It also works in the Source Control commit input and pull request comment fields.
  • In a terminal. Run Voice: Start Dictation in Terminal from the Command Palette. Microsoft says terminal dictation removes ordinary punctuation and converts spoken symbol names. Its 1.132 release notes give the example of saying git commit dash m hello world.
  • Push-to-talk. Press and hold a dictation shortcut, and speech recognition stays on until you let go.
  • The first time. VS Code asks for microphone access and downloads the default speech model. After that download, Microsoft says, speech recognition works locally and offline.
  • The limits. One dictation session at a time. A session stops by itself at 20 minutes and keeps the text it has.
  • The language. The agents.voice.language setting gives a language hint. Auto uses the system language. To pick a microphone, run Chat: Dictate: Select Microphone.

The full list of settings is on Microsoft's voice support page. Built-in dictation is available when AI features are enabled in VS Code, and the dictation.enabled setting, which is on by default, controls it.

What stays on your Mac and what does not

Two different things happen to a dictation in VS Code, and they go to different places. The audio is transcribed on your Mac. The transcript is then sent to a Copilot language model for cleanup unless you turn that off.

  • The audio. On desktop, Microsoft says the default model processes microphone audio on your device, and after the first download it needs no internet connection.
  • The cleanup. With dictation.experimental.llmCleanup on, which is the default, VS Code sends the transcript text to a Copilot language model to improve punctuation, capitalization, paragraphs, lists and number formatting. Turn the setting off to stop that.
  • In a browser. VS Code for the Web cannot run the on-device model. There, Microsoft says, dictation streams microphone audio to the Microsoft AI voice service and needs a network connection and a GitHub sign-in.
  • At work. Since 1.136 (September 2, 2026), administrators can require the on-device model and turn cleanup off by policy.

YapToText does both steps on the Mac: the speech model and the model behind Clean Up are included in the download, and Raw Transcription uses no language model at all. Where the prompt goes after you send it is up to the tool you sent it to, the same as a typed one.

Intel Macs, the Speech extension and Voice Mode

Built-in dictation needs an Apple silicon Mac. On an Intel Mac, Microsoft says to install the VS Code Speech extension instead.

  • VS Code Speech extension. Microsoft lists Intel-based Macs among the platforms without built-in dictation and points them to this extension, which it says also provides voice chat, text-to-speech for chat responses and the Hey Code keyword.
  • Voice Mode. A separate, experimental feature since 1.137 (September 9, 2026): a spoken conversation with an agent that reads responses aloud. Enable agents.voice.enabled, then select the Voice Mode button in the chat input or press Shift Command Space.
  • Who gets Voice Mode. Microsoft says it is rolling out gradually, requires an eligible individual GitHub Copilot plan, and is not available with Copilot Business or Copilot Enterprise.

Dictation and Voice Mode are different things: dictation only turns speech into text, and Voice Mode talks back. For prompts to agents in any editor or terminal, see voice coding with AI agents.

Use Apple Dictation or YapToText in VS Code

A dictation tool that belongs to the Mac, not to the editor, works the same in VS Code, your browser, Slack and your notes. Click where the words should go, then start: both type wherever the cursor is.

  • Apple Dictation. Turn it on once in System Settings, Keyboard, Dictation. Click into VS Code, press the Microphone key or your Dictation shortcut, and talk. It stops after 30 seconds without speech.
  • YapToText. Click into VS Code, tap Right Command, talk, and tap again. With Auto mode on, VS Code is one of the editors where it leans toward its Code Comment mode, which writes short, imperative text for comments and commit messages.
  • For a prompt in Copilot Chat. Press 2 while you talk for Raw Transcription, or 3 for Clean Up, which drops the ums and keeps your wording. Code Comment would compress a prompt full of context.
  • Your own names. On YapToText's Dictionaries page, add the identifiers and library names you say often. VS Code's own route for this is a dictation instructions file, which applies when cleanup is on.
YapToText's Modes page: Auto on top, then Raw Transcription, Clean Up, Note, Email, Message and Code Comment, numbered 2 to 7.
Figure 1. YapToText's modes, numbered: 7 is Code Comment for a commit message, 2 and 3 keep a prompt in your own words.

YapToText is free on the Mac App Store and needs an Apple silicon Mac with macOS 14 or later. The guide to dictation for coding covers symbols, casing and terminals.

If VS Code dictation is not working

Microsoft's page names the conditions built-in dictation depends on, so check those first. On a Mac, the first three to check are the chip, the microphone permission and the dictation.enabled setting.

  • An Intel Mac. Built-in dictation is not available. Install the VS Code Speech extension.
  • Microphone access. VS Code asks for it when you start dictation. If you said no, switch Visual Studio Code on in System Settings, Privacy & Security, Microphone.
  • Dictation or AI features turned off. Built-in dictation is available when AI features are enabled, and dictation.enabled must be on. An organization can also restrict it by policy.
  • The model did not download. On a restricted network, Microsoft says to download the model package separately and run Chat: Install Dictation Model from Local Package.
  • The wrong microphone. Run Chat: Dictate: Select Microphone. The choice applies everywhere VS Code dictates.
  • A second session. Only one dictation session can be active at a time, so stop the one in chat before starting one in the editor.

If the trouble is with Apple Dictation, the Mac dictation troubleshooting guide covers it.

The short version

  • Built in. Press Command I in chat, or Option Command V in an editor, on an Apple silicon Mac.
  • Private audio, shared text. Turn off dictation.experimental.llmCleanup if the transcript should not go to a Copilot model.
  • Everywhere else too. Apple Dictation or YapToText type into VS Code and every other app.

Use VS Code's own dictation inside VS Code, and a Mac-wide tool for everything around it. If Microsoft has changed something this page says, tell me on GitHub and I will fix it.

Download YapToText on the Mac App StoreThis app is completely free. You don't have to make an account. There are no subscriptions, no difficult downloads, and nothing is locked. Made for Apple silicon Macs. Source on GitHub.

About the author. Ryleigh Newman is a developer whose hands make typing difficult and who dictates every day with YapToText, the app this site describes. Facts about other apps come from their own sites, with the date they were read. More about the project.

Sources

Questions

Does VS Code have dictation?

Yes. Since version 1.131 (July 29, 2026) VS Code has experimental built-in dictation in chat, the Agents window, editors and terminals, per Microsoft's docs. On a Mac it needs Apple silicon. Intel Macs use the VS Code Speech extension.

How do I start dictation in VS Code?

In chat, select the microphone button or press Command I. In an editor, run Voice: Start Dictation in Editor or press Option Command V. In a terminal, run Voice: Start Dictation in Terminal from the Command Palette.

Is VS Code dictation private?

Microsoft says the desktop model processes audio on your device. Separately, a cleanup setting that is on by default sends the transcript text to a Copilot language model. Turn off dictation.experimental.llmCleanup to stop that. VS Code for the Web streams audio to a Microsoft service.

Do I still need the VS Code Speech extension?

Not on an Apple silicon Mac: Microsoft's 1.131 release notes say dictation no longer needs it. On an Intel Mac, built-in dictation is not available and Microsoft points to the extension.

Does GitHub Copilot in VS Code have a voice mode?

VS Code has an experimental Voice Mode since 1.137 (September 9, 2026) for spoken conversations with an agent. Microsoft says it requires an eligible individual GitHub Copilot plan and is not available with Copilot Business or Copilot Enterprise.

Why is VS Code speech not working on my Mac?

Check that the Mac has Apple silicon, that Visual Studio Code is allowed under Privacy & Security, Microphone, that dictation.enabled and AI features are on, and that the speech model downloaded. On an Intel Mac, install the VS Code Speech extension.