Spokenly not pasting text: why the App Store version needs Command V, and how to switch

By · Published

If Spokenly records your dictation and the text only appears when you press Command V, you are using the Mac App Store version. Spokenly's docs say that version cannot paste automatically, because App Store rules do not allow it to use Accessibility, which automatic pasting relies on. The fix is to download Spokenly from its website. A subscription can move with you.

I built YapToText, a dictation app for the Mac, so read what I say about Spokenly with that in mind. Every fact about Spokenly here comes from its own documentation at spokenly.app, read on October 11, 2026.

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.

How the App Store version works

  1. Your shortcut starts dictation.
  2. Go to the app where you want the text.
  3. Press Command V. That stops the dictation and pastes the text.

That is the intended behavior in that version, not a fault. In the website version, the same shortcut stops dictation and inserts the text.

Switch to the website version and keep your subscription

  1. In the Mac App Store version, sign in with your email. That links your subscription to the email.
  2. Download Spokenly from spokenly.app.
  3. Sign in there with the same email. Your subscription is activated.

If something does not work, the docs say to open Contact Us in Spokenly and send a message. You can include logs, which they say contain no transcripts or audio.

If the website version does not paste either

  • Accessibility. Automatic insertion relies on macOS Accessibility permission. Check System Settings, Privacy and Security, Accessibility.
  • Output action. Each mode has one: insert, paste and press Enter, copy to clipboard, or save to history only. A mode set to clipboard or history will not type.
  • A space or capital in the wrong place. That is Smart Spacing, which cannot read the cursor's surroundings in terminals and some Electron apps. It falls back to a single trailing space.

The Spokenly guide covers modes and their output actions.

What else the App Store version leaves out

Spokenly's docs also list MacBook Taps, the tap-the-case shortcut, as website version only. The pasting limit is the one most people meet first.

How YapToText handles insertion

YapToText, the free dictation app I built, is also distributed through the Mac App Store. Once you grant it Accessibility, it inserts text automatically by default, with paste as the default method, and you can switch a single app to typing character by character if that app rejects a paste. That is my app as it ships today.

It is free to try, with no account. It runs on Apple silicon Macs only and has no cloud models, phone app, Windows or Linux version, all of which Spokenly has. The Spokenly alternative page compares the two.

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.

The short version

  • Only pastes with Command V. The Mac App Store version, by design.
  • Fix. Download from spokenly.app.
  • Subscription. Sign in with your email in the App Store version first, then in the website version.
  • Still nothing. Accessibility permission, then the mode's output action.

If Spokenly changes this, open an issue on GitHub and I will update this page. Every one gets read.

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

Why does Spokenly only paste when I press Command V?

You have the Mac App Store version. Spokenly's docs say App Store rules do not let it use Accessibility, which automatic pasting needs.

How do I make Spokenly paste automatically?

Download Spokenly from its website. In that version the shortcut stops dictation and inserts the text.

Will I lose my Spokenly subscription if I switch versions?

No. Sign in with your email in the App Store version first, then sign in with the same email in the website version.

Is the Spokenly App Store version different from the website version?

Yes. The App Store version cannot paste automatically and does not show MacBook Taps.