How to Use Voice in Claude Code: /voice Setup Guide (2026)
Use voice in Claude Code with /voice: hold Space to talk or tap to record. Setup steps, settings, limits over SSH and with API keys, and what works everywhere.
Quick answer: type /voice in Claude Code, then hold Space and speak. Let go to insert the text, then press Enter to send. For hands-free use, run /voice tap: tap Space to start and tap again to send. Voice is free with a Claude.ai sign-in, supports 20 languages and is tuned for coding terms. It doesn't work over SSH, in dev containers, or with an API key. For those, use a system-wide dictation app.
How to turn on voice in Claude Code
- Open Claude Code in your terminal, or use the Claude Code VS Code extension.
- Type
/voiceand press Enter. Allow microphone access if your system asks. - Hold Space and speak. Your words appear in the prompt as you talk.
- Let go of Space, check the text, and press Enter to send.
Voice stays on across sessions until you turn it off. You can mix typing and speaking in the same prompt.
Claude Code voice commands and settings
| Command or setting | What it does |
|---|---|
/voice |
Turns voice on or off |
/voice hold |
Push-to-talk (the default): hold Space while speaking |
/voice tap |
Tap Space to start, and tap again to stop and send |
/voice off |
Turns voice off |
"autoSubmit": true |
Sends when you let go of Space (three words or more) |
/config, then language |
Changes the dictation language (20 supported) |
voice:pushToTalk in ~/.claude/keybindings.json |
Changes the key, e.g. meta+k to start with no delay |
Press Esc or Ctrl+C to cancel a recording. In tap mode, recording stops by itself after 15 seconds of silence or two minutes in total.
What Claude Code voice does well
- It's free. Transcription doesn't use Claude messages or tokens, and doesn't count toward
/usage. - It's built for code. Terms like "regex", "OAuth", "JSON" and "localhost" come out right, and your project and git branch names are added as hints.
- There's nothing to install. It's built into the CLI and the VS Code extension.
Where Claude Code voice doesn't work
According to Anthropic's voice dictation docs, /voice isn't available:
- In SSH sessions or cloud sessions. The microphone has to be on the machine running Claude Code.
- In VS Code Remote, including SSH, Dev Containers and Codespaces.
- With an Anthropic API key, Amazon Bedrock, Google Vertex or Microsoft Foundry. It requires signing in with a Claude.ai account.
- On headless servers or containers with no audio device.
- When your organization's admin has turned it off.
Also, audio is always sent to Anthropic's servers (there's no on-device option), and it only types into Claude Code's own prompt.
How to use voice with Claude Code over SSH or with an API key
Use dictation that runs on your own computer and types into your terminal window. The text travels to the remote machine like normal keystrokes, so it works no matter where Claude Code runs or how it's signed in.
- Mac: System Settings → Keyboard → Dictation.
- Windows: press Win + H.
- Linux: there's no built-in option, so use an app.
- Blip AI (Mac, Windows and Linux): hold Fn on Mac, Ctrl + Win on Windows, or Ctrl + Super on Linux, speak, and let go. Blip removes filler words, learns your project's vocabulary, can run on-device, and works in commit messages, PR descriptions and Slack too. Download Blip to try it. These keys don't clash with Claude Code's Space key, so you can use both.
Claude Code /voice vs OS dictation vs Blip AI
| Claude Code /voice | OS dictation | Blip AI | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Code prompt | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Over SSH or in dev containers | No | Yes | Yes |
| With API key, Bedrock or Vertex | No | Yes | Yes |
| Outside Claude Code | No | Yes | Yes |
| On-device option | No | Apple Silicon Macs | Yes |
| Languages | 20 | Varies | 99+ |
| Cost | Included in your Claude plan | Free | Free plan, then paid |
Our take: if you only run Claude Code locally with a Claude.ai sign-in, /voice is the best free option. If you work over SSH or in containers, use an API key, or want one voice shortcut for your whole workflow, add a system-wide app.
How to speak prompts Claude Code gets right
- Start with the goal: "Add rate limiting to the login endpoint."
- Name files and functions: "In src/auth/login.ts, in handleSignIn."
- Say why: "We're seeing credential-stuffing attempts." Context leads to better decisions.
- Set constraints: "Use the existing Redis client. No new packages."
- Define done: "Add a test where the sixth attempt gets a 429, and keep existing tests passing."
- Describe the code; don't dictate syntax. Let Claude write the brackets.
Speaking at about 150 words per minute, that whole prompt takes around 20 seconds to say, compared with over a minute to type. The numbers are in Is voice typing faster than typing? For a new line in Claude Code without sending, press Shift + Enter.
FAQ
Does Claude Code have voice input? Yes. Run /voice in the Claude Code CLI, or use dictation in the VS Code extension. Hold Space to talk and your speech is typed into the prompt.
How do I turn on voice mode in Claude Code? Type /voice. Use /voice tap for tap-to-record, /voice hold for push-to-talk, and /voice off to turn it off.
Is Claude Code voice dictation free? Yes. It doesn't use Claude messages or tokens and doesn't count toward your /usage limits. It does require signing in with a Claude.ai account.
Why doesn't Claude Code /voice work over SSH? It needs a microphone on the machine running Claude Code, which over SSH is the remote server. Dictation running on your own computer, such as macOS Dictation, Win + H or Blip AI, works instead.
Does Claude Code voice work with an API key? No. It isn't available with an Anthropic API key, Amazon Bedrock, Google Vertex or Microsoft Foundry.
How do I change the Claude Code voice key? Bind voice:pushToTalk in ~/.claude/keybindings.json. A modifier shortcut like meta+k starts recording instantly.
What languages does Claude Code voice support? It supports 20, including English, Spanish, French, German, Hindi, Japanese, Korean and Portuguese. Set yours with /config.
Can I use voice in Cursor too? Yes. See How to voice type in Cursor.