Codex voice and dictation: the app, the command line, and the editor
The short answer
In the ChatGPT desktop app, which now contains Codex, select Dictate in the composer and start talking; your speech is transcribed into the composer for you to edit before sending. The Codex command line is different: its /voice command starts a spoken conversation, and there is no dictation into the prompt. For the terminal and the IDE extension, use the Mac鈥檚 Dictation or a dictation app. Flit, a local dictation app for Mac, types your exact words into the Codex prompt in any of the three, with your project鈥檚 file names spelled right and no audio leaving the Mac.
How to dictate to Codex in the desktop app
- Open the ChatGPT desktop app and switch to Codex.
- Click into the composer.
- Select Dictate, then start talking.
- Stop, and read the transcription in the composer.
- Edit it if you need to, then send the prompt.
In the Codex command line there is no Dictate button. Click into the prompt and use the Mac鈥檚 Dictation shortcut, or a dictation app.
Codex is three products with one name: a mode of the ChatGPT desktop app, a command-line tool, and an editor extension. Voice works differently in each, and the names are close enough to mislead. The table sorts them out, from OpenAI鈥檚 own pages.
Voice in each Codex
| Where | What OpenAI provides | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT desktop app, Codex mode | Dictate, in the composer | Dictation: speech becomes text you edit and send |
| ChatGPT desktop app, Codex mode | ChatGPT Voice (Start voice chat) | A live spoken conversation, on paid plans |
| Codex command line | /voice, toggled with F8 | A live spoken conversation, not dictation |
| Codex IDE extension | Nothing documented | Use Mac Dictation or a dictation app |
The app changed in July 2026
The Codex app and the ChatGPT app for Mac became one. OpenAI鈥檚 help page says that after the update the Codex app becomes the new ChatGPT desktop app, with Chat, Work and Codex in it. The earlier ChatGPT app for Mac is now called ChatGPT Classic.
So instructions written before then, including many you will find by searching, describe an app that has been renamed or replaced.
Dictation and Voice are different things
OpenAI draws the line itself: use ChatGPT Voice for a live conversation, and use voice dictation when you only want to turn speech into prompt text before sending it. Its documentation describes Dictate as transcribing your speech into the composer so that you can review and edit it.
The app鈥檚 dictation has gained two things since launch, according to OpenAI鈥檚 changelog: dictation cleanup, and a dictionary you can fill with names, file paths and code symbols.
The command line has a conversation, not dictation
The Codex command line gained /voice in September 2026. The release notes describe it as voice conversations with live transcripts, toggled with F8. It talks with you; it does not type what you say into the prompt for you to edit.
It is new and still moving: three releases touched it in three weeks, and the configuration reference still calls the command experimental. Check your version before relying on a detail here.
To put a spoken prompt into the command line as text, the tool has to come from outside it: the Mac鈥檚 Dictation, or a dictation app. Claude Code is different here: it has dictation of its own.
Where the audio goes
For dictation, OpenAI鈥檚 voice dictation page says the recorded audio is sent to its models to be transcribed. It says the audio is retained for as long as the chat is in your history, and deleted within 30 days of your deleting the chat, with exceptions for security and legal reasons. That page is written about ChatGPT鈥檚 dictation in general, not about Codex by name.
For the command line鈥檚 voice conversations, OpenAI鈥檚 pages do not set out how audio is handled.
Using the Mac鈥檚 Dictation with Codex
Apple鈥檚 Dictation types anywhere you can type, so it works in a terminal running Codex and in the extension鈥檚 input. Click into the prompt and press your Dictation shortcut. How to dictate on a Mac has the setup.
Dictating to Codex with Flit
Flit types into whichever Codex you use, because it works at the level of the Mac. Hold a key, speak, let go.
- In a terminal, your exact words: nothing is reworded, so a command stays a command.
- In the extension鈥檚 chat panel inside an editor, what you say is shaped as a prompt, with identifiers kept as spoken.
- File names from your project, read on the Mac, so "orders controller dot rb" lands as
orders_controller.rbwhen that file exists. - One key and one habit across the app, the command line and the editor.
- No audio leaves the Mac.
- Flit is free for 7 days with every feature on, then $19 once, with no account and no subscription.
Good to know
- In a terminal you get exact words: Flit does not tidy a rambling brief into a clean paragraph there, as it does in a chat box.
- Flit inserts by pasting, so a dictation arrives in the prompt as pasted text.
- Flit runs on a Mac with Apple silicon and macOS 14 or later, and its voice model is a download of about 0.5 to 2.3 GB that you choose once.
- Flit types what you say. It does not talk back, read answers aloud or hold a spoken conversation with the tool.
- Recognizing your project鈥檚 file names, and Flit鈥檚 spoken commands, work in English today.
Questions people ask
Does Codex have voice dictation?
In the ChatGPT desktop app, yes: select Dictate in the composer. The Codex command line has /voice, which is a spoken conversation and not dictation. Nothing is documented for the IDE extension.
What does /voice do in the Codex CLI?
It starts or stops a live voice conversation with Codex, with a live transcript. F8 toggles it. It does not dictate text into the prompt.
How do I dictate into the Codex CLI?
Use a tool outside it. Click into the prompt and press the Mac鈥檚 Dictation shortcut, or use a dictation app that types at the cursor.
Where does Codex send my dictation audio?
OpenAI鈥檚 voice dictation page says recorded audio is sent to its models to be transcribed, and is kept for as long as the chat is in your history.
What happened to the Codex app for Mac?
In July 2026 it became the ChatGPT desktop app, which contains Chat, Work and Codex. The earlier ChatGPT app for Mac is now ChatGPT Classic.
Is there a dictation app for Codex that runs on the Mac?
Yes. Flit is a local dictation app for Mac that types your words into the Codex prompt in the app, the command line or the editor, with your project鈥檚 file names spelled right. Flit is free for 7 days with every feature on, then $19 once, with no account and no subscription.