Cursor voice input: how to dictate prompts, and what it needs
The short answer
Cursor has voice input, also called Voice Mode, built in: click the microphone in the chat box, or press Cmd-Shift-Space, speak, and review the transcription before you send it. Cursor’s staff have said on its forum that transcription needs a paid plan, and its pages do not say where the audio is transcribed. The Mac’s own Dictation also types into the chat box. Flit, a local dictation app for Mac, works in all of Cursor: a prompt in the chat box, exact words in the editor and terminal, your file names spelled right, and no audio leaving the Mac.
How to dictate a prompt in Cursor
- Open the chat in Cursor and click into the input.
- Click the microphone icon in the chat input, or press Cmd-Shift-Space.
- Speak. Name files and functions as you would to a colleague.
- Stop, and read the transcription in the input.
- Correct anything that was misheard, then send.
The shortcut can be changed in Cursor’s Keyboard Shortcuts settings, where it is listed as Toggle Voice Mode.
Cursor is three places to type, and they want different things. The chat box wants a paragraph. The editor wants code. The terminal wants a command. Dictation that suits one can be wrong for the others, which is worth knowing before you choose a way to do it.
Ways to dictate in Cursor
| Way | How you start it | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Cursor’s voice input | The microphone in the chat box, or Cmd-Shift-Space | For the chat box. Staff say it needs a paid plan |
| Hold to talk in the Agents Window | Hold Ctrl-M | Added in Cursor 3.1. Records the whole clip, then transcribes |
| Mac Dictation | The Dictation shortcut in Keyboard settings | Types into the chat box; stops after 30 seconds of silence |
| Flit | Hold Fn or your own shortcut | Chat box, editor and terminal; runs on the Mac |
What Cursor’s own voice input does
Cursor’s documentation describes it in two lines: click the microphone icon in the chat input to dictate your prompt instead of typing, speak naturally, include technical details like file and function names, and review the transcription before sending.
It arrived in Cursor 2.0, in October 2025, as built-in speech-to-text for the agent. Cursor 3.1, in April 2026, added a hold-to-talk key in the Agents Window: hold Ctrl-M, and the whole clip is recorded and then transcribed. You can also set submit keywords, spoken words that send the prompt.
What Cursor’s pages do not say
Three things a careful user would want to know are not in Cursor’s documentation, as of the day this was checked.
- Which plans include it. Cursor’s staff have answered on its forum that voice transcription is available on the Pro plan and above. That is a forum answer, not a pricing page.
- Where the audio is transcribed, and by whom. Cursor’s data-use page does not mention voice or audio.
- Which languages it supports. Staff have described a fixed list of locales that falls back to English when none is chosen.
If Cursor voice input does nothing
Four things to check, in this order.
- Your plan. Cursor’s staff have said on its forum that transcription needs Pro or above.
- The microphone permission. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone and make sure Cursor is switched on.
- The other window. Staff have confirmed a fault in the past that affected voice in the editor layout only, and suggested the microphone in the Agents Window. If one fails, try the other.
- The language. If none is chosen, dictation falls back to English.
Using the Mac’s Dictation in Cursor
Apple’s Dictation types wherever there is a cursor, the chat input included, and Cursor’s staff have suggested it on the forum when voice input was not working. Click into the input and press your Dictation shortcut.
It is free and needs no plan. It does not know your file names, and it stops after 30 seconds without speech. The dictation shortcut guide shows where the shortcut is set.
The chat box, the editor and the terminal
A dictation tool has to behave differently in each.
- The chat box takes prose. Punctuation and paragraphs help; exact identifiers matter.
- The editor takes code. Anything that rewords, capitalizes or adds a full stop is doing damage.
- The integrated terminal takes commands, and the same rule applies with more at stake.
Dictating in Cursor with Flit
Flit reads what kind of field you are in and writes for it. That is decided by the field, on the Mac, each time you hold the key.
- In the chat box, what you say is shaped as a prompt: punctuated, in paragraphs, with file names and identifiers kept as spoken.
- In the editor pane and the integrated terminal, you get your exact words, and nothing is reworded.
- File names from the open project. Flit reads them from the project on the Mac, so "user auth service dot swift" lands as
UserAuthService.swift. - Spoken commands for casing and symbols, such as "camel case" and "dash dash".
- No plan to check and no audio sent anywhere: everything runs on the Mac.
- Flit is free for 7 days with every feature on, then $19 once, with no account and no subscription.
Good to know
- Flit is not a way to write code by voice. It types what you say; for syntax, the keyboard is still quicker.
- Flit does not send the prompt for you. You press Return.
- 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’s file names, and Flit’s spoken commands, work in English today.
Questions people ask
Does Cursor have voice input?
Yes. Click the microphone icon in the chat input, or press Cmd-Shift-Space, which Cursor lists as Toggle Voice Mode.
Is Cursor voice input free?
Cursor’s documentation does not say. Its staff have said on the forum that voice transcription is available on the Pro plan and above.
What is the keyboard shortcut for voice in Cursor?
Cmd-Shift-Space toggles Voice Mode, and it can be remapped in Keyboard Shortcuts settings. In the Agents Window, holding Ctrl-M records while held.
Where does Cursor send my voice?
Cursor’s pages do not say where audio is transcribed. Its data-use page does not mention voice or audio.
Can I use Mac Dictation in Cursor?
Yes. Click into the chat input and press your Dictation shortcut. Apple’s Dictation types anywhere you can type.
Is there a dictation app for Cursor that works offline?
Yes. Flit is a local dictation app for Mac that writes a prompt in Cursor’s chat box and exact words in the editor and terminal, with your project’s file names spelled right. Flit is free for 7 days with every feature on, then $19 once, with no account and no subscription.