Use case
Dictation for developers
SayWrite lets you speak prompts into Cursor, Claude Code, VS Code or a terminal without your code or screen ever leaving your Mac.
- In Terminal · claude, you say: “okay so refactor the user fetch thing to use async await and um keep the error handling the way it is”. SayWrite types: “Refactor the user fetch function to use async/await, and keep the existing error handling.”
- In Slack · #launch, you say: “um can we push the demo to thursday the build isn't ready”. SayWrite types: “Can we push the demo to Thursday? The build isn't ready.”
Why voice
Why developers talk to their editor now
A good prompt to an AI coding assistant is a paragraph of context: what you're trying to do, what you tried, what must not change. Most people speak that paragraph several times faster than they type it. The same goes for commit messages, PR descriptions, code review comments and the Slack thread about the flaky test.
With SayWrite you hold fn, say it, and let go. The text lands at your cursor in about ≈0.2 s on an M5 Pro, and SayWrite never presses Return, so you always read the prompt before it runs.
In your apps
How it works in your tools
- Cursor, VS Code, Xcode, Zed: dictate into the chat panel, a comment or the commit box. Text is typed through macOS Accessibility, or pasted with your clipboard restored where typing isn't possible.
- Claude Code and other terminal tools: dictate straight into Terminal, iTerm or Warp at the prompt. Nothing is submitted until you press Return.
- Per-app style: code editors and chat apps get sensible defaults for the final period, capitalization and line breaks, and you can change them per app.
- Tone matched to the app: with AI Polish on, code names stay exact in Xcode and Terminal, and prompts to AI assistants come out clear and specific.
- Personal dictionary: teach it your library names, services and teammates once, and SayWrite suggests additions when you correct a word.
- Snippets: say “review prompt” and your standard code-review instructions are typed out verbatim.
Privacy
Your code stays on your Mac
Some dictation tools add context from your screen to improve accuracy. SayWrite never captures your screen or reads your files, and speech recognition never leaves the Neural Engine. If you already run models locally, AI Polish can use them: point SayWrite at Ollama or LM Studio on 127.0.0.1, and it refuses any other address. That matters when the prompt contains a stack trace from a client project.
Setup
Setup in five minutes
- Download SayWrite, allow Microphone and Accessibility, and download the speech model.
- Set System Settings › Keyboard › “Press 🌐 key to” to Do Nothing.
- Add your project's names to the dictionary.
- Optional: turn on AI and pick Apple Intelligence or your own model.
Frequently asked questions
Can I dictate code itself?
SayWrite is best at prose: prompts, comments, commit messages and docs. It can type identifiers you've added to the dictionary, but it isn't a voice-coding system for symbols and cursor movement.
Will it press Enter and run my prompt?
No. SayWrite never presses Return for you, in any app, so you can review a prompt or terminal command before you submit it.
Does it work in the terminal?
Yes. Dictate into Terminal, iTerm, Warp or any app with a text cursor. With AI Polish on, tone matching keeps code names exact in Terminal and Xcode.
Keep reading
Say it messy. We'll write it neat.
Hold Fn, talk, and let SayWrite type it. Everything stays on your Mac.
Free during early access · macOS 15+ · Apple silicon