4 ms·

Using voice transcription is nice for fully expressing what you want, so the model doesn't need to make guesses. I'm often voicing 500-word prompts. If you talk

by bogtog 10mo ago

Using voice transcription is nice for fully expressing what you want, so the model doesn't need to make guesses. I'm often voicing 500-word prompts. If you talk in a winding way that looks awkward when in text, that's fine. The model will almost certainly be able to tell what you mean. Using voice-to-text is my biggest suggestion for people who want to use AI for programming (I'm not a particularly slow typer. I can go 70-90 WPM on a typing test. However, this speed drops quickly when I need to also think about what I'm saying. Typing that fast is also kinda tiring, whereas talking/thinking at 100-120 WPM feels comfortable. In general, I think just this lowered friction makes me much more willing to fully describe what I want) You can also ask it, "do you have any questions?" I find that saying "if you have any questions, ask me, otherwise go ahead and build this" rarely produces questions for me. However, if I say "Make a plan and ask me any questions you may have" then it usually has a few questions I've also found a lot of success when I tell Claude Code to emulate on some specific piece of code I've previously written, either within the same project or something I've pasted in

listic 10mo ago
Thanks for the advice! Could you please share how did you enable voice transcription for your setup and what it actually is?
- binocarlos 10mo ago
  I use https://github.com/braden-w/whispering https://github.com/braden-w/whispering with an OpenAI api key. I use a keyboard shortcut to start and stop recording and it will put the transcription into the clipboard so I can paste into any app. It's a huge productivity boost - OP is correct about not overthinking trying to be that coherent - the models are very good at knowing what you mean (Opus 4.5 with Claude Code in my case)
  - listic 10mo ago
    I am all ready to believe that with LLMs it's not worth it trying to be too coherent: I did successfully use LLMs to make sense of what incoherent-sounding people say. (in text)
  - abdullahkhalids 10mo ago
    I just installed this app and it is very nice. The UX is very clean and whatever I say it transcribes it correctly. In fact I'm transcribing this comment with this app just now. I am using Whisper Medium. The only problem I see is that at the end of the message it sometimes puts a bye or a thank you which is kind of annoying.
- kapnap 10mo ago
  For me, on Mac, VoiceInk has been top notch. Got tired of superwhispr
- bogtog 10mo ago
  I'm using Wispr flow, but I've also tried Superwhisper. Both are fine. I have a convenient hotkey to start/end recording with one hand. Having it just need one hand is nice. I'm using this with the Claude Code vscode extension in Cursor. If you go down this route, the Claude Code instance should be moved into a separate window outside your main editor or else it'll flicker a lot
  - pzo 10mo ago
    another option is MacWhisper if someone is on macOS and doesn't want to pay for subscription (just one time payment) - pretty much all of those apps these days use paraspeech from NVIDIA which is the fastest and the best open source model that can run on edge devices. Also haven't tried but on latest MacOS 26 apple updated their STT models so their build in voice dictation maybe is good enough.
- lukax 10mo ago
  Spokenly on macOS with Soniox model.
- mattmanser 10mo ago
  Aquavoice, YC company, really good. Got it after doing a bit of research on here, there's something for Mac that's supposed to be good too. If you want local transcription, locally running models aren't quite good enough yet. They use right-ctrl as their trigger. I've set mine to double tap and then I can talk with long pauses/thinking and it just keeps listening till I tap to finish.
johnfn 10mo ago
That's a fun idea. How do you get the transcript into Claude Code (or whatever you use)? What transcription service do you use?
- hn_throw2025 10mo ago
  I'm not the person you're replying to, but I use Whispering connected to the whisper-large-v3-turbo model on Groq. It's incredibly cheap and works reliably for me. I have got it to paste my voice transcriptions into Chrome (Gemini, Claude, ChatGPT) as well as Cursor. https://github.com/EpicenterHQ/epicenter https://github.com/EpicenterHQ/epicenter
- hurturue 10mo ago
  your OS might have a built in dictation thing. Google for that and try it before online services.
- bogtog 10mo ago
  There are a few apps nowadays for voice transcription. I've used Wispr Flow and Superwhisper, and both seem good. You can map some hotkey (e.g., ctrl + windows) to start recording, then when you press it again to stop, it'll get pasted into whatever text box you have open Superwhisper offers some AI post-processing of the text (e.g., making nice bullets or grammar), but this doesn't seem necessary and just makes things a bit slower
  - rpwverheij 10mo ago
    +1 for Superwhisper. It has an offline model for transcription. And it transcribes with very high accuracy for me and great speed.
- quinncom 10mo ago
  I use Spokenly with local Parakeet 0.6B v3 model + Cerebras gpt-oss-120b for post-processing (cleaning up transcription errors and fixing technical mondegreens, e.g., `no JS` → `Node.js`). Almost imperceptible transcription and processing delay. Trigger transcription with right ⌥ key.
deleted 10mo ago
[deleted]
dominotw 10mo ago
surprised ai companies are not making this workflow possible instead of leaving it upto users to figure out how to get voice text into prompt.
- alwillis 10mo ago
  > surprised ai companies are not making this workflow possible instead of leaving it upto users to figure out how to get voice text into prompt. Claude on macOS and iOS have native voice to text transcription. Haven't tried it but since you can access Claude Code from the apps now, I wonder if you use the Claude app's transcription for input into Claude Code.
  - bogtog 10mo ago
    > Claude on macOS and iOS have native voice to text transcription Yeah, Claude/ChatGPT/Gemini all offer this, although Gemini's is basically unusable because it will immediately send the message if you stop talking for a few seconds I imagine you totally could use the app transcript and paste it in, but keeping the friction to an absolute minimum (e.g., just needing to press one hotkey) feels nice
- dyauspitr 10mo ago
  All the mobile apps make this very easy.
Marsymars 10mo ago
> I'm not a particularly slow typer. I can go 70-90 WPM on a typing test. However, this speed drops quickly when I need to also think about what I'm saying. Typing that fast is also kinda tiring, whereas talking/thinking at 100-120 WPM feels comfortable. This doesn't feel relatable at all to me. If my writing speed is bottlenecked by thinking about what I'm writing, and my talking speed is significantly faster, that just means I've removed the bottleneck by not thinking about what I'm saying.
- hexaga 10mo ago
  Alternatively: some people are just better at / more comfortable thinking in auditory mode than visual mode & vice versa. In principle I don't see why they should have different amounts of thought. That'd be bounded by how much time it takes to produce the message, I think. Typing permits backtracking via editing, but speaking permits 'semantic backtracking' which isn't equivalent but definitely can do similar things. Language is powerful. And importantly, to backtrack in visual media I tend to need to re-saccade through the text with physical eye motions, whereas with audio my brain just has an internal buffer I know at the speed of thought. Typed messages might have higher _density_ of thought per token, though how valuable is that really, in LLM contexts? There are diminishing returns on how perfect you can get a prompt. Also, audio permits a higher bandwidth mode: one can scan and speak at the same time.
- dyauspitr 10mo ago
  I don’t feel restricted by my typing speed, speaking is just so much easier and convenient. The vast majority of my ChatGPT usage is on my phone and that makes s2t a no brainer.
- bogtog 10mo ago
  That's fair. I sometimes find myself pausing or just talking in circles as I'm deciding what I want. I think when I'm speaking, I feel freer to use less precise/formal descriptions, but the model can still correctly interpret the technical meaning In either case, different strokes for different folks, and what ultimately matters is whether you get good results. I think the upside is high, so I broadly suggest people try it out
- 10mo ago
j45 10mo ago
Speech also uses a different part of the brain, and maybe less finger coordination.
Applejinx 10mo ago
It's an AI. You might do better by phrasing it, 'Make a plan, and have questions'. There's nobody there, but if it's specifically directed to 'have questions' you might find they are good questions! Why are you asking, if you figure it'd be better to get questions? Just say to have questions, and it will. It's like a reasoning model. Don't ask, prompt 'and here is where you come up with apropos questions' and you shall have them, possibly even in a useful way.
journal 10mo ago
voice transcription is silly when someone is listening you talking to something that isn't exactly human, imagine explaining you were talking to AI. When it's more than one sentence I use voice too.
cjflog 10mo ago
100% this, I built laboratory.love almost entirely with my voice and (now-outdated) Claude models My go-to prompt finisher, which I have mapped to a hotkey due to frequent use, is "Before writing any code, first analyze the problem and requirements and identify any ambiguities, contradictions, or issues. Ask me to clarify any questions you have, and then we'll proceed to writing the code"
d4rkp4ttern 10mo ago
> if you talk in a winding way … My regular workflow is to talk (I use VoiceInk for transcription) and then say “tell me what you understood” — this puts your words into a well structured format, and you can also make sure the cli-agent got it, and expressing it explicitly likely also helps it stay on track.

by bogtog 10mo ago

listic 10mo ago

Thanks for the advice! Could you please share how did you enable voice transcription for your setup and what it actually is?

binocarlos 10mo ago
I use https://github.com/braden-w/whispering https://github.com/braden-w/whispering with an OpenAI api key. I use a keyboard shortcut to start and stop recording and it will put the transcription into the clipboard so I can paste into any app. It's a huge productivity boost - OP is correct about not overthinking trying to be that coherent - the models are very good at knowing what you mean (Opus 4.5 with Claude Code in my case)
- listic 10mo ago
  I am all ready to believe that with LLMs it's not worth it trying to be too coherent: I did successfully use LLMs to make sense of what incoherent-sounding people say. (in text)
- abdullahkhalids 10mo ago
  I just installed this app and it is very nice. The UX is very clean and whatever I say it transcribes it correctly. In fact I'm transcribing this comment with this app just now. I am using Whisper Medium. The only problem I see is that at the end of the message it sometimes puts a bye or a thank you which is kind of annoying.
kapnap 10mo ago
For me, on Mac, VoiceInk has been top notch. Got tired of superwhispr
bogtog 10mo ago
I'm using Wispr flow, but I've also tried Superwhisper. Both are fine. I have a convenient hotkey to start/end recording with one hand. Having it just need one hand is nice. I'm using this with the Claude Code vscode extension in Cursor. If you go down this route, the Claude Code instance should be moved into a separate window outside your main editor or else it'll flicker a lot
- pzo 10mo ago
  another option is MacWhisper if someone is on macOS and doesn't want to pay for subscription (just one time payment) - pretty much all of those apps these days use paraspeech from NVIDIA which is the fastest and the best open source model that can run on edge devices. Also haven't tried but on latest MacOS 26 apple updated their STT models so their build in voice dictation maybe is good enough.
lukax 10mo ago
Spokenly on macOS with Soniox model.
mattmanser 10mo ago
Aquavoice, YC company, really good. Got it after doing a bit of research on here, there's something for Mac that's supposed to be good too. If you want local transcription, locally running models aren't quite good enough yet. They use right-ctrl as their trigger. I've set mine to double tap and then I can talk with long pauses/thinking and it just keeps listening till I tap to finish.

johnfn 10mo ago

That's a fun idea. How do you get the transcript into Claude Code (or whatever you use)? What transcription service do you use?

hn_throw2025 10mo ago
I'm not the person you're replying to, but I use Whispering connected to the whisper-large-v3-turbo model on Groq. It's incredibly cheap and works reliably for me. I have got it to paste my voice transcriptions into Chrome (Gemini, Claude, ChatGPT) as well as Cursor. https://github.com/EpicenterHQ/epicenter https://github.com/EpicenterHQ/epicenter
hurturue 10mo ago
your OS might have a built in dictation thing. Google for that and try it before online services.
bogtog 10mo ago
There are a few apps nowadays for voice transcription. I've used Wispr Flow and Superwhisper, and both seem good. You can map some hotkey (e.g., ctrl + windows) to start recording, then when you press it again to stop, it'll get pasted into whatever text box you have open Superwhisper offers some AI post-processing of the text (e.g., making nice bullets or grammar), but this doesn't seem necessary and just makes things a bit slower
- rpwverheij 10mo ago
  +1 for Superwhisper. It has an offline model for transcription. And it transcribes with very high accuracy for me and great speed.
quinncom 10mo ago
I use Spokenly with local Parakeet 0.6B v3 model + Cerebras gpt-oss-120b for post-processing (cleaning up transcription errors and fixing technical mondegreens, e.g., `no JS` → `Node.js`). Almost imperceptible transcription and processing delay. Trigger transcription with right ⌥ key.

deleted 10mo ago

[deleted]

dominotw 10mo ago

surprised ai companies are not making this workflow possible instead of leaving it upto users to figure out how to get voice text into prompt.

alwillis 10mo ago
> surprised ai companies are not making this workflow possible instead of leaving it upto users to figure out how to get voice text into prompt. Claude on macOS and iOS have native voice to text transcription. Haven't tried it but since you can access Claude Code from the apps now, I wonder if you use the Claude app's transcription for input into Claude Code.
- bogtog 10mo ago
  > Claude on macOS and iOS have native voice to text transcription Yeah, Claude/ChatGPT/Gemini all offer this, although Gemini's is basically unusable because it will immediately send the message if you stop talking for a few seconds I imagine you totally could use the app transcript and paste it in, but keeping the friction to an absolute minimum (e.g., just needing to press one hotkey) feels nice
dyauspitr 10mo ago
All the mobile apps make this very easy.

Marsymars 10mo ago

> I'm not a particularly slow typer. I can go 70-90 WPM on a typing test. However, this speed drops quickly when I need to also think about what I'm saying. Typing that fast is also kinda tiring, whereas talking/thinking at 100-120 WPM feels comfortable. This doesn't feel relatable at all to me. If my writing speed is bottlenecked by thinking about what I'm writing, and my talking speed is significantly faster, that just means I've removed the bottleneck by not thinking about what I'm saying.

hexaga 10mo ago
Alternatively: some people are just better at / more comfortable thinking in auditory mode than visual mode & vice versa. In principle I don't see why they should have different amounts of thought. That'd be bounded by how much time it takes to produce the message, I think. Typing permits backtracking via editing, but speaking permits 'semantic backtracking' which isn't equivalent but definitely can do similar things. Language is powerful. And importantly, to backtrack in visual media I tend to need to re-saccade through the text with physical eye motions, whereas with audio my brain just has an internal buffer I know at the speed of thought. Typed messages might have higher _density_ of thought per token, though how valuable is that really, in LLM contexts? There are diminishing returns on how perfect you can get a prompt. Also, audio permits a higher bandwidth mode: one can scan and speak at the same time.
dyauspitr 10mo ago
I don’t feel restricted by my typing speed, speaking is just so much easier and convenient. The vast majority of my ChatGPT usage is on my phone and that makes s2t a no brainer.
bogtog 10mo ago
That's fair. I sometimes find myself pausing or just talking in circles as I'm deciding what I want. I think when I'm speaking, I feel freer to use less precise/formal descriptions, but the model can still correctly interpret the technical meaning In either case, different strokes for different folks, and what ultimately matters is whether you get good results. I think the upside is high, so I broadly suggest people try it out
10mo ago

j45 10mo ago

Speech also uses a different part of the brain, and maybe less finger coordination.

Applejinx 10mo ago

It's an AI. You might do better by phrasing it, 'Make a plan, and have questions'. There's nobody there, but if it's specifically directed to 'have questions' you might find they are good questions! Why are you asking, if you figure it'd be better to get questions? Just say to have questions, and it will. It's like a reasoning model. Don't ask, prompt 'and here is where you come up with apropos questions' and you shall have them, possibly even in a useful way.

journal 10mo ago

voice transcription is silly when someone is listening you talking to something that isn't exactly human, imagine explaining you were talking to AI. When it's more than one sentence I use voice too.

cjflog 10mo ago

100% this, I built laboratory.love almost entirely with my voice and (now-outdated) Claude models My go-to prompt finisher, which I have mapped to a hotkey due to frequent use, is "Before writing any code, first analyze the problem and requirements and identify any ambiguities, contradictions, or issues. Ask me to clarify any questions you have, and then we'll proceed to writing the code"

d4rkp4ttern 10mo ago

> if you talk in a winding way … My regular workflow is to talk (I use VoiceInk for transcription) and then say “tell me what you understood” — this puts your words into a well structured format, and you can also make sure the cli-agent got it, and expressing it explicitly likely also helps it stay on track.