Cursor Voice Dictation

Speak your intent. Let Cursor write the code.

Hold a key. Speak your thoughts. Keep your flow.

Write where you work

Aqua is a system-wide dictation layer for Mac, Windows, iPhone, and Android. On a Mac or Windows PC, hold a key anywhere in Cursor and speak, and your words land in whatever field has focus: the Agent prompt, Cmd+K, an inline comment, a commit message, or the integrated terminal. No copy and paste, no separate window.

Cursor

Talk through a refactor

Move the repeated loading state into the shared table component. Preserve the existing empty state and keyboard navigation, and show me which call sites need to change.

Illustrative dictation. Review the text before you use it.

How to dictate in Cursor with Aqua

Start in the Agent prompt field. Aqua puts your words into the field you have focused.

[01]
Download Aqua for Mac or Windows and grant microphone access when prompted. On macOS you will also be asked for Accessibility access, which is what lets Aqua type into the focused field.
[02]
Open Aqua's settings and pick your hold-to-talk key. Most developers use a key they can reach without leaving the home row.
[03]
Open Cursor and click into any text field: the Agent prompt, Cmd+K, a comment, or the terminal.
[04]
Hold your key, say what you want, and release. Your words appear in the field, formatted and ready.
[05]
Add the names you use most to your custom dictionary: your repo, your framework, your teammates, your internal jargon. Aqua stops guessing at them after that.

Tips for dictating in Cursor

Describe the outcome, not the keystrokes. "Add an optimistic update to the todo mutation and roll it back on error" gets further than reading code aloud.
Say the constraints out loud. Edge cases, the framework version, the file you want touched: all of it is cheap to say and expensive to type, which is the whole reason longer prompts win.
Put library and file names in your custom dictionary. Transcribing "tRPC" or "useSWR" cold is a coin flip; from the dictionary it is not.
In the integrated terminal, read the command back before you press Enter. Dictation is fast, but a shell does exactly what you tell it.

Does Cursor have built-in voice dictation?

Yes, partly. Cursor ships a native Voice Mode on Cmd+Shift+Space: you hold to speak, release, and the transcript drops into the Agent input. It is genuinely useful, and if prompting the agent is all you need, it may be enough. The limit is scope. Voice Mode fills the Agent prompt, so the rest of Cursor stays a typing job: Cmd+K, inline comments, docstrings, commit messages, PR descriptions, and the integrated terminal. Aqua sits below the app instead of inside it, so the same key works in every one of those fields, and in every other app on your machine.

Read the Full Guide to Voice Coding in Cursor

Built for the way you work

97.4% key-term accuracy on AISpeak-10, a SOC 2 Type II audit report, and 49 languages, on Mac, Windows, iPhone, and Android. Start free with 1,000 lifetime words. Pro is $8 a month billed annually.

Explore the Product Guides

Aqua refining dictated text in real time

Your words, perfected by AI

Aqua’s model trained on real workflows to understand natural speech, correct grammar, and preserve every word while refining your text in real time.

Dictionary

Custom dictionary

Teach Aqua the words you use most, like names, brands, or technical terms, and watch accuracy improve instantly.

Custom prompting

Writing style, your way

Set your tone and rules. From lowercase Slack messages to structured docs, Aqua adapts to your preferences automatically.

49 Languages

Aqua multilingual speech model globe graphic

Speaks your language

Understands 49 languages with clarity and precision, adapting naturally to how you speak.

Private History

Aqua private transcript history interface

Secure transcript history

Access your past transcripts any time. Turn on Privacy Mode and nothing is stored on our servers at all.

Better Accuracy

Avalon: 97.4%
Whisper Large v3: 65.1%

AISpeak-10 · English technical-term recognition. Method and Results

Our Model in your hands

Avalon scored 97.4% key-term accuracy on AISpeak-10, our English technical-speech benchmark. Learn How Avalon Works.

What Aqua Voice customers say

Used by people at

@0xferruccio

For coding prompting with voice nothing beats @aquavoice All the other transcription apps don't work well with code like tailwind class names

@chiggyAI

just tried out @aquavoice and by far the most accurate voice to text tool i've used!!

@TheNathanRuff

Been using @aquavoice for a few months. Unbelievably better than the other companies that do this

@jamesfong

3 products that have broken into my forever home. And that's not an easy feat for me: @circlebackai, @aquavoice, and @superset_sh

@tzmartin

tbh @aquavoice is a vibe coder's delight.. lowest latency, highest quality STT I've used so far

@juanbuis

this is why @aquavoice is better than all other AI transcription apps it actually writes like you talk

@heyvyner

Mapping @aquavoice to this button on my mouse is a whole different level of productivity.

@nozmen

Aqua Voice: I barely type long prompts now, just talk. Saved ~5 hrs typing in 2 weeks. Much more accurate than macOS dictation.

@gkossakowski

Aqua is a true power tool: quick, reliable and understands your context - they were early at appreciating the value of context engineering.

@jackson_felty

@aquavoice is a prime example of how much better a product can be when the team focuses on making one simple use case incredible

@ArtemR

Aqua Voice @aquavoice is the voice-based text editor I think all of us have always wanted, but no company has been able to deliver so far. The demo is extremely impressive

@jaymehoffman

@aquavoice has saved me over 2 days of typing

@thebuildguy

Unpaid shout out — @aquavoice is probably one of my most used tool that has saved me quite literally a day of time!

@Memetic_Theory

If you're not using @aquavoice you're moving 15% slower than you could

@rickmanelius

Impressed with @aquavoice accuracy in a noisy airport.

@utkusays

just subscribed to aqua voice and wow you guys are cooking, best dictation app i've tried so far

@turboblitzzz

Started using @aquavoice a few weeks ago and now I barely type anything. My housemates want to kick me out because i keep talking to my computer. Life is good.

@curious_vii

Claude Code agents (new CLI view) + Ghostty + @aquavoice is actual calm computing

Frequently asked questions

Does Aqua work in Cursor's Agent prompt, Cmd+K, and the editor?

Yes. Aqua types into whatever field has focus, so the same key works in the Agent prompt, Cmd+K, the editor, commit messages, and the integrated terminal.

How is this different from Cursor's own Voice Mode?

Cursor's Voice Mode fills the Agent prompt. Aqua works in every field in Cursor and in every other app on your machine, adds a custom dictionary for your own vocabulary, and supports 49 languages.

Does Aqua handle code, file paths, and framework names?

Yes. Aqua is tuned for technical speech and reads the context on your screen, and anything it does not know by default can go in your custom dictionary.

Does it work on Windows?

Yes. Aqua runs on Mac, Windows, iPhone, and Android.

How much does it cost?

Free includes 1,000 words. With annual billing, Pro is $8 per month, Max is $24 per month, and Business is $19 per seat per month with a minimum of 2 seats.