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Voice typing in GitHub

GitHub is mostly a writing tool wearing a code tool's clothes. Typally types what you say straight into GitHub — hold a key, talk, let go — so you can dictate anywhere GitHub lets you type.

Written by the team behind Typally. GitHub's own features are described as accurately as we can — check them yourself before switching anything.
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In short

  • GitHub's own dictation: None. Pull request descriptions, issues, comments and reviews are all markdown text areas.
  • What Typally does instead: works above the app rather than inside it — GitHub sees ordinary typed text.
  • Best used for: pull request descriptions

Does GitHub have built-in dictation?

None. Pull request descriptions, issues, comments and reviews are all markdown text areas.

Why dictate in GitHub at all?

A pull request's description is what a reviewer reads first and what an archaeologist reads in two years. It is also written last, when you just want to merge, so it says 'fixes bug'.

In practice people use it for: Pull request descriptions, issue reports, review comments, discussion replies, and README sections.

How to dictate in GitHub

Because Typally types at the system level rather than plugging into GitHub, setup is the same everywhere:

1

Install Typally

Windows or macOS, then sign in. No card for the free tier.

2

Open GitHub and click where you want the text

Make sure GitHub has the cursor in the intended field; that is the only thing that decides where words appear.

3

Press and speak

Hold, talk, release. Long passages are fine.

4

Read it before you move on

GitHub's markdown converts dictated hashes, dashes and backticks into headings, lists and code spans. Dictate prose and format after.

What Typally adds in GitHub

Typally types into pull request descriptions, issues and review comments, so the explanation a reviewer actually needs gets written instead of 'fixes bug'. Custom vocabulary keeps repository, service and function names intact. Dictate prose and add the markdown by hand — a spoken hash becomes a heading.

What this looks like in practice

A pull request touching thirty files gets a spoken description: what changed, why the obvious approach was rejected, and the one function the author is unsure about. The review comes back focused on that function instead of on formatting.

One habit that makes it work better

Dictate the PR description as if explaining the change to the reviewer in person: what it does, why this approach, what you were unsure about. That last part is what gets you a useful review.

What to watch out for in GitHub

GitHub's markdown converts dictated hashes, dashes and backticks into headings, lists and code spans. Dictate prose and format after.

Frequently asked questions

Does GitHub have voice input?

No. Every text field on the site is a plain or markdown text area.

Can I dictate a code review comment?

Yes, and reviews are where it helps most — explaining why something is a problem takes a paragraph.

Does dictation work in GitHub Discussions?

Yes. Discussions, issues and PRs all use the same kind of text area.

Try it in GitHub

Free plan: 100 minutes of dictation a month, no card. Pro is $7.99/month if you want more.

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Also dictate in: GitLab · VS Code · Jira · Insomnia · Eclipse · see all apps