Dictate in any app · Code

Voice typing in GitLab

GitLab merge requests and issues carry the reasoning, and reasoning takes sentences. Hold a key and talk: Typally transcribes and types it into GitLab without you touching the keyboard.

From the people who build Typally. If GitLab's own option covers your use, use it — this page will tell you when it does.
Dictate into GitLab No card, no trial timer. 100 minutes of dictation free every month.
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In short

  • GitLab's own dictation: None. Descriptions and comments are markdown fields.
  • What Typally does instead: covers GitLab and every other program on the machine with one hotkey.
  • Best used for: merge request descriptions

Does GitLab have built-in dictation?

None. Descriptions and comments are markdown fields.

Why dictate in GitLab at all?

GitLab is often the whole workflow — issues, MRs, CI, docs, wiki — so almost all project knowledge is written there. Whatever does not get typed does not exist anywhere.

In practice people use it for: Merge request descriptions, issue reports, threaded review comments, epic descriptions, and wiki pages.

How to dictate in GitLab

Setup happens once, outside GitLab, and then applies to every program on the machine:

1

Start with the install

Windows or macOS build, signed in once.

2

Put the cursor in the GitLab field you are filling

Whatever has the cursor receives the text, so click the right place in GitLab before starting.

3

Hold the hotkey and talk

Say the whole thought, then let go. No time limit.

4

Read it before you move on

GitLab supports quick actions starting with a slash, so a dictated slash at the start of a line can trigger a command like closing an issue.

What Typally adds in GitLab

Typally types into merge request descriptions, threaded review comments and wiki pages from one key. Speaking the tradeoff up front is what prevents the long comment thread defending it afterwards. Watch for dictated slashes at the start of a line — GitLab reads those as quick actions.

What this looks like in practice

An engineer proposing a schema change dictates four paragraphs covering the migration path, the rollback plan and what happens to old rows. The review takes one round instead of the usual three days of questions.

One habit that makes it work better

Explain the tradeoff in the merge request rather than defending it in comments later. One spoken paragraph up front prevents a long thread.

What to watch out for in GitLab

GitLab supports quick actions starting with a slash, so a dictated slash at the start of a line can trigger a command like closing an issue.

Frequently asked questions

Does GitLab have dictation?

No. All text entry is typed markdown.

Can I dictate GitLab wiki pages?

Yes — the wiki editor is a standard markdown field.

What are GitLab quick actions?

Slash commands typed into a comment, like /close or /assign. A dictated slash can trigger one accidentally.

Try it in GitLab

There is a permanent free tier of 100 minutes a month. Pro costs $7.99/month and raises the limit.

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Also dictate in: GitHub · Jira · Linear · Warp · GitKraken · see all apps