Dictate in any app · Code

Voice typing in IntelliJ IDEA

IntelliJ is dense with shortcuts, and everything you write for humans is still typed. Typally works at the keyboard level, so anywhere IntelliJ IDEA accepts typing, it accepts your voice instead.

Written by the team behind Typally. IntelliJ IDEA's own features are described as accurately as we can — check them yourself before switching anything.
Dictate into IntelliJ IDEA Free on Windows and macOS. No payment details needed to start.
Try Typally free

In short

  • IntelliJ IDEA's own dictation: None. Plugins exist for voice control, aimed at navigation rather than composing prose.
  • What Typally does instead: types into the focused window, so it works in IntelliJ IDEA and everywhere else you write.
  • Best used for: javadoc comments

Does IntelliJ IDEA have built-in dictation?

None. Plugins exist for voice control, aimed at navigation rather than composing prose.

Why dictate in IntelliJ IDEA at all?

Java and Kotlin projects carry heavy documentation expectations — Javadoc, architecture notes, commit messages. All of it is prose, and none of it is what the IDE optimises.

In practice people use it for: Javadoc comments, commit messages in the VCS panel, TODO explanations, and AI assistant prompts.

How to dictate in IntelliJ IDEA

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

1

Get Typally running

Install, sign in, and it waits in the tray.

2

Focus the IntelliJ IDEA field you want the words in

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

3

Speak with the key held down

Push to talk, say your piece, release to transcribe.

4

Read it before you move on

IntelliJ's live templates and auto-completion fire on inserted characters, so dictating into a code file triggers completions. Use the commit box or a comment block.

What Typally adds in IntelliJ IDEA

Typally types into the commit dialog, Javadoc blocks and the AI assistant prompt, all from one key. Custom vocabulary keeps class and library names intact rather than phonetically guessed. Keep it out of source files, where IntelliJ's live templates and completion react to every inserted character.

What this looks like in practice

A developer finishing a complicated service class dictates the class-level Javadoc: what problem it solves, what it deliberately does not handle, and which other class to look at. The next person to open it does not need to ask anyone.

One habit that makes it work better

Dictate the Javadoc explaining why a method exists, then type the parameter tags. The prose part is what nobody writes and the tags are what tooling generates anyway.

What to watch out for in IntelliJ IDEA

IntelliJ's live templates and auto-completion fire on inserted characters, so dictating into a code file triggers completions. Use the commit box or a comment block.

Frequently asked questions

Can I dictate code in IntelliJ?

Not usefully. Dictation is for the prose — docs, commits, prompts — not for symbol-dense code.

Does dictation work in IntelliJ's commit dialog?

Yes. It is a plain text box, and it is one of the better places to use it.

Does this apply to other JetBrains IDEs?

Yes — PyCharm, WebStorm, GoLand and the rest share the same editor platform.

Try it in IntelliJ IDEA

Start on the free plan (100 minutes a month, no card). Pro lifts the cap and adds meeting notes for $7.99/month.

Try Typally free

Also dictate in: PyCharm · WebStorm · VS Code · see all apps