Dictate in any app · Notes

Voice typing in Joplin

Joplin is open source and end-to-end encrypted, so its users think about data flow. Typally puts your words into Joplin the moment you release the key, in whichever field you left the cursor.

We make Typally, so treat this as a vendor's guide. Where Joplin has a built-in option we say so, including when it is the better choice.
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In short

  • Joplin's own dictation: None. The editor is markdown.
  • What Typally does instead: types into the focused window, so it works in Joplin and everywhere else you write.
  • Best used for: notes and journals

Does Joplin have built-in dictation?

None. The editor is markdown.

Why dictate in Joplin at all?

People choose Joplin deliberately, usually after leaving something commercial over privacy. That audience will ask exactly where dictated audio goes, and deserves a straight answer.

In practice people use it for: Notes and journals, to-do lists with context, web clippings with commentary, and technical documentation.

How to dictate in Joplin

Typally runs in the background and types into whatever window has focus, so there is nothing to install inside Joplin:

1

Get Typally running

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

2

In Joplin, click the field before you speak

Put the cursor in the field you are about to fill — Joplin decides where the text lands, not Typally.

3

Speak with the key held down

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

4

Read it before you move on

Cloud transcription means audio leaves your machine even though Joplin's sync is encrypted. The note is protected; the audio that became it was not.

What Typally adds in Joplin

Typally types into Joplin's markdown editor from one key. Be clear about the trade-off it involves: your stored note stays encrypted, but the audio goes to a transcription service before it becomes text. Splitting by sensitivity — most notes dictated, the few that matter typed — is the compromise most Joplin users land on.

What this looks like in practice

Someone who left a commercial notes app over privacy decides which notes matter: financial and medical ones get typed, the other ninety per cent get dictated. The compromise is explicit rather than accidental.

One habit that makes it work better

If encryption is why you chose Joplin, keep the sensitive notes typed and dictate the rest. Most notes are not sensitive, and pretending otherwise just means fewer notes.

What to watch out for in Joplin

Cloud transcription means audio leaves your machine even though Joplin's sync is encrypted. The note is protected; the audio that became it was not.

Frequently asked questions

Does dictating undermine Joplin's encryption?

The stored note stays encrypted. But audio is sent to a transcription service before it becomes text, so the words passed through a third party on the way in.

Does Joplin have built-in speech input?

No. Its editor is plain markdown.

Is there an offline dictation option?

Offline speech models exist and are noticeably less accurate today. Typally transcribes in the cloud.

Try it in Joplin

The free plan gives you 100 minutes a month without a card — enough to find out whether talking beats typing for you.

Try Typally free

Also dictate in: Logseq · Standard Notes · Obsidian · see all apps