Dictate in any app · Project

Voice typing in Linear

Linear is keyboard-first by design, which makes its one slow field — the description — stand out. Typally puts your words into Linear the moment you release the key, in whichever field you left the cursor.

Yes, we build Typally. That is also why the section on Linear's built-in option is honest: people who switch after trying both are the ones who stay.
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In short

  • Linear's own dictation: None. Linear's speed comes from keyboard shortcuts, not from voice.
  • What Typally does instead: puts text wherever the cursor is, in Linear or in anything else you have open.
  • Best used for: issue descriptions with real context

Does Linear have built-in dictation?

None. Linear's speed comes from keyboard shortcuts, not from voice.

Why dictate in Linear at all?

Creating an issue in Linear takes seconds until you reach the description, where the pace collapses. The result is a backlog of well-organised issues whose bodies say almost nothing.

In practice people use it for: Issue descriptions with real context, project updates, decision notes in comments, and the spec that would otherwise become a meeting.

How to dictate in Linear

There is no Linear extension or add-in involved — Typally behaves like a very fast keyboard:

1

Download and sign in

Grab the build for your platform and create an account.

2

In Linear, click the field before you speak

Click first. Typally types into Linear wherever the caret already is, with no idea what that field is for.

3

Talk while holding the key

The recording lasts exactly as long as you do.

4

Read it before you move on

Linear's shortcuts fire on single keypresses when no text field is focused. Make sure the cursor is inside the description before you start speaking.

What Typally adds in Linear

Typally types into the description field only when the cursor is inside it, which suits Linear well — use its keyboard shortcuts for everything they made fast, and voice for the one field that collapses the pace. Make sure the caret is in the description first, since Linear's shortcuts fire on single keypresses.

What this looks like in practice

An engineer creates six issues in a planning session, moving through Linear's shortcuts at full speed. For each one he holds the hotkey and says two sentences of context into the description. The whole batch takes eight minutes, and none of the six is a bare title that nobody will understand next month.

One habit that makes it work better

Use the keyboard for everything Linear made fast — creating, labelling, assigning — and voice only for the description. Mixing the two plays to what each is good at.

What to watch out for in Linear

Linear's shortcuts fire on single keypresses when no text field is focused. Make sure the cursor is inside the description before you start speaking.

Frequently asked questions

Does Linear support voice input?

Not natively. It is built around keyboard shortcuts; a system-level dictation tool covers the text fields.

Can I dictate into Linear's command menu?

You can, though the command menu is designed for fast typed search. Dictation pays off in the description and comment fields.

Does dictation work in Linear's desktop app?

Yes — to a system-level tool the desktop app is just another focused window.

Try it in Linear

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

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Also dictate in: Jira · Notion · VS Code · see all apps