Clavio turns VS Code into somewhere you talk, not just type. Say a Copilot Chat prompt, an inline comment that explains the tricky bit, or the commit message for the change you just made — Clavio types it exactly where your cursor sits, and with auto-send on it fires the chat prompt the moment you stop. Keep it on Fast and it never smooths or rewrites a line, so your wording reaches the model intact. The natural-language parts of coding — the chat, the comments, the commit — are exactly where dictation earns its place, and with a wake word there's nothing to press to start.
Start with a word — or a key you like
Clavio gives you two ways in, and you choose per app. Pick a wake word and VS Code goes fully hands-free: you speak, Clavio hears it, and — with auto-send on — your Copilot Chat prompt is typed and sent the moment you stop talking. Prefer to trigger it on purpose? Bind a hotkey instead and fire dictation exactly when you want it, which suits a quick inline comment or a commit message. There's no app-name gimmick to remember and no menu to open — just the word or the key you set, working wherever the cursor is in the editor.
Fast mode: your syntax, untouched
Code is unforgiving about wording, so for VS Code keep Clavio on Fast. It types what you said, exactly as you said it, with no rewriting and no processing pause — a polish pass might “fix” a variable name or reflow a comment into prose you never asked for, and Fast simply won't touch it. Then add your stack to Clavio's dictionary — framework names, CLI tools, the identifiers you say all day — so “useMemo,” “tsconfig,” and your service names land spelled right instead of guessed. Fast for exactness, the dictionary for the names: together they keep your literal wording intact.
Talk where prose lives — chat, comments, commits
Dictation isn't for hammering out brackets and semicolons — it's for the parts of VS Code that are actually language. Copilot Chat is a conversation, so describe what you want out loud: “add a loading state and handle the empty case.” An inline comment is a sentence for the next reader, so say it instead of typing it. And the Source Control commit box wants a clear note on what changed and why — about the easiest thing there is to speak. These natural-language surfaces are where your voice moves faster than your fingers; the raw symbols stay quicker to type, and that's exactly the split Clavio is built around.
One voice from prompt to pull request
The commit box is rarely the last stop. Speak the commit in VS Code on Fast, then switch to your browser and dictate the pull request on GitHub — what changed, why, how to test — where a tidier tone reads better, so Clavio shifts to a natural polish for that window while VS Code stays on Fast. A teammate pings you in Slack; you answer in a casual voice. Clavio remembers the tone for each app, so one setup carries you from the Copilot Chat prompt to the merged PR — and because an on-device voiceprint means it only answers to you, someone talking through a standup nearby never trips it. You describe the work, and it gets written.
Recommended Clavio settings for VS Code
| Setting | Recommended | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Activation | Wake word or hotkey | Set a wake word for fully hands-free chat prompts, or bind a hotkey to trigger it deliberately for a comment or commit — no app-name trick, no menu to open. |
| Polish level | Fast (off) | Types your exact words with no rewriting, so it never reflows a comment or renames a variable. What you say is what lands in the editor. |
| Auto-send | On | Hands-free: the moment you stop talking, your Copilot Chat prompt sends itself — no key to finish, just your voice. |
| Personal dictionary | Add your stack | Keeps framework, CLI, and identifier names — useMemo, tsconfig, your service names — spelled right instead of guessed. |
| Per-app tone | Fast here, natural for PRs | Clavio remembers tone per app: keep VS Code exact, and let it switch to a tidy tone when you dictate the pull request in your browser — one setup, the whole loop. |
Code hands-free with Clavio
Clavio is an AI dictation app for Mac. It sits in your menu bar and types finished text wherever your cursor is — the Copilot Chat prompt, an inline comment, the Source Control commit box, GitHub, Slack. You trigger it with a wake word or a hotkey, set per app, and choose the polish per app too: Fast with no cleanup so it never rewrites your syntax, or a natural tone when you're describing a pull request. A personal dictionary keeps your stack's identifiers intact, and an on-device voiceprint means only your voice sets it off. Free to try: 3,000 words a month, no card, macOS 14+ on Apple Silicon. Pro is £12/month for unlimited.
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Common questions
Doesn't VS Code already have voice input?
VS Code itself doesn't ship voice typing; there's macOS dictation you can switch on, but it drops words into whatever field has focus and leaves the wording for you to fix. Clavio is built for this loop instead: a wake word or hotkey you set, Fast mode that never rewrites your syntax, a dictionary that keeps your identifiers, and auto-send that fires a Copilot Chat prompt for you. And the same voice follows you out to GitHub and Slack, which the built-in option won't.
Can I dictate in VS Code fully hands-free?
Yes. Set a wake word, turn auto-send on, and just say your Copilot Chat prompt — it's typed and sent the moment you stop, with nothing to press. Prefer a deliberate trigger for an inline comment or a commit message? Bind a hotkey instead. Either way there's no menu to open first.
Will it rewrite my code or mangle technical terms?
Not on Fast — it types your words exactly, with no rewriting, so a comment stays the comment you spoke and a variable name isn't “corrected.” To keep framework, CLI, and identifier names precise, add your stack to Clavio's dictionary. You're dictating prose into VS Code anyway — chat, comments, commits — so there's little raw syntax to trip on, and Fast leaves what there is untouched.
Where in VS Code does dictation actually help?
The parts that are language, not symbols: Copilot Chat, where you describe what you want; inline comments, which are sentences for the next reader; and the Source Control commit box, which wants a clear note on what changed and why. Those are the spots where speaking beats typing. The brackets and semicolons stay quicker by hand — Clavio is there for the words around them.
Can I use the same voice for commits, PRs, and Slack?
Yes — that's the point of a system-wide app instead of one editor extension. Clavio types into the VS Code commit box, into GitHub in your browser, and into Slack the same way it types a Copilot Chat prompt, and it remembers the tone per app: exact in the editor, tidy for a PR description, casual for a chat reply. One setup covers the whole loop.