Terminal dictation

Use aria dictate to record one utterance and copy the recognized words. Complete setup and keep the background service running. On Linux, the service also keeps copied text available for pasting. Run it in your graphical desktop session so Aria can access the clipboard.

Copy a sentence

aria dictate \
  --mode copy

Say a short sentence, then pause. With the default stop setting, 1.5 seconds of silence ends the recording. After processing finishes, paste into an empty text field and check the words.

Copying replaces the clipboard.

Plain aria dictate uses your saved output preference. --mode copy chooses the clipboard for this recording without changing that preference.

Stop by hand

For a longer pause or a recording you want to end yourself, run:

aria dictate \
  --mode copy \
  --toggle

Speak, then press Esc when the terminal shows the stop prompt. Aria stops recording, finishes transcription, and copies the result.

Without --toggle, Aria uses your saved stop setting. Recordings stop after five minutes at most.

Mac insertion

On a Mac, hotkey dictation is the easiest way to speak into another app. A command launched in Terminal starts with Terminal focused. Insertion requires Accessibility access, and the intended app and field must stay focused.

--mode insert types the completed transcript. --stream types finalized segments while you speak. Use --mode insert-or-copy if you want copying when insertion cannot begin. Linux uses the clipboard and does not support insertion-only modes.

Spoken corrections

To correct a simple change of mind in the completed text, add this setting to ~/.aria/config.yaml and restart the service:

dictation_backtrack: true

For example, “meet me at 3, actually 4” can become “meet me at 4”. “Send it to Ali, scratch that, to Sara” can become “Send it to Sara”. This handles only simple, unambiguous corrections within a clause. More complex corrections stay as spoken.

Corrections apply to the completed transcript. For Mac hotkey dictation, enable Show Captions to deliver after stopping. Live insertion cannot retract earlier text, so it keeps the original words and correction cue.

For names Aria regularly spells differently, try Project vocabulary. If recording fails, use Troubleshooting.