To dictate a prompt to Codex CLI on a Mac, click in the terminal window running Codex, start Apple Dictation or a push-to-talk dictation app, speak, and read the text before you press Enter. Codex CLI's documentation does not describe a speech-to-text feature that types into its prompt. Its newer /voice command starts a spoken conversation with the agent, which is a different thing from dictating a prompt you can edit.
Publisher note: SuprFlow publishes this guide and is one of the products discussed. Competitor details come from each company's own pages, checked on 1 October 2026. Prices and features change; confirm before you buy.
Does Codex CLI have built-in voice input?
Not as dictation. OpenAI's Codex CLI documentation and its command reference do not describe dictating into the prompt as of 1 October 2026.
There is a voice conversation feature. Codex CLI's own in-app tips, published in OpenAI's open-source Codex repository, say: "When voice is available, use /voice to start or stop a voice conversation, or /voice settings to choose a voice." OpenAI's Codex changelog lists, for version 0.157.0 on 25 September 2026, "Show the voice toggle in the TUI shortcut overlay" and "Preserved active voice conversations when switching threads."
Two things follow:
- "When voice is available" is a condition. The pages we opened do not say which accounts, plans or platforms have it, so run
/voiceand see whether your install offers it. - A conversation is not a draft. In a voice conversation you speak and the agent responds. With dictation, your words become text in the prompt and nothing happens until you press Enter. For long, careful instructions, dictation gives you the review step.
OpenAI's Codex pages we opened do not say how voice audio is processed or retained. Check OpenAI's current documentation before using voice with confidential code.
If you use the Codex desktop app or IDE extension rather than the CLI, check those pages separately; this guide covers the terminal tool.
How do you dictate into Codex CLI with Apple Dictation?
Apple's Dictation guide for macOS 27 says you can "speak to enter text anywhere you can type it", and that includes a terminal window.
- Turn Dictation on in System Settings → Keyboard → Dictation. If your macOS version looks different, search System Settings for "Dictation".
- Start Codex and click in its prompt.
- Press the Microphone key or your Dictation shortcut, speak, and stop.
- Read the prompt, fix it, then press Enter.
Apple says Dictation stops after 30 seconds without speech, so pause mid-thought and you may have to restart it. Apple also tells you to check Keyboard settings to see whether your Dictation is processed on the device. Setup details are in how to use voice to text on a Mac and the Mac dictation shortcut guide.
Can a push-to-talk dictation app type into Codex?
Yes, if it inserts text at the cursor. SuprFlow is one example: a menu-bar app for Apple Silicon Macs on macOS 14 or later. Hold the Fn key, speak, release, and it pastes the text at the cursor in the focused field. Speech recognition runs on the Mac after a one-time model download; see https://suprflow.app/requirements. Default formatting is local cleanup of punctuation, capitalization and numbers. It costs $125 once (as of 1 October 2026), with no free tier or trial.
It should work wherever you can paste text; test it with a harmless prompt such as "list the files in this folder and do nothing else". We have not tested it against every Codex release.
What happens to pasted text in a terminal:
- The text goes to whatever owns the prompt line. In Codex that is Codex's composer. If Codex has exited and you are back at a bare shell, the same paste goes to the shell.
- A multi-line paste may be held for editing, submitted, or met with a confirmation, depending on your terminal's paste settings and on Codex itself. Codex's documentation we opened does not describe how it handles pasted multi-line text, so test it. See voice to text in the Mac terminal for what Terminal, iTerm2, Warp and Ghostty document.
What is dictation good and bad at for Codex prompts?
Good:
- Long instructions in plain language: what you want, why, and what to leave alone.
- Describing a bug you are looking at.
- Commit messages and pull-request descriptions you ask Codex to write or edit.
Needs a review pass or a dictionary entry:
- File paths and file names. "Source slash utils" is not
src/utils/. - Function and variable names. "Parse config" is not
parseConfig. - Flags and symbols. "Dash dash dry run" is not
--dry-run. - Library and product names that sound like ordinary words.
Describe the thing and let Codex find it, then type exact names by hand. For names you use every day, add a personal dictionary entry; see teaching SuprFlow names and acronyms and voice snippets on a Mac.
What should you check before pressing Enter?
Codex can edit files and run commands. OpenAI's approvals and security page says the on-request policy lets Codex "read files, make edits, and run commands in the workspace" automatically, asking before going outside the sandbox or using the network. A misheard instruction can become a real edit.
- Is the cursor in Codex, not a bare shell?
- Are file paths, function names and flags exactly right?
- Did a negation survive? "Do not touch the tests" can lose its "not".
- Does the prompt mention deletion, migration, force-push or production? Type those parts.
- Did you speak a key, token or password? Delete it.
- Do you want approvals on for this task? OpenAI documents
/permissionsto change them mid-session.
Where do your words go?
A spoken prompt about your code can describe proprietary systems, customer names or a security bug.
| Route | Audio | Prompt text |
|---|---|---|
Codex /voice conversation | Not described in the Codex pages we opened | Part of your Codex session with OpenAI |
| Apple Dictation | Check Keyboard settings on your Mac, as Apple says | Sent to OpenAI when you press Enter |
| SuprFlow | Recognised on the Mac | Sent to OpenAI when you press Enter |
Local speech recognition changes where your audio goes, not where your prompt goes. Follow your employer's policy on both.
Questions people ask
Does Codex CLI have a /voice command?
OpenAI's in-app tips describe /voice for starting or stopping a voice conversation "when voice is available". That is a spoken exchange, not dictation into the prompt.
Can I use Mac Dictation in the terminal with Codex?
Yes. Click in the Codex prompt and start Dictation. Apple says it works anywhere you can type.
Will a dictated prompt be sent automatically?
Ordinary dictated words wait for you to press Enter. Do not say "new line": Apple says that command is "equivalent to pressing the Return key once", which can send the prompt. With a paste-based app, check your terminal's multi-line paste setting and test first.
How do I get Codex to understand file names I dictate?
Describe the file in words and let Codex search, or type the exact path after dictating the rest.
Related guides
- Vibe coding by voice on a Mac
- Voice to text in the Mac terminal
- Dictate to Claude Code and Cursor
- Dictate to Gemini CLI and OpenCode
- Dictate to ChatGPT or Claude