Typing lengthy prompts into your AI coding assistant can break your flow. What if you could simply speak your ideas and have them transcribed in real time? That’s the problem Dictator aims to solve. Dictator is a free, open‑source extension that adds voice‑to‑text capabilities to Cursor.
The Problem with Typing Prompts
Cursor and other AI‑enabled editors are great for brainstorming and iterating on code, but long prompts or explanations become tedious to type. Dictator lets you speak your thoughts, making brainstorming sessions more natural and reducing friction.
How Dictator Works
Under the hood, Dictator uses Whisper models from OpenAI. These models run locally in your browser via WebAssembly, so your audio never leaves your computer. You can select between different model sizes—Base, Small, Medium or Large—depending on your hardware and latency requirements.
Key Features
-
Real‑time transcription: Click the mic button or press
Ctrl + Shift + Pto start dictation; your words appear instantly in Cursor’s chat. - Multilingual support: Over 90 languages are supported, making Dictator accessible to non‑English speakers.
- Privacy by design: All processing happens locally; nothing is sent to external servers.
- Model flexibility: Choose a smaller model for speed or a larger one for accuracy.
Getting Started
- Clone the repository from GitHub and run
npm installto install dependencies. - Open the extension in development mode within Cursor.
- Click the microphone icon in the chat input or press the keyboard shortcut to start dictating.
- Adjust the model and language settings via the extension panel.
Why Open Source Matters
Dictator is MIT‑licensed and completely free. The project welcomes contributions—whether it’s new languages, UI improvements or integration with other editors. By keeping the project open, the community can help shape the future of voice‑enabled coding.
Conclusion
Voice interfaces are becoming more common across tech, and Dictator brings that convenience directly into your coding environment. If you’d like to try it out, head over to the GitHub repository, install the extension, and start speaking your code. Feedback and contributions are always welcome!
Links:
- GitHub: https://github.com/tahaabbas/dictator
- Demo GIF and screenshots in the repo READMEred by OpenAI’s Whisper models running entirely in your browser.
The Problem with Typing Prompts
Cursor and other AI‑enabled editors are great for brainstorming and iterating on code, but long prompts or explanations become tedious to type. Dictator lets you speak your thoughts, making brainstorming sessions more natural and reducing friction.
How Dictator Works
Under the hood, Dictator uses Whisper models from OpenAI. These models run locally in your browser via WebAssembly, so your audio never leaves your computer. You can select between different model sizes—Base, Small, Medium or Large—depending on your hardware and latency requirements.
Key Features
-
Real‑time transcription: Click the mic button or press
Ctrl + Shift + Yto start dictation; your words appear instantly in Cursor’s chat. - Multilingual support: Over 90 languages are supported, making Dictator accessible to non‑English speakers.
- Privacy by design: All processing happens locally; nothing is sent to external servers.
- Model flexibility: Choose a smaller model for speed or a larger one for accuracy.
Getting Started
- Clone the repository from GitHub and run
npm installto install dependencies. - Open the extension in development mode within Cursor/VS Code.
- Click the microphone icon in the chat input or press the keyboard shortcut to start dictating.
- Adjust the model and language settings via the extension panel.
Why Open Source Matters
Dictator is MIT‑licensed and completely free. The project welcomes contributions—whether it’s new languages, UI improvements or integration with other editors. By keeping the project open, the community can help shape the future of voice‑enabled coding.
Conclusion
Voice interfaces are becoming more common across tech, and Dictator brings that convenience directly into your coding environment. If you’d like to try it out, head over to the GitHub repository, install the extension, and start speaking your code. Feedback and contributions are always welcome!
Links
- GitHub: https://github.com/tahaabbas/dictator
- Demo GIF and screenshots in the repo README
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