Speech to text in Cursor is built in, up to a point: the Agent chat has a microphone button that turns what you say into a prompt. It doesn't help with comments in your files, commit messages or the terminal. LumeVoice covers all of those, because it types into whatever has your cursor on Mac and Windows, inside Cursor and out.
Short answer
Does Cursor have voice input?
Yes. As of October 2026, Cursor's Agent chat has a microphone button that dictates your prompt, and in the Agents Window you can hold Ctrl+M to talk. Dictation detects which language you're speaking, and you can set spoken submit keywords that send the prompt. It's built for the agent's chat input, not for typing elsewhere in the editor.
How Cursor's built-in voice input works#
As of October 2026, this is what Cursor's prompting docs and release notes describe:
- Click the microphone in the Agent chat input. In the Agents Window you can also press and hold Ctrl+M, an option Cursor 3.1 added in April 2026, with a waveform, a timer and buttons to cancel or confirm.
- Talk. A small meter shows that Cursor hears you, and dictation picks up the language you're speaking. You can choose a specific language in the voice settings shown while recording.
- Review and send. Cursor's own advice is to speak naturally, name the files and functions involved, and check the transcription before sending. If you've set voice submit keywords, saying one sends the prompt for you.
Cursor's iPhone app lets you dictate instructions to your agents, too.
Where it stops#
- One box. The docs place voice input in the agent's chat input. Code comments, the commit message box, a terminal agent such as Claude Code, and the Slack or GitHub tab where you explain the change all need another way in.
- No word list. The docs don't describe a way to teach it your library names, codenames or teammates.
- Raw speech. The docs describe transcription, not removing filler words or acting on "no wait, make it three" corrections.
- Phones. Cursor's mobile app runs on iPhone and iPad with iOS 26 or later, on Premium and higher plans (plus some legacy ones). An Android app is planned.
How to dictate in Cursor with LumeVoice#
LumeVoice runs alongside Cursor, not inside it, so it works in every text field the editor has.
- Download LumeVoice for Mac or Windows and sign in.
- Click where the words should go.
- Hold fn on a Mac or Ctrl + Win on Windows, talk, and let go. The cleaned-up text is pasted at your cursor.
- For longer explanations, double-press the key for hands-free mode, and press it once to finish.
Places it earns its keep in Cursor:
- Agent chat and Plan Mode. Prompts, follow-ups and answers to the agent's clarifying questions.
- Inline edit (Cmd+K). "Return early if the user is missing and log a warning."
- Comments and docstrings. Type
//or/**, then dictate the sentence. - Source Control. Type a prefix such as
feat:and dictate the summary. Lume capitalizes and punctuates like prose, so check it against your team's commit style. - The terminal. Talk to Claude Code or any other CLI agent in Cursor's terminal panel.
- Project rules. Run "New Cursor Rule" from the command palette and dictate your conventions the way you'd explain them to a new hire.
Away from your desk, the Lume keyboard on iPhone and the Lume bubble on Android cover the replies, reviews and issue updates around your code.
Voice for the whole editor, not just the chat box
Hold one key in Cursor's chat, a comment, the commit box or the terminal, and get clean, punctuated text.
- Filler words removed and self-corrections applied
- Spoken steps turned into numbered lists
- 3,000 free words, no card required
Tips for dictating better Cursor prompts#
Lead with the outcome, end with the check. Say what should change, what must stay the same, and how you'll know it worked. An illustrative example:
You say: "Okay, on the settings page, the save button should stay disabled until something changes, uh, and show a spinner while it saves. Time out after ten seconds, actually fifteen, and keep the existing tests passing."
Lume types: "On the settings page, the save button should stay disabled until something changes and show a spinner while it saves. Time out after fifteen seconds, and keep the existing tests passing."
Type the @, say the rest. Cursor's @ mentions attach files, folders, terminal output or a git diff. Type those, then dictate the explanation around them.
Use Plan Mode for big asks. Press Shift+Tab in the chat input to rotate to Plan Mode. The agent asks clarifying questions before it writes code, and answering them out loud is quick.
Speak in steps. Say "one," "two," "three" as you go, and Lume turns them into a numbered list the agent can work through.
Teach Lume your stack. Add framework names, internal packages and teammates to the custom dictionary so they come out spelled right in prompts and commits alike.
Leave syntax to the keyboard. Regexes, generics and exact identifiers are faster to type. Describe the intent and let the agent write it.
Cursor's voice input vs LumeVoice#
| Cursor's built-in voice | LumeVoice | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it types | Agent chat input, Agents Window, Cursor for iOS | Any text field on Mac and Windows, plus iPhone and Android |
| How you start | Mic button; hold Ctrl+M in the Agents Window | Hold fn or Ctrl + Win; double-press for hands-free |
| Sending | Optional spoken submit keywords | You press Enter |
| Languages | Detects your spoken language | 100, detected automatically, plus an optional output language |
| Cleanup | Transcription | Removes fillers, applies corrections, formats lists, fixes grammar |
| Your vocabulary | Not documented | Custom dictionary |
| Outside Cursor | No | Slack, Linear, GitHub, email and more |
| Linux | Cursor runs on Linux | No Linux app |
| Price | Included with Cursor | 3,000 free words, then $14.99/mo, $79.99/yr, or $249 lifetime |
Swipe to see all columns
When Cursor's built-in mic is enough#
If you only ever talk to the agent, and its transcription gets your words right, stick with it. It's included, it detects your language, and submit keywords let you send a prompt without touching the keyboard. And if you code on Linux, LumeVoice isn't an option at all: there's no Linux app.
LumeVoice is worth adding when you want voice in the rest of the editor (comments, commit messages, rules, a terminal agent), when you'd like the "ums" and false starts gone before the text lands, or when your next stop after Cursor is a Linear issue or a Slack thread.
Say the why, type the what#
Voice coding in the Cursor IDE works best when you talk about intent and leave the symbols to the keyboard. The agent writes better code when it knows why a change matters, and that part is easier to say than to type. Read before you send. There's more in LumeVoice for developers and our guide to voice dictation for developers.