Dictation and voice typing on Linux

Updated: November 7, 2026

Mac and Windows users press a shortcut and dictate. On Linux there is no equivalent built into the major desktops, so you assemble something yourself or install an app, and the first question is not which app but which display session you are running. This guide explains why X11 and Wayland matter so much for dictation, what kinds of tools exist, how Voice Monkeys works on Linux, and how to fix the problems people run into.

First check: are you on X11 or Wayland?

A dictation app has to do two things outside its own window: notice a hotkey while another program has focus, and put text into that other program. On X11 (Xorg), applications have traditionally been allowed to do both. Wayland was designed to isolate applications from each other, so a program cannot simply listen to all keypresses or type into a window it does not own. That is good for security and awkward for dictation.

To see which session you have, open a terminal and run echo $XDG_SESSION_TYPE. It prints x11 or wayland. Most desktop environments also show it in their About or system information panel.

• x11: global hotkeys and simulated typing generally work, so most dictation tools behave as expected.
• wayland: a tool needs a Wayland-aware typing helper or extra system setup, and many apps cannot paste or catch a global hotkey at all.

If your distribution still offers an X11 session, you can usually choose it on the login screen: select your user, then look for a session menu (often a gear icon) before typing your password. Some recent releases have dropped or are phasing out X11 sessions for certain desktops, so check what your distribution provides before planning around it.

What kinds of Linux dictation tools exist

The Linux options fall into two groups. Do-it-yourself open-source tools combine a speech model you download, a recording tool such as PulseAudio or PipeWire, and a typing helper that simulates keystrokes (xdotool on X11, wtype or ydotool on Wayland). They run offline and cost nothing, but you configure them from the command line and bind the hotkey yourself. Packaged apps install like any other program and handle the hotkey, recording and pasting for you.

Whichever group you choose, check where recognition happens before you dictate anything private; is voice dictation private? lists the questions to ask.

Voice Monkeys on Linux

Voice Monkeys ships for 64-bit Linux as an AppImage or a .deb package for Ubuntu and Debian. Speech is recognized on your computer itself, offline. The internet is needed once to download the speech model (about 640 MB), then only for the licence check and updates; no audio or text is sent.

It needs an X11 (Xorg) session: under Wayland the system blocks the global hotkey and the automatic paste. Day to day it works like the other versions. Hold a key, speak, release, and the text appears at the cursor in your editor, terminal, browser or chat app. A tap starts hands-free mode until the next tap, and Esc cancels. It recognizes 25 languages automatically and lets you mix them in a sentence, as covered in dictating in multiple languages.

The price is $25 once: a lifetime licence for one computer, every update of version 1, a 7-day free trial without a card and a refund within 14 days. Get it from the download page.

Installing the AppImage or .deb

• AppImage: download it, make it executable with chmod +x followed by the file name, then run it. If it refuses to start with an error mentioning FUSE, install your distribution's FUSE 2 compatibility package (on Ubuntu this is usually called libfuse2, or libfuse2t64 on newer releases).
• .deb (Ubuntu, Debian): install it with sudo apt install ./ followed by the file name, so apt resolves dependencies, then launch it from your applications menu.
• Let the model download finish on the first start, while you are online. After that, dictation works without a connection.
• Log in to an X11 session before the first run, and confirm with echo $XDG_SESSION_TYPE.
• Pick the microphone in your desktop's sound settings, or with a mixer such as pavucontrol, and check that the input meter moves when you talk.

Getting good results

Test with sentences from your real work, for example "Merge the branch after the tests pass, then tag the release as two point four.", and count what you would have to fix. A headset close to your mouth helps more than any setting, especially next to a loud desktop fan. If you dictate commit messages or long comments, dictation for developers covers what to say and what to type, and improve dictation accuracy collects habits that reduce errors.

Troubleshooting on Linux

• The hotkey does nothing: check the session type first. On Wayland, global hotkeys from ordinary apps are blocked; log out and choose an X11 session if your distribution offers one.
• Right Alt types strange characters instead: on many European keyboard layouts, right Alt is AltGr, used for characters like @ or €. Pick a different dictation key in settings so the two do not collide.
• Text is recognized but not pasted: make sure the cursor is in a text field and the target window has focus when you release the key. Some terminal emulators use Ctrl+Shift+V for paste, so test in a plain text editor first to isolate the problem.
• Nothing is heard: open your sound settings or pavucontrol, choose the right input device, and watch the level meter. Bluetooth headsets sometimes appear as two devices; pick the one with a microphone.
• The AppImage will not start: run it from a terminal to see the error. A FUSE message means the compatibility package is missing.

If you also use Windows, dictation on Windows covers the built-in dictation there, and how to choose a dictation app for Windows lists what to look for.

Questions and answers

More guides

• Dictating in two or more languages: switching, mixing and habits that work
• Is voice dictation private? What happens to your words
• How to choose a dictation app for Windows
• Dictation for developers: use your voice for the prose, not the code