The problem
The Claude desktop app is where long prompts get written: what's broken, what you tried, what to leave alone. Speaking that is much faster than typing it, but general dictation fills the box with "um", misspells Auth.swift and your branch names, and leaves you editing before you can send. Switching to a separate dictation app and pasting back breaks the flow, and some of them send your audio to their servers.
How Pairbar solves it
- Click the mic pillClick the microphone under Claude's message box or at your screen edge, or press ⌃⌥Space. One native Liquid Glass capsule holds the recording, transcript and actions. Hover it or click its level lines to show the words; Claude's icon identifies the destination.
- TalkThe words appear in the card as you speak, in your supported languages, including English technical terms. Automatic detection uses your configured supported languages, and project vocabulary helps preserve file, branch and skill names. Press 1–6 to switch mode while you talk.
- Stop and let it polishWhisper refines what it heard on your Mac, then your own Claude gives it a quick polish (or Pairbar polishes it on your Mac). A shimmer runs over the words while it works, and the polished prompt blurs in.
- Send, review or insert↩ sends it into the Claude chat. ⇧↩ shows it to you first, ⌥↩ puts it in the message box to edit, and Esc cancels.
Shortcuts
| Shortcut | What it does | Where |
|---|---|---|
| ⌃⌥Space | Start or stop dictating | any app |
| ↩ | Send to the chat | while the card is up |
| ⇧↩ | Review before sending | while the card is up |
| ⌥↩ | Insert into the message box to edit | while the card is up |
| 1–6 | Prompt, Message, Verbatim, Code, Notes, Translate to English | while you speak |
| esc | Cancel (kept in your history) | while the card is up |
Correct words for next time
After insertion, rate the dictation with thumbs up or thumbs down. Thumbs down opens the words: choose one word or the first and last words of a phrase, then save a replacement with Learn correction. Corrected words are marked green. Choose Add another to fix the remaining words or phrases. Your personal dictionary remembers replacements for future dictations; you can remove it in Voice settings. Ratings and the original inserted text stay in your private history.
Modes
| Key | Mode | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prompt | a clear instruction for Claude: fillers out, punctuation fixed, spoken symbols as symbols |
| 2 | Message | light cleanup; symbols stay words |
| 3 | Verbatim | exactly what you said |
| 4 | Code | names and symbols said literally: "camel case user id" → userId |
| 5 | Notes | every sentence becomes a bullet |
| 6 | Translate to English | speak a supported language, get English |
Where the pill lives
Besides the pill under Claude's message box, a free-standing pill stays on screen: bottom centre, as a tab on the left or right edge, or at the top under the notch. Drag it and it snaps into place with a magnetic glide. From there it dictates into whatever app you're in: the text is typed into the focused field and your clipboard is put back afterwards.
Privacy
- Speech recognition runs on your Mac. Your audio isn't uploaded.
- The polish sends only the text to your own Claude, on your plan, or runs on your Mac. There's no Pairbar server in between.
- Every dictation is kept in a history on your Mac, so a failed send never loses what you said; the card offers Copy when something goes wrong.
Without Pairbar
Other ways to talk to the Claude desktop app:
| Approach | What you get | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| macOS Dictation | built in, works in any text field | no polish, no project vocabulary; symbols and names fixed by hand |
| A separate dictation app | speech to text anywhere, often with AI cleanup | usually another subscription or account, and it doesn't know your repository's names |
| Typing | full control | slow for long, detailed prompts |
Frequently asked questions
- Does it replace the Claude app?
- No. You keep using the official Claude desktop app with all its features. Pairbar adds the mic pill under its message box and a sidebar over it, and types into Claude's own box.
- Does the polish cost extra?
- No. It uses your own Claude plan, like a short chat, with no API key. You can also polish on your Mac.
- Will it send without me checking?
- Only when you press ↩. ⇧↩ shows the text first, ⌥↩ inserts it to edit, and Esc cancels.
- Does my voice leave my Mac?
- No. Recognition runs on your Mac; only the text goes to your own Claude for the polish, and there's no Pairbar server.
Related
- PairbarVoice dictationTalk to Claude, Codex or any app on your Mac: a mic pill or ⌃⌥Space, live words, Whisper on your Mac, a quick polish on your own plan, six modes, automatic language detection and project vocabulary.
- Use caseDictate to Codex: talk to the Codex app instead of typingTalk to the Codex app: a mic pill under its message box, live words, Whisper on your Mac, a quick polish on your own Codex plan, ↩ to send.
- Use caseTalk to Claude Code instead of typing: voice dictation into Claude's message boxDictate into Claude's or Codex's message box: on-device macOS speech recognition, your project's words, modes such as Prompt or Code, and optional Polish.
- Use caseIs Pairbar worth it if you only use Claude Code?What Pairbar adds when Claude Code is your only agent: sidebar, live status, Tasks, ⌘K search, skills, subagent transcripts, limits, voice, workflows and more.
- DocsVoice dictationTalk instead of typing into the composer or Claude's and Codex's chat boxes: on this Mac, automatic language, coding words, automatic Polish, OK or Send, history
Try Pairbar free for 7 days
One sidebar for the Claude and Codex desktop apps. Everything on for 7 days, no card needed; then $49/year ($39 first year with LAUNCH), $9/month or $129 lifetime (first 200 buyers). macOS 26 or later, Apple silicon.