Modes & local cleanup
Choose how each dictation is cleaned, with four editable modes and a separate permission for cloud rewriting.
On this page
The four built-in modes#
Modes bundle cleanup and insertion preferences. Clean prose is the default. Choose a mode before starting your recording; switching modes does not redefine a dictation already in progress.
| Default behavior | Literal | Clean prose | Chat | Technical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Remove filler words | Off | On | On | On |
| Force an initial capital | Off | On | Off | Off |
| Append a trailing space | On | On | Off | On |
| Fit text to the caret | On | On | On | On |
| Allow an enabled Claude pass | Off | On | On | On |
| Tone if Claude runs | Not used | Natural | Casual | Verbatim |
These are defaults, not immutable promises. You can edit the mode’s switches in Settings. Chat avoids forcing an initial capital; it does not convert every word or acronym to lower case. Technical does not automatically understand every code identifier—add your recurring identifiers to its vocabulary.
What Literal means#
Literal turns off filler removal, forced initial capitalization and Claude rewriting by default. It aims to stay close to what the speech recognizer produced. It is not a guarantee of a word-for-word recording transcript.
Basic whitespace and punctuation spacing are still normalized, and your local phrase-book rules still apply. The default Literal mode also keeps caret fitting and a trailing space enabled. Disable those mode options if they do not suit your workflow.
Select or cycle a mode#
- Open Settings → Modes.
- Choose Use this mode and save.
- For a quick switch, record a shortcut in Switch mode with.
- Press that key to move to the next mode. The cycle wraps around the list.
- Check the mode name on the status bar before speaking.
The mode shortcut is unassigned initially. Press Backspace in its picker to clear it. The chosen mode is saved so it remains selected after restarting the app.
Edit a mode#
Under Edit a mode, select the mode to adjust. You can change filler removal, initial capitalization, trailing space, caret fitting, Claude permission and the tone used when Claude actually runs.
Words this mode adds accepts spellings one per line. These terms supplement the main vocabulary. Add API, JSON or the exact name of a component to Technical, for example, without removing your general names and corrections.
Built-in names are fixed. The current interface does not provide per-application mode defaults, so changing apps does not automatically select another mode.
A mode cannot turn cloud rewriting on#
Let this mode use the Claude pass is an additional restriction. Cloud rewriting requires the global AI cleanup switch, a usable API key and a mode that permits it. Turning the mode’s checkbox on does not authorize cloud use by itself.
The active mode’s tone takes precedence over the general Style setting when a rewrite runs. Without Claude, choosing Formal or Casual tone does not add a local language model or change the meaning of a sentence.
What local cleanup can and cannot do#
Local cleanup removes its supported filler patterns when enabled, normalizes whitespace, removes spaces before punctuation and optionally capitalizes the first letter. It works without an internet connection.
It cannot reliably turn “Monday, no, make that Tuesday” into “Tuesday,” apply arbitrary spoken formatting instructions or rewrite a paragraph into another style. Those are optional Claude tasks. For words removed unexpectedly, compare the Heard text in History and review language-specific filler limitations.