# Command Mode: speak instructions, not text. Dimmy Help.

> Command Mode: speak instructions, not text. Step-by-step help for Dimmy, the native voice dictation app for macOS, Windows, and Linux.

Source: https://dimmy.app/help/command-mode/

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AI Styles & Tones

# Command Mode: speak instructions, not text

Select text and say what to do with it. Or, with nothing selected, ask Dimmy to write something at the cursor. The AI does the rest.

Normal dictation types what you say. Command Mode flips that: what you say becomes an instruction, and the AI edits or writes text for you, directly in whatever app you are in. The result replaces the selection or appears at the cursor, like a normal paste.

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Selecting a paragraph, saying 'make it more formal', and watching it get replaced in place

## With text selected

Select text in any app, start a recording in Command Mode, and speak. Dimmy reads the selection, applies your instruction, and replaces the selection with the result.

* “Make it more formal.”
* “Translate to English.”
* “Fix the grammar.”
* “Turn this into bullet points.”
* “Shorten it to one sentence.”

If you dictate plain content instead of an instruction, Dimmy understands and simply replaces the selection with what you said. Handy for rewriting a sentence by voice.

## With nothing selected

With no selection, your words become a writing request and the result is inserted at the cursor.

* “Write a polite decline to this meeting invite.”
* “Draft a short tweet about our launch.”
* “Give me three subject lines for this email.”

Literal content still works: say “the quick brown fox” and that is exactly what gets inserted, cleaned up with capitalization and punctuation.

## Two ways to turn it on

Sticky toggle. Right-click the pill → Command (edit selection). The same toggle is in the tray menu on Windows and in the menu-bar and Dock menus on macOS. The mode stays on, and every recording is a command, until you toggle it off. The pill's dot turns amber while it is active.

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Pill menu with Command (edit selection) checked, pill dot amber

One-shot shortcut. Set a dedicated combo in Settings → Shortcut → Command mode shortcut (unset by default). Press it instead of the dictation hotkey to run a single command, then Dimmy goes straight back to normal dictation. It follows the same Hold or Toggle mode as your dictation hotkey. See [Dictionary and Command Mode shortcuts](https://dimmy.app/help/hotkey-dictionary-command/).

## What it needs

Command Mode uses the same AI model as the [AI styles](https://dimmy.app/help/styles/): a cloud provider with your [API key](https://dimmy.app/help/api-keys/), a [local LLM](https://dimmy.app/help/local-llm/), or your Claude subscription. If no model is configured, Dimmy shows a toast pointing to Settings → Providers & keys.

tip

Two rules the AI always follows: it keeps your language unless you explicitly ask to translate, and it outputs only the resulting text. No “Sure, here is…”, no quotes, no commentary.

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## In this category

[ AI Styles & TonesThe 13 AI stylesAfter transcription, an optional LLM pass rewrites your text. From Correct to Imbruttito, with 11 styles in between.](https://dimmy.app/help/styles/) [ AI Styles & TonesThe 5 tonesNone, formal, friendly, concise, academic. The tone sits on top of the style and changes register only.](https://dimmy.app/help/tones/) [ AI Styles & TonesWrite your own system promptPick the Custom style and paste any system prompt. Dimmy uses it for every dictation until you change it.](https://dimmy.app/help/custom-prompts/) [ AI Styles & TonesStrip filler words automaticallyDimmy can drop "um", "uh", "basically", "cioè" before paste. Works in 6 languages, independent of the LLM pass.](https://dimmy.app/help/filler-removal/)

Last updated: 2026-05-22

On this page

1. [01 With text selected](#with-text-selected)
2. [02 With nothing selected](#with-nothing-selected)
3. [03 Two ways to turn it on](#two-ways-to-turn-it-on)
4. [04 What it needs](#what-it-needs)