Command Mode

Dictation cleans up what you said. Command Mode writes what you asked for. Instead of dictating an email word by word, you press the command hotkey and say:

"Write a polite reply saying I can't make Thursday, suggest Monday instead."

Murmur transcribes the instruction, sends it through the matched workflow's command profile, and pastes the generated content — not your instruction.

Setup

Command Mode needs three things. Settings > Command Workflows shows a banner for anything missing:

1. A dedicated hotkey. Set the Command Mode Shortcut in Settings > Dictation, separate from your dictation hotkey. The banner reads "Command mode needs a dedicated shortcut before it can be used."
2. An AI provider. Configured in Settings > AI Providers — "Command mode uses an AI provider to generate content from your voice."
3. The master toggle. Enable Command Mode in Command Workflows.

Using it

1. Place your cursor where the content should go.
2. Press the command hotkey and speak your instruction.
3. Stop recording (release, or press again, depending on your dictation mode).
4. The generated content is pasted at your cursor, or copied to the clipboard if auto-paste is unavailable.

The workflow that applies is resolved the same way as for dictation — by the app you are in. An instruction spoken in Mail produces email; the same instruction in Slack produces a chat message. Each workflow can define a separate command profile and style in its editor (see Customizing Workflows), and workflows with Command Mode turned off fall back to basic command handling.

Switching modes mid-recording

You do not have to decide before you start speaking:

• Shift — tapped bare during any recording, switches between Dictation and Command mode. Started dictating but realize you would rather instruct? Press Shift and rephrase.
• Escape — in command mode, a single Escape cancels the recording (an instruction pasted raw is rarely useful). While dictating, a single Escape instead steps down to pasting the raw transcription; double-Escape cancels. Full table in Recording Indicator.

Skipping commands in specific apps

The Skip commands in these apps list in Command Workflows disables the command hotkey per app: "Pressing the command hotkey in these apps does nothing. Use this when command mode doesn't make sense in a given app."

Examples