Guide
Dictating in Obsidian
A local-first notes app deserves a local-first way to get words into it.
The short answer
Voz types at your cursor, so it works in Obsidian the same way it works anywhere else: hold the hotkey, speak, release.
There is no plugin and no integration to configure. macOS delivers the text to whatever has focus, and Obsidian receives it as ordinary typing.
Setting it up
- Install Voz and grant microphone and accessibility permission when macOS asks. Accessibility is what allows text to be inserted at the cursor.
- Open Obsidian and put the cursor where you want the words.
- Hold your push-to-talk key, speak, and release. The text appears.
- If you want a different key, change it in Settings ▸ Hotkey.
Why it fits Obsidian
People choose Obsidian specifically because the notes are plain files on their own disk. Piping those same notes through a cloud dictation service to get them written undoes the reason you chose it.
Voz keeps the whole chain local: your voice becomes text on your Mac, and the text lands in a Markdown file on your Mac. Nothing in the loop touches a server.
Worth knowing
- Works in the editor, in daily notes, in the search field — anywhere the cursor goes.
- Markdown syntax is easier typed. Dictate the prose, add the formatting after.
- Add recurring names from your vault to custom vocabulary so they match your existing links.
All of this runs on your Mac. Nothing you dictate is uploaded, which matters more than usual when what you are dictating is unreleased work.