Talon Voice Control

Talon Voice Control Setup

Custom voice control configuration for macOS using Talon.

Source code: github.com/ejfox/dotfiles/talon-overrides

Daily Drivers

The commands worth memorizing. Everything else is in the full reference below.

Category	Say	Does
Mode	cmd / talk	Switch between command and dictation
Enter	go ahead / send it	Press Enter
tmux	mux one thru mux nine	Jump to window N
tmux	mux left / right / up / down	Navigate panes
tmux	mux zoom	Toggle pane fullscreen
tmux	mux split right / down	Split pane
tmux	mux close pane	Close current pane
tmux	mux new	New window
tmux	mux sessions	Session picker
Terminal	wipe	Clear current line
Terminal	cancel	Ctrl-C
Terminal	again	Re-run last command
Terminal	edit	Open nvim
Terminal	lazy	Open lazygit
Terminal	files	Open yazi
Terminal	run claude	Launch Claude Code
Nav	go code / go home / go dotfiles	cd to directory
Git	git status / push / pull / diff	Git commands
Apps	open ghosty / chrome / obsidian / slack	Switch apps
Windows	snap left / right / full	Window positioning

Tip: Voice command usage is logged to ~/.local/share/usage-logs/talon/ — run usage-analyze after a week to see what you actually use most.

Overview

Voice-driven workflow for terminal (Ghostty + tmux), macOS app switching, and window management. All config lives in ~/.dotfiles/talon-overrides/ (symlinked to ~/.talon/user/ejfox-overrides/).

The TTS feedback script (claude-say) lives at github.com/ejfox/dotfiles/bin/claude-say and the symlink setup is in sync-dotfiles.sh.

Architecture

• Community scripts: ~/.talon/user/community/ (talonhub/community clone)
• Custom overrides: ~/.talon/user/ejfox-overrides/ (dotfiles-tracked)
• Speech engine: Conformer (Talon's built-in, downloaded via Talon menu)

Files

File	Purpose	Source
settings.talon	Global settings (tmux prefix, subtitle config)	github
custom_keys.talon	Mode switching (cmd/talk) and Enter aliases	github
tmux.talon	~30 tmux voice commands (windows, panes, sessions)	github
terminal_commands.talon	Ghostty-specific: line editing, nav, git, launchers	github
macos_nav.talon	App switching, Rectangle Pro, Spaces, general macOS	github
ghostty.talon	Ghostty terminal detection (too new for community)	github
cursor.talon	Cursor IDE detection	github
apps.py	App definitions for newer apps not in community	github
nato_alphabet.py	NATO phonetic alphabet override (Python Context)	github
mode_line.py	2px colored bar at screen bottom showing current mode	github
ejfox_subtitles.py	Right-aligned subtitles below sketchybar	github
usage_logging.py	JSONL command logger for usage analysis	github
vocabulary.talon-list	~250 custom vocabulary terms	github

Key Design Decisions

NATO Alphabet via Python Override

The community .talon-list file takes priority over user overrides. The only reliable way to replace the letter list is a Python Context override.

tmux Prefix Timing

tmux needs sleep(100ms) between the prefix key and the command key. Without it, the command fires before tmux registers the prefix.

Anchored Rules for Dictation Mode

Commands must use ^...$ anchors to work in dictation mode. Without anchors, the prose capture engine swallows the command and types it as text.

Custom Subtitles

Community subtitles plugin is center-aligned with no horizontal position setting. Custom ejfox_subtitles.py renders right-aligned text below sketchybar (38px from top).

Mode Line

2px colored line at screen bottom replacing default circle indicator:

• Pink (#e60067): Command mode
• Teal (#6eedf7): Dictation mode
• Muted (#735865): Sleep mode

Usage Logging

Every recognized phrase is logged to ~/.local/share/usage-logs/talon/YYYY-MM-DD.jsonl with timestamp, phrase text, word count, and active app. Same format as shell and tmux usage logs — analyze with usage-analyze or jq.

Full Command Reference

Mode Switching

Source: custom_keys.talon

Say	Does
cmd	Switch to command mode
talk	Switch to dictation mode
go ahead / go head / send it	Press Enter

tmux Windows

Source: tmux.talon

Say	Does
mux one thru mux nine	Jump to window N
mux next / mux previous	Next/prev window
mux last	Last used window
mux new	New window
mux rename	Rename window
mux close	Close window
mux alert / mux newest	Jump to window with bell
mux workspace	Session/window picker

tmux Panes

Source: tmux.talon

Say	Does
mux left / right / up / down	Navigate panes
mux move left / right / up / down	Move pane in direction
mux next pane	Cycle panes
mux split right / down	Split pane
mux pane right / down / left / up	Split + auto-focus new pane
mux close pane	Close current pane
mux zoom	Toggle pane fullscreen
mux sessions	Session picker
mux scroll	Enter scroll mode
mux detach	Detach from session

Terminal

Source: terminal_commands.talon

Say	Does
wipe	Clear line (ctrl-u)
wipe word	Delete last word (ctrl-w)
cancel / nope / bail	Ctrl-C
again	Re-run last command
clear	Clear terminal
edit / run neovim	Open nvim
lazy / run lazygit	Open lazygit
files / run yazi	Open yazi
run btop	Open btop
run claude	Launch Claude Code
run claude skip	Launch Claude Code (skip hooks)
run codex	Launch Codex CLI
tips	Search tips with fzf
refresh	Source .zshrc
list files	ls
list all	ls -la
note <text>	Quick note to Obsidian daily

Directory Navigation

Source: terminal_commands.talon

Say	Does
go home	cd ~
go code	cd ~/code
go smallweb	cd ~/smallweb
go clients	cd ~/clients
go dotfiles	cd ~/.dotfiles
go back	cd -
go up	cd ..
go paperclip / website / coach / connectology / vulpes / subway / newswell / gem / ddhq	Project directories

Git

Source: terminal_commands.talon

Say	Does
git status / push / pull / log / diff	Standard git commands
git add all	git add -A
git stash / git pop	Stash and pop

Dev

Source: terminal_commands.talon

Say	Does
dev server	npm run dev
yarn dev	yarn dev
install	npm install
connect VPS / connect	SSH to VPS

App Switching

Source: macos_nav.talon

open ghosty, open chrome, open safari, open messages, open slack, open discord, open signal, open obsidian, open claude, open figma, open finder, open music, open OBS

Window Management

Source: macos_nav.talon

Say	Does
snap left / right	Half screen
snap up / snap full	Fullscreen
snap down / snap bottom	Bottom half
window bigger / smaller	Resize
window grid	Grid overlay (F1)
window cascade	Cascade (F12)
space left / space right	Switch Spaces

General macOS

Source: macos_nav.talon

Say	Does
hide this / hide others	Hide apps
quit this	Quit (cmd-q)
close window / close tab	Close (cmd-w)
new tab / new window	New tab/window
next tab / previous tab	Switch tabs
spotlight	cmd-space
undo / redo	cmd-z / cmd-shift-z
save	cmd-s
select all / copy / paste / cut / find	Standard shortcuts
screenshot / screen record	cmd-shift-4 / cmd-shift-5

claude-say (TTS)

Script at ~/bin/claude-say lets Claude Code speak responses aloud:

• Mutes mic input before speaking (prevents Talon feedback loop)
• Restores mic volume after speaking
• Prefixes with tmux window number for voice navigation
• Uses macOS say -v Samantha

Lessons Learned

1. .talon-list overrides don't reliably replace community lists — use Python Context overrides
2. Ghostty is too new for community scripts — need custom app detection
3. sleep(100ms) between tmux prefix and command key is essential
4. ^...$ anchors required for commands to work in dictation mode
5. Built-in Talon subtitle controlled by speech._subtitles setting (undocumented)
6. Community subtitles are a separate plugin with their own settings
7. macOS say triggers Talon — must mute mic first via claude-say wrapper

See Also

• Dotfiles — full dotfiles setup
• CLI — terminal workflow
• Nvim — editor configuration
• tmux — multiplexer setup

Community & Prior Art

talonhub/community is the canonical voice command set that our custom overrides build on. Cursorless is the breakthrough in spoken code editing — a grammar that decorates every token with a hat for rapid structural manipulation. cursorless.nvim brings it into Neovim. talon-vim provides vim-specific voice commands. fidgetingbits-talon is one of the most comprehensive personal configs — good reference for a mature voice setup.