Missing speech dictation in terminal

[lsegal]

Type: Bug

1. Try to use the Alt+` or Ctrl+Alt+V keybindings in a Terminal, nothing happens.

There are keybindings for "Start Dictation in Editor" but nothing for the Terminal. It seems like this might have been removed in #210580 but I'm not sure why?

How do you perform voice dictation using the Speech capabilities in a terminal?

Extension version: 0.16.0
VS Code version: Code 1.101.2 (2901c5a, 2025-06-24T20:27:15.391Z)
OS version: Windows_NT x64 10.0.26100
Modes:
Remote OS version: Linux x64 6.6.87.2-microsoft-standard-WSL2

System Info

Item	Value
CPUs	Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-10850K CPU @ 3.60GHz (20 x 3600)
GPU Status	2d_canvas: enabled canvas_oop_rasterization: enabled_on direct_rendering_display_compositor: disabled_off_ok gpu_compositing: enabled multiple_raster_threads: enabled_on opengl: enabled_on rasterization: enabled raw_draw: disabled_off_ok skia_graphite: disabled_off video_decode: enabled video_encode: enabled vulkan: disabled_off webgl: enabled webgl2: enabled webgpu: enabled webnn: disabled_off
Load (avg)	undefined
Memory (System)	31.92GB (8.32GB free)
Process Argv	--crash-reporter-id e6a432db-87fc-4819-bb9a-63dbac992c16
Screen Reader	no
VM	0%

Item	Value
Remote	WSL: Ubuntu
OS	Linux x64 6.6.87.2-microsoft-standard-WSL2
CPUs	Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-10850K CPU @ 3.60GHz (20 x 0)
Memory (System)	11.68GB (4.76GB free)
VM	0%

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[meganrogge]

you can assign a keybinding or tab and use arrow keys to reach the speech input button.

[lsegal]

@meganrogge what do you mean by this? What keybinding should be assigned? I don't see any documentation for this feature.

[meganrogge]

There is actually an assigned keybinding already. See my gif for how it's working as designed.

voice.mov

[lsegal]

I'm trying to use dictation, not copilot chat. You're showing the wrong feature.

Video.mp4

[meganrogge]

Oh, thanks for clarifying. We don't support because natural language isn't used in the terminal, so would not be helpful. When I tested the feature, it wasn't useful. It often messed things up.

[lsegal]

It's extremely useful when using Claude code, Gemini, or other agents from the Terminal, which primarily use natural language input. It's also extremely necessary for accessibility.

[lsegal]

Am I correct in identifying #210580 as explicitly removing this support? If so, why can't this be reverted so that users can make their own choices as to what is considered "helpful" or not?

[meganrogge]

Yes you are correct. There are Claude/ Gemini terminals that take natural language input? Can you pls provide a screenshot?