How to write commit messages by voice for new developers

A plain guide for developers new to voice coding on what to prepare, the steps to follow, the tools to consider and the mistakes to avoid.

By XP Daily · 2026-11-06

XP Daily is published by the makers of DaysAid, QuickDictate and YTSort, which are compared here alongside other tools.

Say the commit message into the window you use for commits, read it back, then save the commit. QuickDictate is a Windows program that types what you say into whichever window you are using. ^[1] Its typing goes into a terminal as well as an editor or chat box. ^[1]

Option	What it does	Cost
Typing by hand	You type the message yourself	not published
Your computer's built-in dictation	Not described on this page; check its help pages	not published
QuickDictate	Types what you say into whichever window you are using ^[1]	Free for personal and other noncommercial use, with no subscription or account; cloud providers bill you separately ^[1]

What you need before you start

Writing a commit message by voice needs a few things ready before you speak. None of them is hard to get, but skipping them is the usual reason a spoken message comes out muddled.

Start with the changes themselves. A commit message describes what a set of changes does, so look over what you have changed and decide the one thing the commit does before you say anything. Speaking a vague message produces a vague record that will not help you or a teammate later.

Next, have a working microphone and a quiet place to speak. Background noise is the most common cause of garbled words, and a short test sentence will show whether the microphone picks up your voice clearly.

Keep a text window you can read back in. Speech tools can mishear names, file paths and technical terms, so you need to see the text before you save the commit. The terminal you already commit from is often enough.

Finally, decide whether you want dictation at all. Typing by hand works, and the steps below apply either way. If you do want dictation, install the tool you choose and try it once on a practice message before you rely on it.

Step by step

These steps are the same whether you type or speak, and they work with any tool.

Open the project and the changes you want to commit. Check exactly which changes are included, so the message matches what gets recorded.
Say the one thing the change does. Start with a short summary in plain words, such as what the change fixes or adds.
Add a longer explanation only if it helps. After a short pause, say why the change was needed. Someone reading the history later will want that.
Spell out the odd terms before you speak. Names, file paths and function names are where speech tools most often go wrong, so keep them in mind as you go.
Read the text back. Look for any misheard word, especially names, paths and numbers, and correct it.
Check that the first line stands alone. It should make sense in a plain list of recent commits.
If the message goes wrong, start again. Clear the text and say it again rather than patching a message you do not trust.
Save the commit once the text reads correctly.
Look back over your recent messages. Now and then, scan them and note any you would word differently.
Keep practising. Repeating the routine on small changes makes it come naturally.

Tools that can do it

Typing the message yourself is the simplest option. It needs no setup and no account, and it is the fallback whenever a voice tool misbehaves or speaking would be awkward where you are.

Your computer's own built-in dictation is worth a try if it is already switched on. Facts about it are not provided on this page, so check its help pages for which windows it works in and what it costs.

QuickDictate is made by the team that publishes this site, and it is one option among several. It is a Windows program that types what you say into whichever window you are using. ^[1] You hold a key while you talk, or press it once to start and once to stop, and you can change both keys. ^[1] Its typing goes into a terminal as well as an editor or chat box. ^[1]

You can use ElevenLabs, Deepgram, OpenAI, AssemblyAI, DashScope or Google as the speech provider, and that provider bills you directly. ^[1] With five of the cloud providers, words appear while you are still talking. ^[1] If you would rather not use a cloud service, you can run dictation on your own computer with a speech model you install first, and no internet connection or account or paid key with a cloud company is needed afterwards. ^[1]

Commit messages often contain terms a general speech tool gets wrong. You can list words and phrases to help the provider recognise them, and a replacement list fixes spellings such as 'Chat GPT' to 'ChatGPT'. ^[1] Your recent dictations can be browsed and filtered in Settings, and the history survives a restart or self-update. ^[1]

QuickDictate is free for personal and other noncommercial use, with no subscription or account. ^[1] It runs only on 64-bit Windows 10 and 11. There is no Mac or Linux version. ^[1] It is delivered as an .exe file on GitHub, with a built-in updater that works silently, and it can also be built from source. ^[1]

Common mistakes to avoid

Speaking before you know what the change does. A message written on the fly often describes the wrong thing. Look at the changes first, then speak.

Trusting the first transcript. Speech tools mishear names and technical terms, so read the text back before you commit.

Writing a message that only makes sense to you. Imagine a teammate reading it months later with no context. If they would be lost, add a few words of explanation.

Stuffing every detail into the first line. Keep the opening line plain and move the reasoning into the body after a blank line.

Dictating in a noisy room. Background noise garbles speech, so move somewhere quieter before you start.

Saving without checking the window. Confirm that the text landed where you meant it to, especially if you have several windows open.

Ignoring the habit of review. If your messages keep coming out vague, change how you prepare rather than accepting the pattern.

Frequently asked questions

How to write commit messages by voice with QuickDictate?

Open the project and look over the changes, then hold the key, or press it to start and stop, while you say a short summary of what the commit does. ^[1] Let go, read the text in your terminal, fix any misheard words, and then save the commit. QuickDictate types what you say into whichever window you are using, so the text lands where you are working. ^[1]

Can QuickDictate type into a terminal?

Yes. The program types what you say into whichever window you are using, and a terminal is one of those windows. ^[1] Check the text before you save, because speech can mishear technical words. The program runs only on 64-bit Windows 10 and 11, and there is no Mac or Linux version. ^[1]

Does QuickDictate work without internet?

It can. Dictation can run on your own computer with a speech model you install first, and it then needs no internet connection or account or paid key with a cloud company. ^[1] The program is still Windows only, so confirm that your computer runs 64-bit Windows 10 or 11 before you set it up. ^[1]

Is QuickDictate free for work use?

It is free for personal and other noncommercial use, with no subscription or account. ^[1] From version 0.9.0 on, it is licensed under PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0, so commercial use needs a separate licence. ^[1] Releases up to version 0.8.0 were under the MIT licence, so the answer depends on which version you use. ^[1]

Should a commit message be short?

Keep the first line short and plain, so it reads well in a list of recent commits. A longer explanation can follow after a blank line and cover why the change was made. Good messages describe the change itself rather than the steps you took to make it. This is general practice rather than a product fact, so follow the conventions your team already uses if they differ.

QuickDictate is free for personal and other noncommercial use, with no subscription or account. Cloud providers bill you separately for their service. ^[1]

Try QuickDictate

Sources

QuickDictate's own description of itself (the product of this site's publisher)