Usage
VoiceUse provides two primary interaction modes: hotkey activation and wake word activation.
Activating VoiceUse
Hotkey Mode (Default)
Hold Right Ctrl and speak your command. Release the key to submit.
[Hold Right Ctrl] → "Open Chrome and navigate to github.com" → [Release]Wake Word Mode
Say the wake word (default: "Computer"), then speak your command. Voice Activity Detection (VAD) automatically detects when you stop speaking and submits.
"Computer, open my email"Built-in free keywords: computer, jarvis, alexa, americano, blueberry, bumblebee, grapefruit, grasshopper, picovoice, porcupine, terminator.
Common Commands
Window Management
| Say | Result |
|---|---|
| "Open Chrome" | Launches or focuses Chrome |
| "Focus VS Code" | Brings VS Code to front |
| "Minimize the current window" | Minimizes active window |
| "Close this window" | Closes active window (with confirmation) |
| "Move the window to the left monitor" | Moves window to specified monitor |
Typing
| Say | Result |
|---|---|
| "Type hello world" | Types "hello world" at cursor |
| "Press enter" | Simulates Enter key |
| "Press control C" | Simulates Ctrl+C |
| "Paste" | Simulates Ctrl+V |
For complex Unicode text, VoiceUse uses pyperclip to paste through the clipboard rather than simulating individual keystrokes.
Clicking UI Elements
| Say | Result |
|---|---|
| "Click the submit button" | Finds and clicks button by description |
| "Click the menu icon in the top left" | Uses vision + description |
| "Click the red delete button" | Color + text description |
The vision system takes a screenshot and uses either Codex CLI or Anthropic Computer Use API to locate the described element.
Screenshots
| Say | Result |
|---|---|
| "Take a screenshot" | Captures full primary monitor |
| "Screenshot the current window" | Captures active window only |
| "Screenshot the Chrome window" | Captures specific window |
System Commands
| Say | Result |
|---|---|
| "Run git status" | Executes git status in terminal |
| "List files" | Executes ls / dir |
System commands run through an allow-list. Unknown commands are blocked with an error message. Destructive commands trigger spoken confirmation.
Web Browsing
| Say | Result |
|---|---|
| "Open github.com" | Opens URL in preferred browser |
| "Search for Python tutorials" | Opens search in preferred browser |
Multi-Step Commands
The LLM can plan and execute multi-step actions from a single voice command:
"Open Chrome, go to github.com, and click the sign in button"The Brain orchestrator breaks this down into:
open_app("Chrome")open_url("github.com")click_element("sign in button", "Chrome")
Understanding Responses
VoiceUse speaks back through TTS to confirm actions:
| Tone | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Neutral confirmation | Action completed successfully |
| Error tone | Something went wrong (details spoken) |
| Question tone | Asking for confirmation on destructive action |
Command-Line Options
# Normal run
voiceuse
# Dry-run mode (mock responses, no API calls)
voiceuse --dry-run
# Check dependencies
voiceuse --check-install
# Enable file logging
voiceuse --log-file voiceuse.log
# Verbose debug output
voiceuse --verbose
# Show help
voiceuse --helpTips for Best Results
- Speak clearly — Whisper is accurate but works best with clear speech
- Use app aliases — Configure nicknames for frequently used apps
- Describe UI elements precisely — "the blue submit button" works better than "the button"
- Good lighting — Vision clicking works better with well-lit screens
- Reduce monitor scaling — High DPI scaling can reduce vision accuracy