Available on: Mac, Windows
Wispr Flow lets you customize the keyboard shortcuts and mouse buttons that trigger dictation. Learn which key combinations work, how to configure them, and which shortcuts are reserved by your system.
Wispr Flow uses keyboard shortcuts and mouse buttons to control dictation. You can assign custom keybinds for push-to-talk, hands-free mode, Command Mode, and more. Flow validates your choices against system-reserved shortcuts and warns you about conflicts, so your bindings always work reliably.
You configure all dictation shortcuts from a single settings page. Flow checks each shortcut against system-reserved combinations and other Flow bindings, then shows your configured shortcuts in all notifications and prompts.
Push to talk: Hold a key or mouse button to dictate.
Hands-free mode: Double-tap to start and stop dictation without holding.
Command Mode: Activate Command Mode with a shortcut. Requires an active paid subscription or trial.
Paste last transcript: Paste your last dictated text. Defaults to Cmd+Ctrl+V on Mac and Shift+Alt+Z on Windows.
Press Enter Command: Say "press enter" at the end of your dictation to automatically simulate pressing Enter, so you can send messages faster. Enable this in Settings → Experimental — the first time Flow detects the phrase, you'll be prompted to turn it on.
Cancel: Dismiss dictation and notifications. Defaults to Escape, and works even if other modifier keys are accidentally held down.
Multiple shortcuts per binding: Each binding type supports up to 4 shortcuts. The Cancel binding currently allows only one shortcut in the settings UI.
Dynamic notifications: Flow notifications reflect your configured shortcuts. For example, if you tap instead of hold your dictation shortcut, the reminder shows your actual shortcut (e.g., "Hold down Ctrl+Space").
Note: While dictation is active, the Escape key is captured by Wispr Flow and does not pass through to other applications.
Click the Wispr Flow icon in your menu bar (Mac) or system tray (Windows).
Select Settings → General, then click Change next to Shortcuts.
Click the binding you want to change and press your new shortcut — or click a mouse button if you want to use one.
The field updates to show your new key or button combination. To restore all shortcuts to their platform defaults, click the Reset to default button at the bottom of the Keybind shortcuts settings page.
You can bind mouse buttons as dictation triggers. Mouse button bindings work exactly like keyboard shortcuts — hold for push-to-talk, or double-tap for hands-free mode.
Supported buttons: Middle Click, Mouse4, and Mouse5 (side buttons found on most mice)
Not supported: Left click, right click, and extended buttons beyond Mouse5
Hybrid combinations: You can combine keyboard keys with mouse buttons (e.g., Ctrl + Mouse4)
Note: When a mouse button is bound as a trigger, it is suppressed from reaching other applications. For example, if Mouse4 is bound, it won't trigger browser back navigation while Wispr Flow is running.
When the Wispr QWERTY keyboard is active, autocorrect automatically fixes misspelled words as you type. When you press Space, Return, or a punctuation key after a misspelled word, Flow corrects it (e.g., "teh" becomes "the"). Acronyms and words containing digits are left unchanged.
If autocorrect changes a word and you retype the original, autocorrect stops correcting that word for the rest of the session. Autocorrect also preserves your capitalization style (e.g., ALL CAPS stays ALL CAPS). Single-character words are never autocorrected.
Autocorrect is enabled by default. To turn it off, go to Settings → General and toggle Keyboard Autocorrect. This toggle only appears for users who have the Wispr QWERTY keyboard feature enabled.
Recommended shortcuts for Mac
Fn (built-in Mac keyboards)
Ctrl+Opt or Opt+Cmd (external keyboards)
Cmd-Right or Opt-Right (if left-side shortcuts aren't accessible)
Mouse4 or Mouse5 (side buttons on a multi-button mouse)
During setup, MacBook users are defaulted to Fn as their activation shortcut. If your device doesn't have an Apple Fn key (e.g., external keyboards), Flow automatically switches to Ctrl+Opt as the default.
Default shortcuts (Mac):
Push to talk: Fn
Hands-free mode: Fn+Space
Command Mode: Fn+Ctrl
Cancel: Esc
Paste last transcript: Cmd+Ctrl+V
Recommended shortcuts for Windows
Ctrl+Win or Ctrl+Alt
Ctrl-Right or Alt-Right (if left-side shortcuts aren't accessible)
An unused key like Pg-Up
Mouse4 or Mouse5 (side buttons on a multi-button mouse)
Default shortcuts (Windows):
Push to talk: Ctrl+Win
Hands-free mode: Ctrl+Win+Space
Command Mode: Ctrl+Win+Alt
Cancel: Esc
Paste last transcript: Shift+Alt+Z
Shortcuts that work
Ctrl + Shift + K, Alt + F7, Cmd + Shift + 9 (if not reserved)
Ctrl + Space, Ctrl + Alt + M, Shift + F9
Ctrl + Win (Windows), Ctrl + Alt + F12 (Windows)
Mouse4, Mouse5, Middle Click (mouse buttons satisfy the modifier requirement)
Ctrl + Mouse4 (hybrid keyboard + mouse combination)
Shortcuts that won't work
A + B + C (no modifier key)
Cmd + Shift + Alt + K (more than 3 keys)
Left Ctrl + Right Ctrl (left/right modifier mix)
Left Click or Right Click (reserved for normal mouse operation)
A valid shortcut must:
3 keys or fewer
At least one modifier key (Ctrl, Cmd, Alt, Shift, Fn, etc.) or mouse button
No left/right modifier mix: Cannot use both left and right versions of the same modifier (e.g., Left Ctrl + Right Ctrl)
No duplicates: Cannot duplicate another Wispr Flow shortcut
No reserved shortcuts: Cannot conflict with reserved system shortcuts (listed below)
Mouse buttons count as modifiers, so a single mouse button (e.g., Mouse4 alone) is a valid shortcut without needing a keyboard modifier key.
Note: The Cancel binding allows Escape as a standalone key without a modifier. All other bindings require at least one modifier key or mouse button.
Note: On Windows, standalone Ctrl or Right Ctrl cannot be used as a single-key hotkey because it conflicts with Ctrl+C, Ctrl+Z, and other standard shortcuts. The Caps Lock key cannot be used in shortcuts. On Mac, Caps Lock has no key-release event and is ignored by the system.
Mac reserved shortcuts
These shortcuts are blocked because macOS or common apps use them:
Common Cmd-based:Cmd+C, Cmd+V, Cmd+X, Cmd+Z, Cmd+Shift+Z, Cmd+A, Cmd+Q, Cmd+W, Cmd+R, Cmd+T, Cmd+P, Cmd+N, Cmd+O, Cmd+S, Cmd+M, Cmd+H, Cmd+F, Cmd+G, Cmd+Shift+G, Cmd+Comma, Cmd+Tab
Navigation & Control:Cmd+Arrow Keys, Cmd+Shift+Arrow Keys, Cmd+Ctrl+F, Cmd+Space, Cmd+Alt+Space, Cmd+Shift+3/4/5, Cmd+Alt+Esc, Cmd+Alt+D, Cmd+Alt+P, Cmd+Delete, Cmd+Shift+Delete, Cmd+Shift+Q, Cmd+Alt+Left, Cmd+Alt+Right
Browser & Editor:Cmd+B, Cmd+I, Cmd+U, Cmd+Shift+T, Cmd+=, Cmd+-, Cmd+Alt+F, Cmd+Shift+F
Ctrl-based:Ctrl+Up, Ctrl+Down, Ctrl+Left, Ctrl+Right, Ctrl+A, Ctrl+E, Ctrl+K
Function keys:Fn+F11, Fn+F12
Delete:Alt+Backspace, Alt+Delete
Windows reserved shortcuts
These shortcuts are blocked because Windows or common apps use them:
Standalone Ctrl keys:Ctrl, Right Ctrl (conflicts with Ctrl+C, Ctrl+Z, etc. Multi-key Ctrl combinations like Ctrl+Win still work.)
Ctrl-based:Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V, Ctrl+X, Ctrl+Z, Ctrl+Y, Ctrl+R, Ctrl+A, Ctrl+B, Ctrl+I, Ctrl+U, Ctrl+F, Ctrl+G, Ctrl+O, Ctrl+S, Ctrl+P, Ctrl+N, Ctrl+T, Ctrl+W, Ctrl+K, Ctrl+Home, Ctrl+End, Ctrl+Alt+Del, Ctrl+Shift+Esc, Ctrl+Backspace, Ctrl+Delete, Ctrl+Shift+T, Ctrl+=, Ctrl+-, Ctrl+Shift+Home, Ctrl+Shift+End
Alt-based:Alt+Tab, Alt+F4, Alt+Left/Right, Alt+Print Screen
Function & Navigation:F5, F11, Home, End, Print Screen, Shift+F3, Shift+Home, Shift+End
Windows key combos:Win+E, Win+R, Win+L, Win+D, Win+Tab, Win+I, Win+S, Win+X, Win+P, Win+Q, Win+Up/Down
MacBook defaulted to Ctrl+Option shortcut instead of Fn key during onboarding
This was caused by Wispr Flow starting before the screen was unlocked (when set to launch at login), which incorrectly detected the keyboard as lacking an Fn key. This has been fixed — MacBook users now correctly get the Fn key as their default shortcut during onboarding. To resolve:
Update Wispr Flow to the latest version.
Go to Settings → General → Shortcuts and set your shortcut to Fn.
Keyboard shortcuts delayed or dropped during normal typing
This was caused by a stall in keyboard event processing that could delay or drop shortcuts — including dictation activation, transform shortcuts like Opt+S, and paste last text. Stalls could last several seconds. This has been fixed in a recent update. To resolve:
Update Wispr Flow to the latest version.
Restart Wispr Flow after updating.
Hotkey activation stalls on Mac
This was caused by an internal issue with keyboard event processing that could stall for 30+ seconds. This has been fixed in a recent update. To resolve:
Update Wispr Flow to the latest version.
Restart Wispr Flow after updating.
Why can't I use standalone Ctrl on Windows?
Standalone Ctrl or Right Ctrl as a single-key hotkey would intercept every Ctrl-based shortcut (Ctrl+C, Ctrl+Z, etc.), breaking standard copy/paste/undo functions. Multi-key combinations like Ctrl+Win or Ctrl+Alt+F12 work because they don't conflict.
Why is my shortcut rejected even though it's not in the reserved list?
The shortcut is likely already assigned to another action in Wispr Flow. Each shortcut can only be used for one action. Go to Wispr Flow → Settings → Keybind shortcuts to see all current assignments.
Can I use function keys as shortcuts?
Yes, function keys work when combined with modifiers (e.g., Alt+F7, Shift+F9). Some standalone function keys like F5 and F11 are reserved by the system.
Can I change the Escape key dismiss shortcut?
Yes. The Cancel shortcut (Escape by default) is fully customizable. Go to Settings → Keybind shortcuts and find the Cancel row to assign a different key combination. Flow notifications automatically update to show your new Cancel shortcut.
What does Wispr Flow do when I assign a conflicting shortcut?
Conflict warnings in the hotkey selection dialog only appear when the Hands-free mode shortcut is a subset of the Push-to-talk shortcut (for example, if Hands-free is set to Fn and Push-to-talk is Fn+Space). Flow shows a warning: "Your Hands-free mode shortcut is a part of a Push-to-talk shortcut. This may lead to conflicts." No other shortcut combinations trigger conflict warnings.
Why doesn't my Command Mode shortcut work?
Command Mode requires an active paid subscription or trial period. Without one, the shortcut has no effect.
My mouse's side buttons aren't working. What should I do?
If you have a Logitech MX-series mouse, open the Logi Options+ app and make sure the side buttons are set to their default button actions (Mouse 4 / Mouse 5) rather than a custom function. Logi Options+ remaps side buttons to trackpad swipe gestures by default, which fire instantly with no button-release event. This breaks push-to-talk mode because Flow never receives the button release. Reset side buttons to their default Mouse 4/Mouse 5 actions in Logi Options+ to fix this.
Autocorrect changed a word I didn't want corrected. How do I stop that?
Turn off autocorrect by going to Settings → General and toggling off Keyboard Autocorrect. Autocorrect leaves acronyms and words containing digits unchanged — it only corrects common misspellings.
Custom keybind shortcuts are stored locally on each device and do not sync across devices.
Left click and right click cannot be used as dictation triggers.
Command Mode shortcuts require an active paid subscription or trial.
The Keyboard Autocorrect toggle only appears in Settings for users who have the Wispr QWERTY keyboard feature enabled.
Dictation automatically stops after 20 minutes. A warning notification appears at 19 minutes.
If your shortcut includes two non-modifier keys (e.g., Ctrl+A+B), other applications' shortcuts that are a subset of yours (e.g., Ctrl+A) may be blocked while Wispr Flow is running.