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Codex Issues / #27657

Desktop dictation shortcut only works when Codex is focused on macOS

Open 💬 2 comments Opened Jun 11, 2026 by jrn4z6vmwj-a11y
💡 Likely answer: A maintainer (github-actions[bot], contributor) responded on this thread — see the highlighted reply below.

What version of the Codex App are you using (From “About Codex” dialog)?

26.608.12217

What subscription do you have?

Plus

What platform is your computer?

Darwin 25.5.0 arm64 arm

What issue are you seeing?

Desktop dictation does not activate outside the Codex desktop app.

I configured a custom keyboard shortcut for desktop dictation. The shortcut works when Codex is focused, but when I switch to another app and press the same shortcut, nothing appears and dictation does not start.

There is no visible error message. The feature appears to recognize the shortcut only inside Codex rather than globally across macOS apps.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

Open the Codex desktop app on macOS and configure a custom Desktop Dictation shortcut. With Codex focused, press the shortcut and confirm that dictation starts. Then switch to another app with an editable text field and press the same shortcut.

Actual result: nothing happens in the other app. The desktop dictation UI does not appear and dictation does not start. Returning to Codex and using the same shortcut works.

What is the expected behavior?

The configured desktop dictation shortcut should work globally. Pressing the shortcut while another app is focused should start Codex desktop dictation and allow the transcription to be entered into that app's active text field.

Additional information

This is reproducible across multiple other apps. The custom shortcut consistently works in Codex itself but not when another application has focus.

Codex App: 26.608.12217
Platform: Darwin 25.5.0 arm64 arm

I searched the existing issues for macOS desktop dictation shortcut problems and did not find a matching report.

View original on GitHub ↗

2 Comments

github-actions[bot] contributor · 2 months ago

Potential duplicates detected. Please review them and close your issue if it is a duplicate.

  • #27296
  • #27400
  • #27355

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andybergon · 1 month ago

Still reproducible in ChatGPT/Codex 26.707.30751 (build 5018) on macOS 26.5.1 (25F80). Settings → Voice now exposes two separate shortcuts, and both descriptions say they work “anywhere on desktop”:

  • Hold-to-dictate works globally in other apps.
  • Toggle dictation works only while the ChatGPT/Codex window is focused.

This is not solved by using Hold-to-dictate because I specifically want press-once/press-again Toggle behavior and do not want to hold the shortcut throughout dictation.

Alternative combinations do register: Hold accepts Alt+Space, while Toggle accepts the side-specific Left Alt+Space or Right Alt+Space; regardless of the selected combination, Toggle still is not global.

Environment: physical ISO keyboard with the U.S. input source active.