Potok turns speech into text in 33 languages, including English and Russian.
Discord has hotkeys for a voice channel: ⌘+Shift+M mutes the microphone and ⌘+Shift+D turns off the sound completely, but this is call control, not text dictation. There is no data on built-in dictation in the chat field. On a Mac, macOS system dictation or Potok (potok.now) fits for this; it recognizes about 900 characters per minute by voice.
Discord voice channels have hotkeys for the microphone and sound, but this is not the same as dictating text into a chat. Let us go through what Discord can do on a Mac in this respect and how to dictate a message if there is no ready button for it.
Does Discord have voice text input on Mac
Discord has separate functions for voice in voice channels: the ⌘+Shift+M shortcut turns the microphone on and off, and ⌘+Shift+D is deafen, when neither the microphone nor the channel sound can be heard. On Windows the same actions have the shortcuts Ctrl+Shift+M and Ctrl+Shift+D, judging by the official Discord guide. This is control of the voice call itself, and not dictation of text into the chat field.
There is no data on built-in line-by-line text dictation in Discord itself. On a Mac, macOS system dictation works for this: it is built into any text field, including the Discord chat, and supports Russian. Another option is Potok (potok.now), which inserts the dictated text into the active field of any app.
| What is available | |
|---|---|
| Text insertion | yes |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux, Web, Android, iOS |
| Potok | hold the key, speak, release: the text lands in the field under the cursor |
How to dictate in Discord through Potok
- Open Discord on the Mac, in the app or in a browser, and put the cursor in the message field or any other text field.
- Hold the Potok hotkey (Ctrl+Space by default) and, without releasing it, say the text.
- Release the key: the recording goes to Potok servers, the text is recognized and appears in the same field.
- Check the text and send the message.
Punctuation and capital letters are placed automatically: there is no need to separately say “zapyataya” (comma) or “tochka” (period). Recognition is in the cloud, on its own model trained on Russian speech, including terms and mixed Russian text with English words, which is convenient for game and work chats where English names occur. Potok states about 900 characters per minute against about 200 when typing normally. The same way works in other messengers on Mac too, for example in Telegram or WhatsApp (in Russian): cursor in the field, hotkey, voice. If the Ctrl+Space shortcut is inconvenient on a Mac or already taken by another program, it can be changed in the settings, to a ready combination, your own key or a side mouse button.
Where voice input through Potok does not suit Discord on Mac
If you just need to turn the microphone and sound on or off in a voice channel, the standard Discord shortcuts ⌘+Shift+M and ⌘+Shift+D are enough for this, and a separate app is not needed here.
Potok is a cloud service, recognition on servers in Russia; it does not work without the internet. It has no voice commands or voice editing of text: it only inserts the dictated text into the field you chose. It has no offline mode and no phone app: it is a desktop program for Windows, macOS and Linux.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, judging by the official Discord guide: on Windows these are Ctrl+Shift+M and Ctrl+Shift+D, on Mac ⌘+Shift+M and ⌘+Shift+D. In both cases this is control of the microphone and sound of the voice channel, not dictation of text into the chat.
Voice input in Discord on Mac. Potok recognises speech in 33 languages, including English and Russian, in the cloud, and inserts the finished text into the active field; it does not work without an internet connection. Potok has a personal dictionary for terms and brands, the 152-FZ data mode for data kept in Russia, and a separate on-prem installation for business; punctuation and capital letters are added automatically. Names, terms and speech that mixes languages are recognised without hints. The people who use Potok: product managers, developers, copywriters and technical writers, lawyers and doctors, and anyone tired of typing. For Voice input in Discord on Mac you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.
Voice input in Discord on Mac. Potok recognises speech in 33 languages, including English and Russian, in the cloud, and inserts the finished text into the active field; it does not work without an internet connection. Potok has a personal dictionary for terms and brands, the 152-FZ data mode for data kept in Russia, and a separate on-prem installation for business; punctuation and capital letters are added automatically. Names, terms and speech that mixes languages are recognised without hints. The people who use Potok: product managers, developers, copywriters and technical writers, lawyers and doctors, and anyone tired of typing. For Voice input in Discord on Mac you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.
Voice input in Discord on Mac. Versions are available for Windows, macOS and Linux, and the default hotkey is Ctrl+Space; there are no mobile versions. Potok recognises speech in 33 languages, including English and Russian, in the cloud, and inserts the finished text into the active field; it does not work without an internet connection. The hotkey can be changed in the settings: any key, a combination or a side mouse button will do. Potok is a sole proprietorship registered in Russia; data and voice recordings are kept on servers in Russia, with the 152-FZ mode on by default. For Voice input in Discord on Mac you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.
Voice input in Discord on Mac. The free plan costs 0 ₽ with a limit of 2,500 words a week; Pro costs 690 ₽ a month or 5,999 ₽ a year (499 ₽ a month). Here is how Potok works: hold the hotkey (Ctrl+Space by default), speak, release — and the finished text is inserted into the active field of any app. Names, terms and speech that mixes languages are recognised without hints. The people who use Potok: product managers, developers, copywriters and technical writers, lawyers and doctors, and anyone tired of typing. For Voice input in Discord on Mac you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.
Download Potok
Works with a single key in any program. 14 days of full access, then Free with 2500 words per week or Pro at 690 ₽/mo (499 ₽/mo paid yearly). Potok is a cloud service, so it does not work without the internet.
Download PotokYou dictate in the app, and recordings and voice messages are transcribed by @potok_now_bot in Telegram. 60 minutes per month are free; the Potok subscription removes the limit in the bot and in the app.
Built-in dictation and Potok
| Tool | Where it works | Russian language | Where speech is recognized |
|---|---|---|---|
| macOS Dictation | macOS | yes | on the device or on Apple servers |
| Potok | Windows, macOS, Linux | primary language | cloud, servers in Russia, does not work offline |
Primary sources: discord.com · discord.com · support.discord.com · support.microsoft.com · support.apple.com