Getting Started

The work to integrate this application in the Flathub and Snapcraft stores is underway. If you are familiar with either packaging format and would like to help, please reach out to the author. Support for other distribution methods like AppImage, Deb, or RPM is on the roadmap.

1. Installation

Follow the instructions under Manual Installation.

2. Set up a shortcut

In this step, you will assign a global keyboard shortcut that starts and stops dictation. The exact steps vary by desktop environment. On GNOME, for example:

1. Open Settings and navigate to Keyboard.
2. Click View and Customize Shortcuts.
3. Scroll to the bottom and select Custom Shortcuts.
4. Click the + button to add a new shortcut and fill in the fields:
   • Name: anything you like, e.g. Speed of Sound
   • Command: the full path to the trigger script, e.g. /home/your-username/speedofsound/trigger.sh
   • Shortcut: press your desired key combination, e.g. Super+Z
5. Click Add to save.

You can add multiple shortcuts targeting the same trigger script if you wish to.

3. Accept Remote Desktop Permissions

When Speed of Sound is first launched, the main window displays a banner with a Start button. Clicking it will prompt your system to grant the application the permissions it needs to type on your behalf.

After clicking Start, your system will show the Remote Desktop permissions dialog. You must check Allow remote interaction, which is required for the application to simulate keyboard input. You should also check Remember this selection. Without it, you will need to re-accept these permissions every time you launch Speed of Sound.

Under the hood, Speed of Sound uses the XDG Desktop Portal standard to simulate keyboard input. This is supported by all major desktop environments, including GNOME and KDE, and works on both X11 and Wayland.