Speak a command phrase instead of text and Tota will execute an action. Voice commands take priority over normal transcription — if a transcription matches a command trigger, the action runs and no text is pasted.
Built-in Commands
| Command | Aliases | Action |
|---|---|---|
| switch apps | next app, previous app, last app | Switch to previous app |
| copy | copy that | Cmd+C |
| paste | paste that | Cmd+V |
| undo | undo that | Cmd+Z |
| redo | redo that | Cmd+Shift+Z |
| select all | — | Cmd+A |
| save | save this | Cmd+S |
| close window | close this | Cmd+W |
| new tab | open new tab | Cmd+T |
| close tab | — | Cmd+W |
| spotlight | — | Cmd+Space |
| screenshot | take screenshot | Cmd+Shift+3 |
| lock screen | — | Ctrl+Cmd+Q |
| mission control | show windows | Ctrl+Up Arrow |
| clear | — | Ctrl+U (clears the current line) |
| next field | tab | Tab |
| new | — | Cmd+N |
Beyond these, Tota ships with launcher commands: say "open [app name]" for common apps (Safari, Slack, Notes, and around 30 others) or "visit [site]" for popular websites. Built-in commands can be toggled off, or deleted permanently — deleted built-ins stay gone across app updates.
Creating Custom Commands
- Go to the Commands tab in the sidebar.
- Click the + button.
- Enter a trigger phrase (what you say).
- Choose an action type:
- Key Combo — Simulate any keyboard shortcut (e.g., Cmd+Shift+N).
- Open URL — Launch a URL in the default browser. Bare domains work — no need to type
https://. - Open App — Switch to or launch an application.
- Optionally add aliases (comma-separated alternative phrases).
- Click Save.
Each command can be toggled on or off independently.
Macros
Chain multiple actions into a single voice trigger.
- Go to the Commands tab and switch to Macro Commands.
- Enter a trigger phrase, then add at least 2 steps. Each step is an existing voice command (picked from a dropdown), a snippet, custom text to type, or Dictated Text — a slot filled with whatever you say after the trigger.
- Drag steps to reorder them. Adjacent Dictated Text steps automatically get a Tab inserted between them, so each lands in its own field.
- Adjust the delay between steps if needed (default: 0.5 seconds).
- Save the macro.
Dictating into a macro: say the trigger and keep talking — your words fill the macro's Dictated Text slots. If the macro has more than one slot, say "next field" to move from one slot to the next.
Macros execute their steps in sequence with the configured delay between each. They can be toggled on or off independently.
Detection
Command matching is case-insensitive. Whitespace and punctuation are normalized before comparison. Aliases are checked if the main trigger does not match.
When an utterance could match more than one thing, voice commands run first, then macros, then command snippets — anything that matches nothing is typed as normal dictation.
