Voice Input and Shortcuts

Cola's voice input is useful for quickly briefing a task. You can say what to do, where to look, and what result you want. Cola transcribes speech locally, then sends the text like a normal typed task.

Start Recording

By default, when the Cola app is focused, press Option once to start recording and press Option again to stop and send. You can also click the microphone button in the main interface.

If macOS asks for microphone permission the first time you use voice input, allow it. Cola still works with typed input if you do not allow microphone access, but voice input will not work.

The macOS microphone permission is usually here:

System Settings > Privacy & Security > Microphone

After confirming Cola is allowed to use the microphone, reopen Cola and try again.

Say the Task Clearly

Voice tasks do not need to sound like rigid commands, but it helps to include three things:

• Goal: what you want Cola to do.
• Scope: which file, directory, webpage, attachment, or project it should use.
• Output: whether you want a summary, checklist, edit, document, or file.

For example:

Look at these meeting notes and turn them into an action list, with an owner and due date for each item.

Check the screenshot I just attached, tell me the most obvious usability issue, and do not edit any files.

Read this project's documentation, summarize the structure first, then tell me where to look next.

For sensitive tasks, ask Cola to plan first:

First tell me which files you plan to read, then wait for my confirmation.

Fix a Bad Transcript

If the transcript does not match what you meant, the safest fix is to correct it immediately with text:

I misspoke. Limit the scope to PDFs in Downloads and do not inspect other files.

In the previous instruction, change "delete" to "list". Do not delete anything.

You can also record a shorter task again. For complex work, split the brief into two steps: first state the goal, then add file scope and output format.

Adjust Shortcuts

Open Settings > Shortcuts to adjust:

• Voice Shortcut: start and stop recording.
• Wake Mini Chat: open Mini Chat globally.
• Send Message: choose Enter, Command + Enter, or another available send shortcut.

The Voice Shortcut works inside Cola when the app is focused. The Mini Chat shortcut is global, so choose a combination that does not conflict with macOS, input methods, or apps you use often.

If Settings says a shortcut is already in use, choose another combination and save again. Shortcuts such as Option + Space and Ctrl + Space are commonly reserved by input-source switching and usually should not be used for Cola.

Command Palette

The command palette is Cola's unified search and command surface: press ⌘K (macOS) or Ctrl+K (Windows) to open it. Type to search across commands, past conversations, skills, and deliverables, then press Enter to open or run.

The palette is available on every page. Results are grouped by category, with the category most relevant to your current page listed first.

Filtering by category

A row of categories sits under the search field: All, Chats, Deliverables, Skills, Imprints, Projects, Alarms, and Functions. Search starts on All, the mixed results; picking a category narrows to that one kind.

• The number in parentheses after each category is its match count, shown as 99+ above 99. A count still being tallied shows …, and one that can't be read shows — rather than a misleading zero.
• Categories are ordered: those with results first, unknown counts next, empty ones last. Your selection never changes as counts arrive.
• Navigation and page actions live under Functions. When the row doesn't fit, it scrolls sideways.
• Imprints covers both the reflections themselves and the recommendation cards you have already received — why each was picked, its overview, its source, and its suggested questions are all searchable. A matching recommendation opens that card in Imprints; the search covers the saved card, not the full original article.
• Inside a selected category, results come ten at a time with Load more at the bottom; when there are too many matches, a note at the bottom asks you to narrow the search.
• If some results fail to load, the palette says so and asks you to retry instead of treating that source as empty.

Filtering by date

Any time, to the right of the search field, opens the date filter; once a range is set the button reads Selected time.

• The top row holds the presets: Any, Today, 7 days, 30 days, and This month.
• Below that you can type a Start date and End date (YYYY-MM-DD) or drag a range on the calendar. Both end dates are included.
• Apply commits the range, Cancel discards your edits, and Clear empties the dates. Invalid dates, or a start later than the end, are flagged so you can fix them.
• The range applies to All and to every category, and it survives switching categories. Each kind matches on its own timestamp: chats on message time, deliverables and projects on modification time, imprints on their date, and alarms on their next or most recent run.
• Skills and Functions have no reliable timestamps, so they drop out while a date range is active. Alarm search also doesn't reconstruct every past or future occurrence of a recurring alarm.

Closing and reopening the palette resets both the category and the date filter.

Command Shortcuts

In Settings > Shortcuts > Command shortcuts, you can assign a keyboard shortcut to any command or clear an existing assignment. The command palette shortcut itself (⌘K / Ctrl+K) cannot be changed.

When a shortcut conflicts with the system or another assignment, Settings flags the conflict and offers a replace option.

What Mini Chat Is

Mini Chat is a mini input bar that hangs off the menu bar / system tray: a small always-on-top floating window that pops out next to the menu-bar icon (macOS) or tray icon (Windows), holding just a voice button, a text field, and a send button.

The scenario it solves: you're working in another app and think of something for Cola — no need to switch to Cola's main window. Summon it with the global shortcut and it starts recording right away — just speak (typing cancels the recording), hit Enter to hand it over, and it hides itself the moment you click elsewhere. Note that clicking the menu-bar / tray icon opens Cola's main window, not Mini Chat; and while the main window is frontmost, the shortcut won't pop Mini Chat either.

What you say in Mini Chat goes into the main window's conversation; replies and follow-up work continue there.

Auto Read Aloud

In Settings > TTS & Voice, the Auto Read Aloud switch controls whether Cola reads replies aloud in Chat and Coding. When on, Cola reads each reply sentence by sentence as it is generated. Turning the switch off immediately stops any playback in progress.

C Space always reads replies aloud regardless of this switch.

Choose Microphone and Speaker

Open Settings > Audio Devices to choose:

• Microphone: the input device Cola records from.
• Speaker: the output device for Read aloud and voice previews.

If you use Bluetooth headphones, recognition quality can be affected by call mode. If recognition is poor, try the Mac's built-in microphone or a wired microphone.

Common Causes of Poor Recognition

Check in this order:

1. Move to a quieter environment.
2. Get closer to the microphone and start with a short sentence.
3. Confirm the microphone device in Settings.
4. Confirm that no meeting app, recording app, or browser tab is occupying the microphone.
5. Restart Cola and try again.

Cola's speech recognition runs locally. A slow network usually does not directly affect recognition quality, but it can affect task submission, model replies, and external service calls after transcription.

Privacy Notes

The microphone is used only while you actively record. The transcribed text becomes task content for Cola. If the task needs a model or cloud service, the relevant text and context may be sent with the task.

Do not speak passwords, verification codes, API keys, private keys, or card details into Cola. For sensitive work, type the scope and limits explicitly.

For more data boundaries, see Privacy and Local Data. If the voice button does nothing, see Troubleshooting.