> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.augmental.tech/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Set up Vox with Apple Voice Control

> Drive macOS with your voice, using Vox as the input.

Voice Control is Apple's built-in system for operating the Mac by voice: clicking,
scrolling, navigating, and dictating without touching anything. Vox gives it a much
closer microphone than the built-in one, which matters because Voice Control listens
continuously.

<Info>
  Voice Control and Vox dictation both want to transcribe what you say. Decide which
  one is doing it before you start, or you will get both.
</Info>

## Setting it up

<Steps>
  <Step title="Turn on Voice Control">
    System Settings, then Accessibility, then Voice Control. Turn it on. The first
    time, macOS downloads a speech model.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set Vox as the Voice Control microphone">
    In the same panel, there is a microphone selector. Choose Vox. See
    [Use Vox as a microphone anywhere](/other-apps/virtual-mic).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Turn off Vox dictation">
    See [Use another dictation tool instead](/other-apps/external-dictation).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Optionally map a button to sleep and wake Voice Control">
    Voice Control responds to "go to sleep" and "wake up", and it has no default
    keyboard shortcut. macOS does not expose sleep and wake as a Shortcut action, so
    there is no Vox button mapping for this. Say "go to sleep" when you want Voice
    Control to stop listening; use the black button or the Vox app for Vox's own power
    and connection controls.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Why the close microphone helps

Voice Control listens all the time, so it has to decide constantly whether what it
heard was a command. A microphone close to your mouth gives it a much better signal
against room noise, which cuts down on both missed commands and commands firing when
someone else in the room was talking.

## Useful commands to know

| Say            | Voice Control does                         |
| -------------- | ------------------------------------------ |
| "Show numbers" | Labels every clickable thing with a number |
| "Click 12"     | Clicks the item labelled 12                |
| "Show grid"    | Overlays a grid for precise positioning    |
| "Scroll down"  | Scrolls                                    |
| "Go to sleep"  | Stops listening until you say "wake up"    |

## Voice Control commands vs Vox voice commands

They are separate systems and they do not know about each other. Vox commands are
covered in [Voice commands](/using-vox/voice-commands). If you are running Voice
Control, use its command list rather than Vox's, since only one of them should be
transcribing at a time.

## Troubleshooting

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Voice Control does not list Vox as a microphone">
    Voice Control reads the device list at startup. Turn Voice Control off and on
    again with the device connected.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Commands fire when you did not mean them to">
    Say "go to sleep" when you are not actively driving the Mac. macOS does not expose
    Voice Control sleep as a Shortcut action, so use Voice Control's own phrase rather
    than trying to map it to a Vox button.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Everything is being typed instead of run as commands">
    Voice Control is in dictation mode with a text field focused. Click away from the
    text field, or say "stop dictating".
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>