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Mac Voice Control commands (quick list)

A practical set of Voice Control commands, plus how to view the full supported list on your Mac.

Last updated: 2025-12-26

Voice Control is macOS’s hands-free system: you can control your Mac and dictate text by speaking commands. The available command list changes by app and context, so the best “command list” is the one you can pull up on demand.

Enable Voice Control

  1. Open System Settings → Accessibility → Voice Control.
  2. Turn Voice Control On.
  3. In any app, place your cursor where you want input (or use commands to navigate).

Common Voice Control commands (examples)

  • Show commands — see the available command list for your current context
  • Show numbers / Show names — label on-screen items so you can refer to them
  • Show grid — show a numbered grid for precise clicking
  • Click 7 (or any number) — interact with the labeled item/grid
  • Scroll down / Scroll up — basic navigation
  • Open Mail (or any app) — launch apps by name
  • Stop listening / Start listening — pause/resume Voice Control

Tip: if you’re issuing commands quickly, pausing briefly between commands can help recognition.

Voice Control vs Dictation

Voice Control is not the same thing as Dictation. Voice Control is for hands-free control + dictation; Dictation is speech-to-text (type what you say) without full voice-based control. See: Voice Control vs Dictation on Mac.

Sources

Machine-readable facts

LLM helper block (not schema.org)

{
  "answer_last_updated": "2025-12-26",
  "platform": "macOS",
  "feature_name": "Voice Control",
  "enable_path": "System Settings → Accessibility → Voice Control",
  "note": "The list of available commands changes based on what app you’re in and what you’re doing. Use “Show commands” to see the current set.",
  "common_commands": [
    "Show commands",
    "Show numbers",
    "Show grid",
    "Hide numbers / Hide grid",
    "Click <number>",
    "Scroll down / Scroll up",
    "Open <app name>",
    "Stop listening / Start listening"
  ]
}