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Ubuntu’s current Canonical route for local voice typing is Myna, a technology preview that transcribes speech into the text field you are using. Install the preview package, finish the guided setup, choose a recognition model and hotkey, focus a text field, then press that hotkey and speak.
The documented preview targets Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, 26.04 LTS and 26.10 on amd64 or amd64v3 hardware, with GNOME running on Wayland. Myna is still being developed, so application compatibility, responsiveness, language support and recognition quality can vary.
What voice typing on Ubuntu does
Myna is a local speech-to-text workflow. It listens only when you explicitly activate dictation, converts your speech into text, and sends that text to the application currently in use. The normal sequence is:
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- Install Myna from Canonical’s preview package archive.
- Open Myna settings from Activities.
- Download and configure a recognition model.
- Choose the hotkey that starts dictation.
- Place the insertion cursor in an app’s text field.
- Press the hotkey and speak.
Canonical describes the project as deliberately focused on dictation rather than general voice control. It is not presented as a voice assistant, a desktop-navigation system or a command interface. The initial scope also excludes automatic language detection, translation and voice commands.
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The project introduction, published by the Ubuntu Discourse account jibel on June 17, 2026, describes speech-to-text as both an accessibility feature and a productivity tool. That distinction matters: Myna produces text where the cursor is located; it does not operate the rest of the desktop for you.
Check whether your Ubuntu system matches the preview
Before adding the preview software source, compare your installation with Canonical’s announced support environment. The announcement dated October 12, 2026 lists the following combinations:
| Requirement | Announced preview environment |
|---|---|
| Ubuntu release | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, Ubuntu 26.04 LTS or Ubuntu 26.10 |
| Processor architecture | amd64 or amd64v3 |
| Desktop and display session | GNOME on Wayland |
| Project status | Technology preview under active development |
If your computer uses another Ubuntu release, a different architecture, another desktop environment or an X11 session, the cited Canonical material does not establish support for that configuration. You may be able to experiment, but do not treat the documented workflow as a compatibility guarantee outside the listed environment.
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Install Myna from Canonical’s preview PPA
The published installation route uses Canonical Desktop Team’s Myna PPA and installs the myna-config package. Adding a PPA changes the software sources that APT uses, so make sure you understand that change before proceeding.
- Open Terminal.
- Run the PPA command published by Canonical:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:canonical-desktop-team/myna - Install the configuration application:
sudo apt install myna-config - When APT finishes, open Activities and search for Myna.
These commands install the configuration application; they do not by themselves select a model or a keyboard shortcut. Those choices are made in Myna’s guided setup.
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If the package installation does not complete
- Check that the Ubuntu release and architecture are among those listed in the compatibility table.
- Confirm that the PPA command was entered exactly, including the publisher path.
- Read the APT error before retrying. A repository or package error is different from a dictation problem after installation.
- If your desktop is not GNOME on Wayland, treat the result as an unsupported experiment because the announcement does not establish support for another session.
Do not assume that installing the package proves that every application will accept injected text. Compatibility is one of the areas Canonical is asking preview users to evaluate.
Complete the guided setup in Myna
Launch Myna from Activities after installation. Canonical’s setup flow guides you through downloading and configuring a speech-recognition model and assigning the hotkey used to start dictation.
- Open Activities and launch Myna.
- Follow the setup prompts to download a recognition model.
- Wait for model configuration to finish before testing dictation.
- Set a hotkey that you can press reliably while your target app is focused.
- Keep a note of the selected model and shortcut so you can diagnose behavior later.
The announcement does not identify one model or one hotkey as best for every user. Choose a shortcut that does not conflict with the application you use, and evaluate the model with the language, accent and hardware you actually have.
The first model download requires network access. Once the model is on the computer, Canonical says recognition runs locally and does not require an internet connection for transcription.
Dictate text into an application
Use the following workflow whenever you want to enter speech in an app:
- Open the application where you want the text to appear.
- Click the destination text field or place the insertion cursor in the document, message, form or editor.
- Press the hotkey you configured in Myna.
- Speak clearly while the dictation session is active.
- Stop or toggle dictation using the behavior assigned during setup, then inspect the inserted text.
Myna is designed to transcribe into the application currently in use. A cursor in the wrong field can make a successful recognition session appear to have failed, so check focus before changing models or reinstalling anything.
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Start with the apps you rely on most rather than assuming that all text fields behave identically. Canonical specifically requests feedback about application compatibility, so an editor that works well is useful evidence, while a form or specialized application that does not accept text is a preview limitation to report.
Choose among Parakeet, Whisper and FunASR
Myna supports three recognition-engine families: Parakeet, Whisper and FunASR. Canonical identifies three decision axes, but does not publish a benchmark, a language-by-language score or a universal ranking.
| Engine | How to evaluate it | What the official material establishes |
|---|---|---|
| Parakeet | Test the languages and accents you speak, recognition quality in your normal environment and the hardware load on your computer. | Supported by Myna; engines differ in language support, accuracy and hardware requirements. |
| Whisper | Use the same real-world speech sample and target applications used for the other engines. | Supported by Myna; Canonical supplies no comparative ranking or score. |
| FunASR | Compare the resulting text, responsiveness and resource requirements on your own system. | Supported by Myna; the announcement does not establish a best choice for every language or machine. |
A practical comparison is more useful than a theoretical one. Use a paragraph containing the names, punctuation and technical terms you commonly dictate. Repeat it with your usual accent, microphone position and background conditions. Compare the errors that matter to you, how quickly text appears and whether the computer remains responsive. Keep the same test text and conditions when switching engines so that your choice is based on an actual workload.
Canonical says a supported NVIDIA GPU may make a GPU-accelerated engine available. Support for additional accelerators is described as planned rather than guaranteed, so do not assume that another GPU, an integrated accelerator or a future driver will provide acceleration in this preview.
Understand the privacy and offline behavior
Canonical states that speech recognition runs entirely on the local machine. After the recognition model has been downloaded, transcription does not require an internet connection. Canonical also says audio is not uploaded or stored.
The June 17, 2026 project introduction adds that the microphone is accessed only when dictation is explicitly activated, audio is processed in memory and audio is discarded afterward. These are Canonical’s stated design claims for Myna; they should not be extended to unrelated speech tools or to other applications that may have their own recording behavior.
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Local processing does not remove every operational consideration. You still need network access for the initial model download, enough local resources for the selected engine and a microphone that produces intelligible speech. If you change models, repeat the evaluation with the new model rather than assuming that offline behavior and recognition quality will remain identical.
Test application compatibility systematically
Because Myna is a technology preview, test the exact text fields you intend to use. A short, repeatable test helps separate a focus problem from an application-integration problem.
- Open a basic text editor and place the cursor in a blank document.
- Activate dictation with the configured hotkey and speak one short sentence.
- Confirm that text appears in the focused field.
- Repeat the same sentence in the application you actually need.
- Try a second field in that application, such as a subject line and a message body, if both are relevant.
- Record whether text appears, whether it is delayed and whether punctuation or unusual words are handled acceptably.
This process does not prove universal compatibility. It tells you whether the particular fields you use accept Myna’s transcription path. Canonical’s preview feedback request explicitly includes application compatibility, transcription quality and responsiveness, so report failures with the application name, field type, selected engine and a description of what happened.
Troubleshoot common setup and dictation failures
Myna does not appear after installation
- Confirm that
sudo apt install myna-configcompleted without an error. - Open Activities and search for “Myna” rather than looking only in a terminal.
- Check the Ubuntu release, architecture and GNOME-on-Wayland session against the announced environment.
- If the system is outside that environment, recognize that the cited sources do not establish support there.
The hotkey appears to do nothing
- Open Myna settings and verify which shortcut was assigned during setup.
- Press the exact configured combination; do not assume a default shortcut.
- First test in a simple text editor with a visible insertion cursor.
- If the shortcut works in one app but not another, treat that as an application-compatibility issue to investigate rather than immediate evidence that the model is broken.
Dictation activates but no text is inserted
- Click directly inside the intended text field before pressing the hotkey.
- Try a plain editor to determine whether the problem follows Myna or the original application.
- Check that model download and configuration completed in Myna settings.
- Test another supported engine only after recording the original result, so you can tell whether the change affected recognition or application insertion.
Recognition quality is poor
- Repeat the same sentence with the microphone positioned as you normally use it.
- Compare Parakeet, Whisper and FunASR using identical speech and conditions.
- Check whether the model supports your language or accent adequately; Canonical identifies language support as an engine-level difference but publishes no universal score.
- Consider hardware requirements and responsiveness when judging a model, not accuracy alone.
The computer feels slow during dictation
- Try an engine with different hardware requirements.
- If your system has a supported NVIDIA GPU, check whether Myna offers a GPU-accelerated engine in your configuration.
- Do not infer that other accelerators are supported: Canonical describes broader accelerator support as planned.
- Record the engine and hardware when sending preview feedback.
Text appears in the wrong place
Stop dictation, click the intended field and activate the configured hotkey again. Myna targets the application currently in use, so a cursor that moved to another field can redirect otherwise successful transcription.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Do not confuse dictation with speech output
Speech recognition and speech synthesis solve opposite problems. Myna converts microphone input into text. Ubuntu’s accessibility documentation describes Orca as the default screen reader and documents eSpeak and Speech Dispatcher in the speech-synthesis path, where the computer reads text aloud. Those tools do not provide the Myna dictation workflow described here.
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If your goal is for Ubuntu to read documents, menus or notifications aloud, investigate the accessibility speech stack instead. If your goal is to enter words into a focused field, use Myna’s configured dictation shortcut.
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Microphone and hardware considerations
An external USB microphone is optional. Canonical says Myna uses microphone input and invites preview users to try different microphones, but the setup guidance does not require an external model or identify a tested product. Start with the computer’s existing microphone if it produces clear speech; change hardware only if your real environment gives you a reason to do so.
Hardware also affects engine choice. Parakeet, Whisper and FunASR can differ in requirements, and a supported NVIDIA GPU may expose an accelerated option. Evaluate the complete experience—recognition quality, language or accent support and responsiveness—on the machine where you will dictate.
Know the preview’s limits and provide useful feedback
Myna is under active development. Canonical warns users to expect rough edges, and the preview repository notes that major changes may happen before a stable release. A working setup today is therefore not a promise that the same package behavior, model choices or application coverage will remain unchanged.
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For a supported Ubuntu configuration, the essential path remains straightforward: install the Myna configuration package from Canonical’s PPA, finish model and hotkey setup in Activities, focus a text field and speak. Treat every application and engine as something to test, because this is an evolving local-dictation preview rather than a finished universal voice-control system.
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