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To hear coding-agent replies, use a tool that reads responses aloud: Visual Studio Code’s experimental Voice Mode can speak replies and accept spoken follow-ups. Dictation is different—it turns your speech into text but does not, by itself, speak the agent’s answer. If you mainly want to avoid visually scanning chat or terminal output, an accessible view or screen reader may fit better.
Choose the workflow that matches what you need
- Two-way spoken conversation: Try VS Code Voice Mode if your account is eligible. It can read agent responses and listen for follow-up requests.
- Speak a prompt, then read the answer: Use dictation. It inserts recognized speech as text; it is not response read-aloud.
- Hear or navigate existing output: Use a screen reader or accessible view. These provide an alternative way to work through chat and terminal text without requiring a conversational voice feature.
These are distinct workflows, not interchangeable settings. The best choice depends on whether you want spoken input, spoken replies, or accessible navigation of text.
Use VS Code Voice Mode for spoken agent replies
Microsoft describes Voice Mode as a spoken conversation with an agent: unlike dictation, it “also reads the agent’s responses aloud and listens for follow-up requests.” The feature is experimental, so its behavior and availability may change or it may be removed. It is rolling out gradually and requires an eligible individual GitHub Copilot plan; the documentation says it is unavailable with Copilot Business and Copilot Enterprise. An organization can also disable preview features. Check eligibility in your current account rather than assuming the feature is available to every Copilot user. VS Code Voice Mode documentation.
Enable and start it
- In VS Code Settings, enable
agents.voice.enabled. - Open Chat or the Agents window and start Voice Mode. The documented shortcut is ⇧⌘Space on macOS or Ctrl+Shift+Space on Windows and Linux.
- Grant microphone permission when prompted. Use the available controls to select a voice, turn spoken replies on or off, show a transcript, mute, or enable hands-free follow-up.
If you only want replies spoken rather than a voice conversation, the same documentation identifies agents.voice.speakResponses and agents.voice.showTranscript as controls. That is different from asking VS Code to read an already-existing terminal transcript aloud.
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Use dictation when you want to speak your prompt
VS Code dictation converts speech to text in chat, the Agents window, editors, and terminals. In chat, start it with the microphone control or ⌘I on macOS (Ctrl+I on Windows and Linux). Dictated text is inserted; it is not automatically submitted. Use Voice Mode instead if the goal is also to hear agent responses. Setup and platform details are documented in the VS Code Voice Mode and dictation guide.
Know where dictation audio is processed
On supported desktop installations, VS Code’s default speech-recognition model is downloaded and runs locally after setup. In VS Code for the Web, microphone audio is streamed to Microsoft’s AI voice service for cloud transcription; the web path requires network access and GitHub sign-in. If language-model transcript cleanup is enabled, transcript text is sent to a Copilot model for cleanup. Remote workspaces use the local VS Code client for recognition.
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Desktop model support listed by VS Code is Windows x64 and Arm64, Apple-silicon macOS, and Linux x64 and Arm64 with glibc 2.34 or later. Desktop dictation is unavailable on Intel Macs, Arm32 or other 32-bit systems, and musl Linux distributions such as Alpine. The VS Code Speech extension is suggested for those cases and also provides text-to-speech for chat responses. Check the current guide for support before relying on a particular platform or setup.
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If the need is to avoid visually scanning output—not to have an agent speak conversationally—VS Code’s Accessible View and screen-reader support are another route. Accessible View can present chat responses and terminal output, among other surfaces. VS Code lists NVDA and JAWS on Windows, VoiceOver on macOS, and Orca on Linux as tested screen readers, and documents a screen-reader-optimized mode and keyboard-accessible navigation. See the VS Code accessibility guide for the available features.
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Claude Code CLI screen-reader mode
Anthropic documents a screen-reader mode for Claude Code that changes the terminal interface to plain, sequential text with labels and cues. It requires Claude Code 2.1.181 or later. Enable it for a single session with claude --ax-screen-reader, persistently in a terminal with CLAUDE_AX_SCREEN_READER=1, or in ~/.claude/settings.json with "axScreenReader": true. Messages and tool activity receive labels, and menus become numbered lists. This is screen-reader-friendly output; Anthropic’s documentation does not say Claude Code synthesizes speech. Details are in the Claude Code screen-reader documentation.
Consider a text-to-speech extension only after checking its terms
The Visual Studio Marketplace listing for Markdown TTS says the extension can read Markdown, code, and documentation aloud, including Claude Code and Copilot replies. It lists offline voices on Windows and macOS, Microsoft Edge neural voices on Linux, and controls for pausing, skipping headings, changing speed, and exporting MP3. These are publisher-described features, not independently verified performance results. Review the listing’s current compatibility and privacy details before installing it: Markdown TTS on the Visual Studio Marketplace.
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The listing also describes optional AI-generated explanations. That is not ordinary text-to-speech: according to the extension’s setup description, the explanation feature sends content to a language model. Treat it as a separate feature and check its data handling before enabling it.
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| Need | Option | Important distinction |
|---|---|---|
| Hear agent replies and speak follow-ups | VS Code Voice Mode | Experimental; eligibility and organizational policy can limit availability. |
| Speak prompts into VS Code | VS Code dictation | Recognized speech is inserted as text; audio handling differs between desktop and web. |
| Navigate chat or terminal output accessibly | VS Code Accessible View or a screen reader; Claude Code screen-reader mode for supported CLI versions | These improve text navigation; Claude Code’s cited mode does not claim built-in speech synthesis. |
| Read supported content aloud with extension controls | Markdown TTS | Marketplace feature and privacy statements are publisher claims; check current listing details. |
A headset with a microphone may make private listening and spoken input more convenient, but VS Code’s documentation requires microphone access, not a headset. Ordinary computer audio may be sufficient. No controlled comparisons establish that one of these options reduces eye strain, improves coding speed, or increases comprehension; choose based on the interaction you want, platform support, audio processing, transcript visibility, account eligibility, and the privacy terms you are comfortable with.
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