Settings: Text Output

Insertion Methods

Steno supports three insertion methods:

1. Type directly (direct)
2. Accessibility insert (accessibility)
3. Backup paste via clipboard (clipboardPaste)

These appear in Settings → Text output as a reorderable list. Direct and Accessibility methods can be disabled; clipboard backup stays available. Choose Save changes after editing.

Ordering and Fallback

Steno tries each method in the order you set.

• If a method succeeds, insertion finishes.
• If a method fails, Steno tries the next method.
• If automatic insertion cannot finish, check the Copied or Failed outcome and recover the completed text from History.

Reordering methods keeps clipboard backup available. The Insertion order setting explains when Steno changes the order, and an app that is too slow to answer Accessibility is reported as a timeout.

Steno copies the transcript instead of inserting it when the cursor is in a password or other secure field, when focus moved to a different field or app while it was transcribing, when the original app can't be brought back to the front, or when you dictate from Steno's own window with no text field selected. This works with default settings. A transcript copied instead of typed into a secure field is marked concealed, so clipboard managers and clipboard history apps leave it out; it can still be pasted with Cmd+V. When Steno only copies the transcript, it stays on the clipboard.

After an automatic paste, Steno puts your previous clipboard contents back shortly afterwards and marks the transcript it placed on the clipboard as transient, so clipboard managers skip it. It doesn't put back a password or other item marked concealed, transient, or auto-generated; the transcript stays on the clipboard instead. If another app changes the clipboard before the paste, Steno doesn't paste. Auto-paste sends Command-V for the current keyboard layout.

Terminal Behavior

For known terminal-like targets, Steno tries clipboard insertion first.

Current clipboard-first bundle IDs include:

• dev.warp.warp-stable
• com.apple.terminal
• com.googlecode.iterm2

These apps receive a paste attempt before simulated typing. After pasting into Terminal, iTerm2, or Warp, Steno says the transcript was pasted, and History shows the entry as Pasted. Individual fields can still block pasted text.

Remote-desktop and virtual-machine apps also receive clipboard paste first, because they may not pass typed characters through correctly. The transcript stays on the clipboard afterwards, because these apps may read the clipboard only when the remote side pastes.

Verify Output

After changing insertion settings:

1. Dictate into a code editor.
2. Dictate into a terminal.
3. Check History insertion status (Inserted, Pasted, Copied, or Failed).
4. If insertion works in one app but fails in another, try a different method order.