Ask mode
Select text, speak an instruction, and let a language model transform the selection in place — rewrite, summarize, translate, reformat.
Model
openai/gpt-oss-120b
Requires
A text selection
Default paste
replace-selection
How Ask mode works
In Ask mode your voice is an instruction, not content. When recording starts, VoiceFlow captures the frontmost app's selected text. Your spoken instruction is transcribed the same way as dictation, then both are sent to the model, which returns only the transformed text.
A selection is required
Paste behavior
The askPasteBehavior setting controls where the result goes:
| Value | Behavior | Under the hood |
|---|---|---|
| replace-selection | default | Pastes over the current selection, replacing it with the transformed text. |
| paste-at-cursor | insert | Collapses the selection to its end (a simulated Right-arrow) before pasting, so the original text is kept and the result is inserted after it. |
Instruction isolation
The model is told explicitly that the selected text is source material, never a prompt. It applies only your spoken instruction, preserves factual meaning unless you ask otherwise, and returns just the transformed text — no commentary, quotes, or code fences.
- “Make this more formal” → a polished rewrite.
- “Turn this into three bullet points” → a reformatted list.
- “Translate to Spanish” → a translation of the selection.
- “Fix the grammar” → a corrected version, same meaning.