Voice to Text for Espanso
You're editing your Espanso YAML config, creating a new text expansion. The trigger is easy — a few characters. But the replacement text is a whole paragraph. Maybe it's an email template, a code snippet explanation, or a frequently-used response. Typing it out defeats the purpose of a text expander. Blurt lets you speak your replacement text directly into your Espanso config file. Hold a button, say the text you want to expand, release. The words appear in your YAML. Save, and your new expansion is ready. Build your snippet library at the speed of speech.
The Typing Problem
Replacement text takes longer to type than just typing it each time
The irony of text expanders: you're trying to save time by avoiding repetitive typing, but creating the expansion requires typing the whole thing first. That three-paragraph email template you use daily? You have to type it once to put it in Espanso. The friction of setup means many useful expansions never get created. You keep typing the same things manually because setting up the shortcut feels like too much work.
Trigger names that make sense require creative thinking
You need a trigger for your new expansion. It should be short, memorable, and not conflict with anything else. You stare at the screen trying to think of the perfect abbreviation. 'addr' is taken. 'address1' feels clunky. You could just say 'home address snippet' out loud and name it naturally. But you're typing, so you sit there thinking instead of creating.
YAML editing interrupts your actual work
You're in the middle of writing an email when you realize you need this response saved as an expansion. But creating it means opening your config file, finding the right section, typing the YAML structure, adding the replacement text, saving, and getting back to your email. By the time you're done, you've lost your train of thought. The expansion exists, but your flow is gone.
Long replacement texts are error-prone to type
Your expansion includes a detailed process explanation you give to clients weekly. As you type it into the YAML config, you make typos. You fix them. You make more. The replacement text that's supposed to save you time now has inconsistent punctuation because you were rushing. Every typo in the config means a typo every time the expansion runs.
Updating existing expansions feels tedious
Your company changed its refund policy. Now that canned response you use fifty times a week is wrong. You need to update the replacement text in Espanso. Open the config, find the expansion, carefully edit the text, make sure you didn't break the YAML formatting, save. It's not hard, but it's enough friction that outdated expansions linger longer than they should.
How It Works
Blurt works anywhere you edit text — VS Code, Sublime, vim, any editor where you're writing Espanso YAML configs. Speak your replacement text, trigger names, or comments directly into the file.
Hold your hotkey
Press your chosen shortcut while editing your Espanso config. A small indicator shows Blurt is listening.
Speak your expansion text
Say the replacement text, trigger name, or comment you want to add. Blurt handles punctuation and formatting.
Release and save
Text appears in your YAML file. Save the config. Espanso picks up the change. Your new expansion is live.
Real Scenarios
Dictating multi-paragraph replacement text
You need an expansion for your weekly status update template. Instead of typing four paragraphs into the YAML, position your cursor in the replacement field, hold your hotkey, and speak: 'This week I completed the following tasks. Next week I plan to focus on. Blockers and concerns. Questions for the team.' Twenty seconds of speaking versus five minutes of typing. The template is in your config. Save and done.
Creating email response templates
That response you send to every sales inquiry — you can say it faster than type it. Open your config, add a new trigger, then speak the entire response: 'Thanks for reaching out about our services. I'd be happy to schedule a call to discuss your needs. You can book a time directly using my calendar link below.' Done. Next inquiry, just type your trigger.
Building code snippet explanations
You want an expansion that inserts a code comment explaining a common pattern. Hold button: 'This implements the singleton pattern to ensure only one instance of the database connection exists throughout the application lifecycle. Call getInstance rather than the constructor directly.' Technical explanation captured perfectly. Paste the trigger anywhere you use this pattern.
Naming triggers naturally
You're creating an expansion for your mailing address. What should the trigger be? Instead of staring at the screen, say out loud: 'home address expansion' and Blurt types 'home address expansion' — then you trim it to ':homeaddr' or whatever makes sense. Speaking names helps you think of them faster than staring at a blank trigger field.
Adding comments to complex expansions
Your Espanso config has dozens of expansions. Some are obvious, some need explanation. Above that regex-heavy expansion, hold button: 'This matches phone numbers in any format and normalizes them to the international standard. Updated January 2026 after customer complaints about missed formats.' The comment documents your work. Future you will understand.
Updating outdated expansion text
The company phone number changed. Your expansion still has the old one. Open the config, find the expansion, position cursor in the replacement text, delete the old number, hold button: 'For immediate assistance, call 1-800-555-0199 extension 42.' New number in place. Save. Every future expansion uses the correct info.
Creating form field expansions
You fill out the same form fields constantly — name, address, phone, email, company. Instead of typing each expansion's replacement text, speak them: 'Acme Corporation, 123 Business Park Drive, Suite 400, San Francisco, California 94105.' All your form data captured by voice, ready to expand with a quick trigger.
Why Espanso users choose Blurt over built-in dictation
| Blurt | macOS Dictation | |
|---|---|---|
| Activation | Single hotkey, instant start | Double-tap Fn or menu bar click |
| Speed | Text appears in under 500ms | 2-3 second delay before transcription starts |
| Punctuation | Automatic punctuation, no verbal commands | Must say 'period' and 'comma' manually |
| Reliability in editors | Works consistently in all text editors | Sometimes fails or lags in terminal-based editors |
| Price | $10/month or $99/year | Free (built into macOS) |
| Free tier | First 1,000 words free | Unlimited but inconsistent |
Frequently Asked Questions
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