Support
Command table generated at build time from the app's own source
One mailbox, answered by the people who wrote the app — and, below it, the exact list of voice commands Tessen understands, plus the ten questions a first-run buyer is most likely to have.
Voice commands
Hold your hotkey and speak naturally — you never have to use any of these. They exist
for punctuation, formatting, and light editing you'd otherwise have to do by hand afterward.
This table is generated from the same list the app itself teaches during onboarding and
prints for tessen help, so it cannot list a phrase the app does not actually
implement, or leave one out.
30 commands, generated from Sources/Rules/VoiceCommandCatalog.swift at build time.
| Say | Effect |
|---|---|
period | Types a period (.) |
comma | Types a comma (,) |
question mark | Types a question mark (?) |
exclamation point | Types an exclamation point (!) |
new line | Starts a new line |
new paragraph | Starts a new paragraph (blank line between) |
open quote | Types an opening quotation mark (") |
close quote | Types a closing quotation mark (") |
all caps | Types the next word in ALL CAPS |
cap that | Capitalizes the first letter of the last word |
scratch that | Deletes the sentence you just dictated |
delete last word | Deletes only the last word |
colon | Types a colon (:) |
semicolon | Types a semicolon (;) |
hyphen | Joins the surrounding words with a hyphen (no spaces) |
dash | Types a spaced dash ( - ) |
open paren | Types an opening parenthesis (() |
close paren | Types a closing parenthesis ()) |
open bracket | Types an opening bracket ([) |
close bracket | Types a closing bracket (]) |
ellipsis | Types an ellipsis (…); "dot dot dot" also works |
quote unquote | Wraps the next word in quotation marks |
delete that | Deletes the sentence you just dictated (same as "scratch that") |
undo that | Deletes the sentence you just dictated (same as "scratch that") |
delete last sentence | Deletes the sentence you just dictated (same as "scratch that") |
next line | Starts a new line (same as "new line") |
title case | Capitalizes the first letter of every word in the sentence you just dictated |
bullet point | Starts a new bulleted list item — at the start of a line only |
number one | Starts a new numbered list item ("number one" through "number twenty") — at the start of a line only |
spell | Spells out the letters that follow as one word, e.g. "spell k u b e r n e t e s" types "kubernetes" |
First-run questions
What permissions does Tessen ask for?
Three permissions, and nothing else: Microphone, Speech Recognition, and Accessibility (so Tessen can type at your cursor instead of using the clipboard). Tessen does not ask for Screen Recording.
Full detail on why each one is needed: Install Guide.
What's the hotkey, and can I change it?
The default is the Fn (Globe) key — hold it to talk. If Fn is unavailable or already bound, five alternatives are offered instead: Option+Space, F13, F14, Control+Command+Space, and Control+Shift+Space, changed from the Hub's System tab ("Shortcut" row).
I renewed and no licence key arrived. Where do I find it?
Open gettessen.com/thank-you and enter the email address you paid with together with the Key ID on that purchase's receipt (it starts with cs_ or in_) — the box returns any key our system could not send you. If it finds nothing, email support@gettessen.com from your billing address and we will send your key to you.
How does the 14-day free trial work?
14 days of full Pro access, no credit card. When it ends you move to the Free plan automatically — nothing is ever charged without you choosing to upgrade.
What's in the Free plan?
2,000 words a week, no card, no time limit, dictation in any app.
Do I need to create an account?
No account to create, ever — Tessen has nothing to sign into.
Does Tessen work with no internet connection?
Dictation works with no network connection at all. Recognition, formatting, and typing at your cursor all happen on this Mac.
Where does my dictation history live?
Your dictation history is a plain-text file on this Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/Tessen/dictation_log.jsonl. Nothing is uploaded.
How do I delete my history?
Delete it from inside the app: open the Hub, go to History, and choose "Clear all history…". This removes the log, its rotated archive, and any session notes — not just what is shown on screen.
How do I uninstall Tessen?
Run uninstall.sh, or remove it yourself: the app bundle, its Application Support folder, its preferences file, its caches, its saved application state, and its login item — those six named paths, nothing else.
Anything not covered above: support@gettessen.com.