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Myna is an early, local speech-recognition project rather than a finished voice-control suite. The preview announcement dated October 12, 2026 lists Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, 26.04 LTS, and 26.10 on amd64 or amd64v3 hardware with GNOME on Wayland. Other releases, architectures, desktop environments, and display servers are not established as supported by that announcement.
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What Ubuntu voice typing is—and what it is not
Voice typing converts spoken words into text at the insertion point in the application you are using. Myna is Canonical’s current documented route for that workflow on Ubuntu: you activate dictation with a configurable keyboard shortcut, speak, and Myna sends the transcription to the focused text field.
The project is deliberately narrower than a voice assistant. Canonical’s introduction says its initial scope is dictation, not voice commands, desktop control, translation, or automatic language detection. You should therefore expect to type by voice in editors, browser fields, chat boxes, forms, and similar controls, but not to navigate the whole desktop by saying commands such as “open Settings” or “click this button.”
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Do not confuse speech recognition with speech synthesis. Recognition turns your voice into text. Ubuntu’s accessibility documentation describes Orca as the default screen reader and discusses eSpeak and Speech Dispatcher for reading text aloud; those components do not provide the Myna dictation workflow.
Check the preview requirements first
Myna is a technology preview under active development. Canonical warns that it has rough edges, and the project repository warns that major changes may occur before a stable release. Confirm your environment before adding the preview software source:
| Requirement | Configuration named in Canonical’s announcement | What that means |
|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu release | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, 26.04 LTS, or 26.10 | These are the releases explicitly listed for the preview. Support for other releases is not established by the cited announcement. |
| Processor architecture | amd64 or amd64v3 | The announcement does not list ARM or other architectures. |
| Desktop and display server | GNOME on Wayland | A different desktop environment or an X11 session may not behave the same way; compatibility is not promised. |
| Microphone | A working microphone input | An external USB microphone is optional. Canonical invites testers to try different microphones but does not require or endorse a particular model. |
If your machine differs from this matrix, you can still investigate the project, but treat the result as unconfirmed rather than assuming the hotkey or text insertion will work. Preview users are specifically asked to report compatibility problems.
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The published installation route uses a Personal Package Archive maintained by the Canonical Desktop Team. A PPA adds a new software source to APT, so use these commands only if you accept preview software and the source change.
- Open Terminal.
- Add the Myna PPA with Canonical’s command:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:canonical-desktop-team/mynaConfirm any prompt shown by the repository tool. If the command reports that the release or architecture is unsupported, stop and verify that your system matches the preview requirements instead of forcing packages from another release.
- Install the configuration application:
sudo apt install myna-configAllow APT to resolve the package and its dependencies. If APT cannot find
myna-config, the PPA was not added successfully, your package lists are stale, or your release is outside the announced preview matrix. Recheck the first command and the release before trying again.
These commands install the Myna configuration application; they do not by themselves select a recognition model or a keyboard shortcut. Those choices are made in the graphical setup.
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Finish the guided setup in Myna settings
After installation, complete the configuration before trying to dictate in another program.
- Open Activities and search for Myna settings or the Myna configuration application, then launch it.
- Follow the setup flow to download and configure a speech-recognition model. The first model download is the part that requires network access.
- Choose a hotkey when the setup asks for one. Canonical does not specify a single best shortcut; select a combination that is available on your keyboard and is not already used by the applications where you plan to dictate.
- Check that the intended microphone is selected and that the system can receive audio. Speak a short test phrase if the setup offers a test or level indicator.
- Save or finish the setup and leave Myna available in the session.
The setup does not establish that one engine or model is best for every language, accent, computer, or microphone. Treat the first configuration as a starting point and evaluate it with the words you actually need to write.
Dictate into an application
Once setup is complete, the normal workflow is short:
- Open the application where you want text to appear.
- Click or otherwise move the insertion cursor into the target text field. This might be a document editor, a browser form, a message composer, or another control that accepts typed text.
- Press the hotkey you configured in Myna.
- Speak at a natural, clear pace while the dictation session is active.
- Stop or press the configured control to end dictation, depending on what Myna presents in your setup.
- Read the resulting text and correct names, punctuation, formatting, and words that were misrecognized.
Myna is intended to transcribe into the application currently in use, so focus matters. If the cursor is not in an editable field when you activate the shortcut, there may be nowhere for the text to go. Test first in a simple text field, then try the workflow in each important app rather than assuming that one successful test proves universal compatibility.
Choose among Parakeet, Whisper, and FunASR
Myna supports the Parakeet, Whisper, and FunASR recognition engines. Canonical identifies three practical comparison axes: language support, recognition quality, and hardware requirements. The announcement supplies no language-by-language scores, speed measurements, or universal ranking.
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| Engine | What is established | How to choose responsibly |
|---|---|---|
| Parakeet | Available as a Myna engine; language support, accuracy, and hardware needs differ from other engines. | Try it with your language or accent and the microphone and computer you will actually use. |
| Whisper | Available as a Myna engine; no comparative benchmark or universal best-language claim is supplied. | Compare its output with the other available engines using the same test phrases and conditions. |
| FunASR | Available as a Myna engine; exact results depend on the selected model, language, and hardware. | Evaluate real words, names, and punctuation from your own work rather than relying on a generic ranking. |
A supported NVIDIA GPU may make a GPU-accelerated engine available. Canonical describes support for additional accelerators as planned, not guaranteed in this preview. Do not assume that any graphics card will accelerate every engine, or that a GPU is required for basic dictation.
Privacy and offline behavior
Canonical says that speech recognition runs entirely on your machine. After the recognition model has been downloaded, transcription does not require an internet connection. Canonical also says audio is not uploaded or stored.
The June 2026 project introduction adds that the microphone is accessed only when dictation is explicitly activated, audio is processed in memory, and the audio is discarded afterward. These are Canonical’s stated design and privacy properties for Myna; they should not be generalized to unrelated Ubuntu speech tools or applications that may have their own telemetry and storage behavior.
The initial model download still needs a network connection, and changing engines or models may require additional downloads. If you need a fully offline first-time setup, Myna’s documented workflow does not establish that as an option.
Test application compatibility instead of assuming it
Text insertion depends on both Myna and the application receiving the input. Canonical lists application compatibility, transcription quality, responsiveness, language and accent support, and setup as areas where preview feedback is useful.
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Start with a controlled test
- Use a plain text field or a simple editor with an obvious insertion cursor.
- Activate the hotkey and dictate one short sentence.
- Check whether text appears in the focused field, whether activation feels responsive, and whether stopping dictation leaves the cursor in the expected place.
- Repeat the same sentence in the applications that matter to you, such as your browser, office software, terminal-related editor, or chat client.
Record the conditions when a test fails
Note the Ubuntu release, desktop and display-server session, selected engine, language or accent, microphone, application, and whether a supported NVIDIA GPU was involved. Those details make a useful preview report and help you distinguish an application-specific problem from a general Myna setup problem.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Troubleshoot common failures
The Myna application does not appear after installation
Verify that the PPA command completed without an error and that sudo apt install myna-config finished successfully. Check the release, architecture, GNOME session, and Wayland requirement against the preview matrix. A package source that is unavailable for your release is a compatibility boundary, not a reason to mix packages from an unrelated Ubuntu version.
The hotkey does nothing
- Confirm that Myna settings saved the shortcut you intended to use.
- Choose a different combination if another desktop or application shortcut is intercepting it.
- Place the cursor in a known editable field before pressing the shortcut.
- Make sure Myna is running in the current desktop session and that the microphone is available.
Test in a simple field before concluding that every application is incompatible.
The hotkey activates, but no text appears
Check focus first: Myna targets the application currently in use, not a field selected in a background window. Then test the microphone and speak a short phrase. If activation works in one application but not another, record that difference as an application-compatibility issue for the preview rather than repeatedly changing models.
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Words are inaccurate or the response feels slow
Try the other available engines with identical phrases and the same microphone. Engine trade-offs involve language support, accuracy, and hardware requirements, so a change that helps one language or computer may not help another. Also test whether a supported NVIDIA GPU makes an accelerated option available. Canonical provides no benchmark that can predict the result for your exact setup.
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You need a different language or accent
Review the language support of the model or engine you selected and test representative words, names, and punctuation. Myna’s initial scope does not include automatic language detection, so do not expect it to switch languages automatically during one session.
You want spoken desktop commands
Myna is not documented as a general voice-control system. It is designed for dictation into a focused text field. Use conventional keyboard, pointer, or accessibility controls for desktop navigation unless a separate tool explicitly provides that function.
Microphone choices and practical recording conditions
You do not need to buy an external microphone to start. Canonical describes microphone input as a requirement and invites preview users to try different microphones, but it does not identify a tested model or claim that an external device is necessary. Begin with the microphone already built into your computer if it produces clear input.
If recognition is unreliable, compare the built-in microphone with another device you already have access to, keep the microphone close enough for a consistent level, and reduce competing noise. Treat this as a test of your complete setup—room, microphone, engine, language, and application—not as proof that one accessory guarantees better recognition.
What to expect from an actively developed preview
Installing Myna means accepting that behavior can change. The repository warns that major changes may occur before a stable release, and Canonical asks users to provide feedback. Keep that status visible when deciding whether to use it for important work: maintain a normal keyboard-and-editing path, proofread dictated text, and avoid assuming that a future update will preserve every setting or workflow.
Useful feedback is specific. Report the Ubuntu release and architecture, GNOME on Wayland status, engine and model, language or accent, microphone, target application, hotkey behavior, responsiveness, and the exact symptom. Distinguish “the shortcut never activates,” “activation occurs but no text is inserted,” and “text is inserted with recognition errors,” because they describe different failure points.
Quick Recap
Quick reference
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What do I install? | The Canonical Desktop Team Myna PPA and the myna-config package. |
| Where do I configure it? | Open Myna settings from Activities and follow the guided model and hotkey setup. |
| How do I dictate? | Focus an editable field, press the configured hotkey, speak, and stop the session when finished. |
| Does it work offline? | After the recognition model is downloaded, Canonical says transcription does not require internet access. |
| Is audio uploaded? | Canonical says audio is not uploaded or stored; the project introduction says it is processed in memory and discarded afterward. |
| Which engine is best? | No universal winner is established. Compare Parakeet, Whisper, and FunASR with your language, accent, hardware, and real applications. |
| Does it control the desktop? | No. Myna’s initial scope is dictation, not voice commands or general desktop control. |
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