Mach

Quick-start examples

10 Mach dictation examples: what to say and what you get

Practical Mach examples for email, notes, VS Code, Cursor, multilingual dictation, Hinglish, Romaji, and exact formatting commands.

3 minute read

Start with the simplest rule

Speak the words you want written. Mach cleans a request without answering it or adding information you did not say.

Boundary

A request stays a request

Chat & prompts

You say

“can you give me three ideas for improving onboarding”

Mach writes

Can you give me three ideas for improving onboarding?

Mach cleans the request; it does not answer it or invent ideas.

Email and notes

Speak naturally, name the structure when it matters, and let Mach organize the finished text.

Email

Action items inside an email

Mail

You say

“hi everyone action items alice will update the mockups bob will review the API and carol will schedule the customer call thanks jordan”

Mach writes

Hi everyone, Action items: - Alice will update the mockups - Bob will review the API - Carol will schedule the customer call Thanks, Jordan

Name each owner and action; Mach separates the items.

Notes

A numbered priority list

Notes

You say

“the top priorities are number one fix the login bug number two review the analytics dashboard and number three call the design agency”

Mach writes

The top priorities are: 1. Fix the login bug 2. Review the analytics dashboard 3. Call the design agency

Say “number one, number two” when order matters.

Notes

A nested project plan

Notion

You say

“project plan has two areas engineering with API and database and design with onboarding and settings”

Mach writes

Project plan has two areas: - Engineering - API - Database - Design - Onboarding - Settings

Name the groups and their items; Mach keeps the hierarchy.

VS Code and Cursor

Say filenames, extensions, and nested paths aloud. Mach uses the editor-specific reference format.

Code

Reference a file

VS Code

You say

“use session dot t s as context to debug the login flow”

Mach writes

Use #file:session.ts as context to debug the login flow.

Say the filename and extension; Mach applies VS Code syntax.

Code

Reference a nested path

Cursor

You say

“check services slash billing dot p y before changing the retry logic”

Mach writes

Check @services/billing.py before changing the retry logic.

Use “slash” and “dot” for paths and extensions.

More than one language

Switch languages in the same thought, or choose Latin-script output when you want Hinglish or Romaji.

Languages

Spanish and English together

Multilingual

You say

“Por favor mueve la reunión to three PM porque el cliente is still reviewing the proposal”

Mach writes

Por favor, mueve la reunión to 3 PM porque el cliente is still reviewing the proposal.

Switch naturally; Mach keeps each phrase in the language you spoke.

Languages

Hindi written as Hinglish

Multilingual · Latin

You say

“कल client meeting को three PM पर reschedule कर देना because Rahul is unavailable”

Mach writes

Kal client meeting ko three PM par reschedule kar dena because Rahul is unavailable.

Choose Hindi → Latin to keep the language and change the script.

Languages

Japanese written as Romaji

Multilingual · Latin

You say

“明日の client meeting を午後3時に変更して then send everyone the updated invite”

Mach writes

Ashita no client meeting wo gogo 3ji ni henkoshite then send everyone the updated invite

Choose Japanese → Latin. Romaji spelling and punctuation can vary slightly.

Exact formatting commands

Most dictation should sound natural. Use commands such as quote, colon, new paragraph, or em dash only when you need an exact layout.

Formatting

Exact punctuation and a byline

Notes & editors

You say

“quote breaking news unquote colon the new Opus model beats Fable 5 at half the price new paragraph em dash Anthropic”

Mach writes

“Breaking news”: The new Opus model beats Fable 5 at half the price. — Anthropic

Use explicit commands when exact punctuation or layout matters.
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