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Overview

Superwhisper’s context awareness is one of its most powerful features, allowing the application to process your dictation with relevant information. This creates more accurate results.

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Types of Context

Superwhisper can capture three different types of context:

Selected Text Context

Text that is highlighted/selected in your active window when you begin recording.

Application Context

Text from active input fields, names, and title from your active window.

Clipboard Context

Content that has been copied to your clipboard before or during dictation.

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Context Availability

Not all modes in Superwhisper capture context by default. Understanding which modes use context is essential for getting the results you expect.
  • Built-in Modes: Most do not have context awareness enabled
  • Super Mode: The only built-in mode with all three context types enabled by default
  • Custom Modes: Can be configured to use any combination of context types
Be selective about which context types you enable for custom modes. Enabling unnecessary context can send excessive information to the AI, potentially affecting result quality.

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Context Capture Timing

Each type of context is captured at a different point in the dictation process, which is important to understand for optimal results:
1

Selected Text Context

Captured exactly when you start recording (when you toggle on dictation). The focus must remain on the application containing the selected text at this moment.
2

Clipboard Context

Captured either within three seconds before recording starts OR during dictation. The last item copied during this period will be used.
3

Application Context

Captured after voice processing is complete, between the transcription and AI processing steps. This means your active window at this point determines what context is captured.

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Context Issues and Solutions

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Selected Text Context Not Working

  • Focus Issue: Make sure your focus is on the application with the selected text when you start recording
  • Mode Configuration: Verify you’re using Super Mode or a custom mode with selected text context enabled
  • Deep Link Usage: When triggering recording via deep links using shell commands, use the -g flag to open in the background so focus remains on your target application

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Application Context Not Working

  • Switching Windows: If you switch to a different window after dictation but before processing completes, you may capture the wrong context or none at all
  • Accessibility Permissions: Ensure Superwhisper has accessibility permissions enabled in System Preferences/Settings
  • Mode Configuration: Verify the mode you’re using has application context enabled

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Clipboard Context Not Working

  • Timing Issues: Make sure you’re copying content either shortly (three seconds) before starting recording or during dictation
  • Mode Configuration: Verify the mode you’re using has clipboard context enabled

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Explore More

Super Mode

Learn how to use Super Mode’s context awareness features, discover powerful commands for text manipulation, and troubleshoot issues specific to this mode.

History

The History tab is essential for troubleshooting context features, as it displays all information sent to AI.