Decktation — Push-to-Talk Dictation for Steam Deck

Speak naturally and Decktation transcribes your words locally, then types them into the active game or app. Use it for game chat, messages, searches, and other text fields.

• Hold a configurable controller button combination to record; L1 + R1 is the default.
• Choose a preset for World of Warcraft, Guild Wars 2, or generic text entry.
• Speak a channel prefix such as “party” to route game chat.
• Say “command gg” or “command ready” to enter /gg or /ready without a chat-channel prefix.
• Adjust the Whisper model and transcription language in the plugin.
• Enable Spoken punctuation in Advanced settings to turn English commands such as “comma” and “question mark” into symbols.
• The optional WoW context addon can provide saved game context, but its updates are not reliably live; see upstream issue #13.

Install Decktation

Decktation requires Decky Loader. If you haven’t installed it yet, follow the official Decky Loader installation instructions and get the installer from decky.xyz, then return here.

Until Decktation is available in Decky’s official store, install its packaged release.

Recommended: Install from URL

1. Open Decky Settings and enable developer options if needed.

2. Choose Install Plugin from URL.

3. Paste this URL and install Decktation:

   https://decktation.com/Decktation.zip
   

Note: Decktation won't receive automatic updates, see updating section for more information.

Alternative: Install from a packaged ZIP

Download the latest packaged Decktation ZIP, then choose Install Plugin from ZIP in Decky Settings.

Do not install GitHub’s automatically generated “Source code (zip)” or “Source code (tar.gz)” archives. They are not Decktation plugin packages and do not include its bundled dependencies.

Optional / Advanced: Decktation Custom Store

The Decktation Custom Store can list Decktation in Decky’s plugin browser:

https://decktation.com/plugins.json

To opt in, open Decky Settings → General → Store Channel, select Custom, and enter the URL above.

Important: Decky’s Custom Store replaces the selected Default or Testing catalog; it is not added alongside the official store. While the Decktation Custom Store is selected, Decky may not detect updates for your other plugins from the official catalog. You can switch back to Default at any time.

Use this option only if you specifically want Decktation listed in Decky and understand the catalog trade-off. It is not the recommended permanent setting for most users.

Updating to a new version

Installing from Decktation.zip does not enable automatic updates. Until Decktation is in the official store, update it manually:

1. Choose Install Plugin from URL and paste Decktation.zip, or download it and choose Install Plugin from ZIP.
2. Reopen Decktation.

This replaces the plugin code; do not delete Decktation settings or downloaded Whisper models. See the full update steps.

Official Decky Store

Decktation has been submitted to the official Decky Plugin Store, and the request is open for review. Once listed, the official Default Store will be the preferred install and update route. Existing installations should normally receive official updates without a fresh install.

Quick start

1. Open the Steam Deck Quick Access Menu (...) and open Decktation.
2. Under Game, choose WoW, GW2, or Generic.
3. Turn Enable on and wait for the status to show Ready. The first use of a model may need an internet connection to download it.
4. Select Test Recording (3s), speak, and check Last Transcription in the panel. A test recording displays the transcript without typing it into the active app.
5. Focus the game or text field. Hold L1 + R1, speak, then release to transcribe and enter the text. You can change this default combination in the Decktation panel’s Input settings.

WoW and GW2 presets normally open game chat, add the selected channel command, and send the message; the spoken type channel enters text without opening chat. Generic also enters text directly in the focused field. See channel and preset configuration for details.

If your microphone crackles or transcription is poor, see microphone troubleshooting for Steam Voice settings to try, including a workaround reported by a Steam Deck LCD user.

Documentation

• Advanced configuration: presets, spoken channel prefixes, model and language settings, and controller mappings.
• Troubleshooting: plugin logs, recording, controller input, and text entry.
• WoW context guide: setup, the current SavedVariables limitation (issue #13), and the proposed real-time companion (issue #36).
• Development: build, test, and architecture notes.
• Privacy and permissions: diagnostic data, local processing, and Decky’s _root permission.
• Installation guide: stable release links, branch builds, and development artifacts.

Privacy

Audio, transcripts, and WoW context are processed locally and are not uploaded. Whisper model files are downloaded from Hugging Face on first use. Optional Diagnostics → Share is off by default; when enabled, Decktation sends scrubbed errors, usage counts, and performance metrics to Sentry. See privacy and permissions for what diagnostics include.

Permissions

Decktation uses Decky’s _root permission to read controller inputs and type the transcript through its bundled keyboard helper. Dictated text is passed as data, never run as a command. Read the permissions details.

Credits and license

Built with whisper.cpp and Decky Loader. Decktation is licensed under the MIT License.

Website hosting and domain setup: decktation.com setup.