Voice mode: Hold Space not detected in Ghostty — key repeat fires instead of hold
Status Fixed / completed
Reported on v2.1.74
Maintainer reply None cached
Workaround ✓ Mentioned in thread ↓
Activity 4 comments · opened Mar 13, 2026 · closed Mar 13, 2026
Description
/voice mode's "Hold Space to record" doesn't work in Ghostty terminal. Holding Space bar causes repeated space character input ("advancing") instead of triggering voice recording.
Environment
- Claude Code version: 2.1.74
- Terminal: Ghostty (macOS)
- OS: macOS (Darwin 25.2.0)
- Shell: zsh
Ghostty Config (minimal, no keybinding overrides)
theme = light:Rose Pine Dawn,dark:Rose Pine Moon
font-family = JetBrains Mono
font-size = 13
shell-integration = detect
Steps to Reproduce
- Launch Claude Code in Ghostty
- Run
/voice - See "Voice mode enabled. Hold Space to record."
- Hold Space bar
- Instead of recording, repeated spaces are inserted / output advances
Expected Behavior
Holding Space should trigger voice recording (detect keydown, start recording, stop on keyup).
Likely Cause
Ghostty sends repeated key events (key repeat) when Space is held, rather than a single sustained keydown event. Claude Code may need to handle key repeat suppression internally, or document terminal compatibility requirements for voice mode.
Workaround Attempted
- No Space keybinding conflicts in Ghostty config
- Haven't confirmed if the issue reproduces in other terminals (Terminal.app, iTerm2)
Suggested Fix
- Debounce/ignore key repeat events for the Space hold detection in voice mode
- Or document supported terminals for voice mode
4 Comments
Update: Reproduced the same behavior in Terminal.app — this is not Ghostty-specific. Hold Space fails to trigger recording in both terminals. Likely a general macOS terminal issue with key hold detection.
Closing — macOS Dictation (double-tap Fn) works as a viable workaround for voice input in Claude Code terminals.
Found 3 possible duplicate issues:
This issue will be automatically closed as a duplicate in 3 days.
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