Show HN: Cody – Voice control for Neovim using its own commands, LSP

Developer Juan Garza released Cody, an open-source Neovim plugin that enables voice control of the editor using its native commands, LSP, and plugin integrations. The tool routes spoken commands through a Node.js bridge to OpenAI's Realtime API, allowing hands-free editing without leaving the terminal. Cody is available on GitHub under the MIT license.

Neovim-first voice control for developers who want hands-free, low-latency command of their editor without leaving it. Cody deliberately stays inside the editor: no screen overlay, no mouse pointer, no general desktop assistant. It lives inside Neovim and turns short voice or text commands into editor actions. Examples: :CodyDo go to line 48 :CodyDo go to file src/server.ts :CodyDo edit this line to return early when request.user is missing Cody should not rebuild editor primitives. It should route voice intent into the editor command surface developers already use, and install missing command providers only when that is explicitly supported by the user's setup. Neovim Lua plugin Node Realtime bridge OpenAI Realtime ---------------- -------------------- --------------- :CodyDo / voice cmds - JSONL over stdio - WebSocket session editor command adapter <- function-call router <- gpt-realtime-2 buffer/cursor context - prompt + tool schemas - text/audio input Rather than capturing the screen and pointing at UI elements, Cody sends editor state: - current file, filetype, cursor line/column - current line and nearby buffer lines - available editor commands from native Neovim, LSP, and installed plugins The important layer is not "go to line" itself. Neovim already has that. The useful layer is: - detect what the editor can already do - expose those capabilities to GPT Realtime as callable tools - install a missing provider when the user's plugin manager supports it - route the spoken command to the best existing command Initial command providers: - Native Neovim: line jumps, file edits, buffers, windows, quickfix - LSP: rename, code actions, references, definitions - Pickers: Telescope, fzf-lua, Snacks picker, mini.pick - AI/code edit plugins: CodeCompanion, Avante, Copilot Chat, or a Cody-owned Realtime edit fallback This means there is no separate Phase 1 for proving basic editor commands. We start at the adapter. Requirements: - Neovim 0.10+ - Node.js 20+ OPENAI API KEY for intelligent commands sox for voice input: brew install sox Install dependencies and build the local bridge: npm install npm run build Install with your plugin manager. The Node bridge must be built, so use a build hook. With lazy.nvim : { "juancgarza/cody", build = "npm install && npm run build", -- compiles the Node bridge dist/ opts = { -- enable shell = true, -- on by default once setup runs -- enable commands = true, -- on by default once setup runs -- tts enabled = true, tts voice id = "<elevenlabs-voice-id ", }, -- lazy.nvim calls require "cody" .setup opts automatically. } Then export OPENAI API KEY and ELEVENLABS API KEY for TTS in the shell you launch Neovim from, and run :CodyStart . Without a plugin manager, or during development: js set runtimepath^=/path/to/cody runtime plugin/cody.lua lua require "cody" .setup If you pass the runtimepath before Neovim starts, the plugin/ file is sourced automatically: nvim --cmd 'set runtimepath^=/path/to/cody' For nvim -u NONE , plugin loading is disabled; use the explicit runtime plugin/cody.lua form above. Optional quick-command routing: js require "cody" .setup { quick commands = "fallback", -- "fallback" | "always" | "off" -- Shell command tool lets Cody run allowlisted terminal commands via -- vim.system . ON by default once setup runs; set false to disable. enable shell = true, shell skip confirm = true, -- default true no prompt ; set false to confirm each command -- shell allowlist = nil, -- list of allowed executables; nil = built-in default set -- shell timeout ms = 15000, -- per-command timeout clamped 1000..120000 -- shell output max bytes = 8000, -- cap stdout+stderr returned to the model -- Ex-command tool lets Cody run :CodyTranscript, :split, and change settings -- via :CodySet . ON by default once setup runs; set false to disable. enable commands = true, -- commands confirm = false, -- ask before each command default off; allowlist is the guard -- commands allowlist = nil, -- list of allowed command names; nil = built-in default set show assistant messages = true, feedback panel = true, feedback auto open = true, feedback height = 16, feedback width = 96, feedback recent lines = 4, feedback conversation items = 12, context max lines = 2000, context max bytes = 240000, -- Optional spoken feedback ElevenLabs . Off unless tts enabled = true. tts enabled = false, tts provider = "elevenlabs", tts voice id = nil, -- falls back to $ELEVENLABS VOICE ID tts model id = nil, -- falls back to $ELEVENLABS MODEL ID, then eleven flash v2 5 tts speak phases = false, -- opt-in "Listening." / "Thinking." tts speak actions = true, -- "Editing range." / "Renaming." tts speak results = true, -- "Done." / "Failed: <reason ." tts speak messages = true, -- short final assistant replies tts message max chars = 160, -- skip spoken messages longer than this tts request timeout ms = nil, -- falls back to $CODY TTS REQUEST TIMEOUT MS, then 10000 } fallback is the default: typed :CodyDo commands go through GPT Realtime when OPENAI API KEY is set, and simple local regex commands are used only when the key is absent. Assistant messages are shown by default and truncated to fit the command line; set show assistant messages = false to suppress prose during voice sessions. Cody sends the active buffer with line numbers and a cursor marker when it fits the context limits above; larger buffers are cursor-centered and marked as truncated with omitted-line counts. The feedback panel is enabled by default and auto-opens on Cody activity. It shows the current phase, intent, transcript, selected tool/action, result, assistant message text, and a short recent event stream. Then start it: :CodyStart Cody can optionally speak short, high-signal confirmations using ElevenLabs https://elevenlabs.io/docs/api-reference/text-to-speech/convert . It is off unless you opt in, and it is deliberately terse: it never reads back your command, streamed transcript, or streamed assistant text. What gets spoken, by category each toggleable : tts speak phases : Listening. , Thinking. off by default tts speak actions : the selected tool, e.g. Editing range. , Renaming. read-only locator/context tools stay silent tts speak results : Done. on success, Failed: <reason . on failure tts speak messages : a short final assistant reply, only when it fits tts message max chars Speech is cancelled immediately on a new turn, :CodyVoiceStop , an interruption, or a failure, so stale audio never trails the current action. Enable it and provide a voice: js require "cody" .setup { tts enabled = true, tts voice id = "<elevenlabs-voice-id ", -- tts model id = "eleven flash v2 5", -- optional; this is the default -- tts request timeout ms = 10000, -- optional; default is 10s } export ELEVENLABS API KEY="..." Optional, can be set here instead of in setup : export ELEVENLABS VOICE ID="<elevenlabs-voice-id " export ELEVENLABS MODEL ID="eleven flash v2 5" export CODY TTS REQUEST TIMEOUT MS="10000" The API key is read from the shell environment in Node and is never passed from Lua. The voice and model fall back to ELEVENLABS VOICE ID / ELEVENLABS MODEL ID when set; otherwise Cody uses eleven flash v2 5 , the ElevenLabs low-latency model for real-time use. Cody also defaults to the smaller mp3 22050 32 output format to reduce response payload size. Override that with ELEVENLABS OUTPUT FORMAT if you prefer higher-bitrate audio. Playback uses macOS afplay on a temporary mp3 file. On other platforms, set CODY TTS PLAYER COMMAND to an audio player that accepts a file path argument for example mpg123 or ffplay . If ELEVENLABS API KEY or the voice id is missing while tts enabled is true, Cody reports it once and continues without spoken feedback. Useful live checks: npm run tts:voices npm run tts:smoke -- "Cody spoken feedback is working. Done." "<elevenlabs-voice-id " Inside Neovim, these check the same bridge process used by :CodyVoiceSession : :CodyTtsStatus :CodyTtsSmoke Cody spoken feedback is working. Done. If the shell smoke test works but :CodyTtsStatus says TTS is disabled or the API key is missing, restart Neovim from the shell that exports the variables, or run :CodyStop then :CodyStart after changing require "cody" .setup ... . An ElevenLabs 402 response means the request reached ElevenLabs but failed due to billing, quota, or plan/voice access. Cody can run terminal commands from inside Neovim via vim.system , exposed to GPT as the editor run command tool. It is on by default once setup runs set enable shell = false to disable; a bare plugin load with no setup stays off . It is gated several ways:- the bridge only advertises the tool when enable shell is on which sets CODY ENABLE SHELL=1 for the Node bridge ; - the Lua handler refuses when enable shell = false , even if the tool is somehow advertised the bridge env is captured at start, so the two layers can briefly disagree until a restart ; - every command is checked against an allowlist of executables. The per-command vim.fn.confirm prompt is off by default shell skip confirm = true ; set shell skip confirm = false to be asked before every command. Commands run without a shell argv only , so pipes, globs, redirection, and ; & | are rejected — pass an argv array like "git", "status", "--short" for anything with spaces in arguments. Output stdout+stderr is capped before being sent to the model, and execution is asynchronous, so a slow command never freezes the editor; it is killed at shell timeout ms . The allowlist binds the executable name only. Some allowed tools are general interpreters or build drivers node -e , python -c , make , npm run , cargo that can run arbitrary code, so treat the allowlist as a convenience filter, not a sandbox — the per-command confirmation is the real authorization boundary. Set shell skip confirm = true only when you trust the session. js require "cody" .setup { enable shell = true, -- shell skip confirm = true, -- skip the per-command prompt use with care -- shell allowlist = { "npm", "git", "make", "cargo" }, -- replaces the built-in default set } Then ask, for example, :CodyDo run the tests or say "git status". Changing enable shell requires restarting the bridge :CodyStop then :CodyStart . Cody can also run Ex commands the kind you type after : as the editor command tool — so voice/text like "open the transcript" or "split the window" maps to :CodyTranscript / :split . Like the shell tool it is on by default once setup runs set enable commands = false to disable , and only allowlisted command names run; : , :lua , the variant, and | chaining are rejected. js require "cody" .setup { enable commands = true, -- commands confirm = true, -- ask before each command default off; allowlist is the guard -- commands allowlist = { "CodyTranscript", "split", "MyCmd" }, -- replaces the built-in set } The default allowlist covers safe Cody/display/navigation commands plus the built-in netrw file explorer CodyTranscript , CodyFeedbackOpen , CodyCapabilities , split , vsplit , only , close , wincmd , nohlsearch , redraw , Explore , Lexplore , Sexplore , Vexplore , … . File- writing /buffer-loading commands write , update , edit , tabnew , … are intentionally excluded — with a path argument they write or load arbitrary files — so add them via commands allowlist only if you want that ideally with commands confirm = true . Then say things like "open the transcript", "open the file tree", or :CodyDo show the feedback panel . To change a setting by voice, Cody runs :CodySet <key <value also usable directly : :CodySet feedback height 30 :CodySet show assistant messages false :CodySet only changes live-applicable display keys feedback height , feedback width , feedback recent lines , feedback conversation items , context max lines , context max bytes , show assistant messages which take effect immediately. Env-derived flags enable shell , enable commands , tts and the confirm-guard toggles commands confirm , shell skip confirm are not runtime-settable — set them in setup and restart the bridge for the env-derived ones . :CodyStart :CodyStop :CodyDo go to line 48 :CodyDo go to file lua/cody/init.lua :CodyDo edit this line to handle nil paths :CodyCapabilities :CodyCapabilities json :CodyFeedback :CodyFeedbackOpen :CodyFeedbackClose :CodyFeedbackClear :CodyTranscript :CodySet feedback height 30 :CodyInstall :CodyInstall telescope.nvim :CodyInstall json :CodyStartTsLsp :CodyVoiceStart :CodyVoiceSession :CodyVoicePress :CodyVoiceRelease :CodyVoiceStop :CodyTtsStatus :CodyTtsSmoke :CodyInstall explains missing installable providers and renders lazy.nvim specs when lazy.nvim is detected. :CodyInstall <provider asks for explicit confirmation, then copies the suggested spec to a register; it does not edit plugin configuration or install anything silently. For local TypeScript/JavaScript testing without your own LSP config, Cody includes an explicit helper that starts Neovim's built-in LSP client against the repo-local typescript-language-server : :e src/realtime-session.ts :CodyStartTsLsp :CodyCapabilities CodyStartTsLsp is opt-in and only attaches to the current JS/TS buffer. Use :CodyStartTsLsp to force it for an unusual filetype. Feedback panel controls: :CodyFeedback " toggle :CodyFeedbackOpen :CodyFeedbackClose :CodyFeedbackClear :CodyTranscript " full conversation in a scrollable window q to close The feedback panel is a compact, non-focusable HUD: it shows only the most recent lines that fit feedback height and redraws on every event, so you cannot scroll it. To read or scroll a long or streamed assistant message, open :CodyTranscript — a focusable, wrapping window with the full conversation q to close, normal motions / <C-d / <C-u to scroll . To make the inline panel itself taller, raise feedback height and optionally lower feedback recent lines to give the conversation more room : js require "cody" .setup { feedback height = 30, -- default 16; capped to the editor height feedback recent lines = 2, -- default 4; fewer event lines = more message room } Suggested push-to-talk mapping: vim.keymap.set "n", "<leader vs", "<cmd CodyVoiceStart<cr " vim.keymap.set "n", "<leader vl", "<cmd CodyVoiceSession<cr " vim.keymap.set "n", "<leader vp", "<cmd CodyVoicePress<cr " vim.keymap.set "n", "<leader vr", "<cmd CodyVoiceRelease<cr " vim.keymap.set "n", "<leader ve", "<cmd CodyVoiceStop<cr " -- cancel/stop fallback vim.keymap.set "n", "<leader cd", ":CodyDo " Voice uses Realtime server-side VAD. Normal flow is :CodyVoiceStart , speak a short command, then stop speaking; Cody stops recording and submits the turn when the server reports speech has ended. For explicit turn boundaries, bind :CodyVoicePress to key down and :CodyVoiceRelease to key up where your keymap layer supports that shape. :CodyVoiceStop cancels the current recorder, model response, and queued tool results. For a persistent microphone session: :CodyVoiceSession " speak commands one at a time " say: stop listening CodyVoiceSession keeps the recorder open across VAD turns. When you say "stop listening", the model should call Cody's cody stop voice session tool and the bridge stops the recorder. General search uses whichever picker Cody detects as available. For example, if Telescope is loaded: :CodyDo find auth service :CodyDo search for auth token in the workspace The generated picker tool receives mode = "files" for file/path search and mode = "grep" for workspace text search. export OPENAI API KEY="sk-..." export OPENAI REALTIME MODEL="gpt-realtime-2" export CODY AUDIO DEVICE="" optional sox device override export CODY ENABLE SHELL="1" shell tool; normally set via enable shell in setup default on export CODY ENABLE COMMANDS="1" Ex-command tool; normally set via enable commands in setup default on Optional spoken feedback see "Spoken Feedback TTS " export ELEVENLABS API KEY="..." export ELEVENLABS VOICE ID="<elevenlabs-voice-id " export ELEVENLABS MODEL ID="eleven flash v2 5" optional export ELEVENLABS OUTPUT FORMAT="mp3 22050 32" optional export CODY TTS REQUEST TIMEOUT MS="10000" optional export CODY TTS PLAYER COMMAND="afplay" optional, non-macOS players gpt-realtime-2 is the default because the current OpenAI Realtime docs use it in the WebSocket and session examples. Local deterministic checks: npm run typecheck npm test lua test/adapter spec.lua nvim -l test/tts env spec.lua nvim -l test/shell handler spec.lua nvim -l test/command handler spec.lua npm test covers the TypeScript bridge, including the TTS feedback-to-speech mapping and cancellation. test/tts env spec.lua runs under Neovim's LuaJIT not the system lua and checks the bridge environment built from the TTS config. Live router evals use the actual Realtime model with fake editor context/capabilities and check the first selected tool: export OPENAI API KEY="sk-..." npm run eval:router If OPENAI API KEY is not set, eval:router skips without failing. Search evals use fixture files under test/fixtures/search . Cody is deliberately narrow: - It should feel like a modal editor command layer, not a chat sidebar. - Voice commands should be short and imperative. - Navigation should reuse native editor commands or the user's preferred picker. - The model should use tools, not narrate pretend actions. - Write tools are limited to the active editor buffers. Command adapter : detect native/LSP/plugin commands and expose them as Realtime tools. Provider installer : install missing command providers through lazy.nvim or another detected package manager. Realtime text loop : typed commands call the adapter through GPT Realtime. Push-to-talk voice : voice commands flow through the same adapter. Smarter edits : add Tree-sitter context and stricter write guardrails. Useful later steps: - Add a native push-to-talk key listener for press/release instead of two Vim commands. - Add a panel focus/scrollback mode and a copy/export command. Done: - Optional ElevenLabs spoken feedback driven by the feedback event stream see "Spoken Feedback TTS " . - Tree-sitter context for function/class-aware edits. - A small eval suite for command parsing and tool selection.