Fact · Dictation in your apps
In Claude Code, pressing Esc or Ctrl+C cancels a dictation, discards the transcript and restores the prompt to what it held before recording.
Checked against its source on October 17, 2026
In the source's own words
“Press Esc or Ctrl+C to cancel a dictation instead of finalizing it.”
Voice dictation (Claude Code documentation), Anthropic, Anthropic, 2026, Cancel a recording.
Open the original- What it measures
- Both keys also cancel while a finished recording's transcript is still processing.
- What it does not show
- Esc does not interrupt Claude's response during a recording, and Ctrl+C does not clear the prompt.