diff --git a/src/snek/static/chat-input.js b/src/snek/static/chat-input.js
index 61b0464..8b1b762 100644
--- a/src/snek/static/chat-input.js
+++ b/src/snek/static/chat-input.js
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ class ChatInputComponent extends NjetComponent {
     super();
     this.lastUpdateEvent = new Date();
     this.textarea = document.createElement("textarea");
+      this.textarea.classList.add("chat-input-textarea");
     this.value = this.getAttribute("value") || "";
   }
 
@@ -267,7 +268,9 @@ textToLeetAdvanced(text) {
     this.textarea.setAttribute("rows", "2");
 
     this.appendChild(this.textarea);
-
+    this.ttsButton = document.createElement("stt-button");
+    
+    this.appendChild(this.ttsButton);
     this.uploadButton = document.createElement("upload-button");
     this.uploadButton.setAttribute("channel", this.channelUid);
     this.uploadButton.addEventListener("upload", (e) => {
@@ -302,7 +305,10 @@ textToLeetAdvanced(text) {
     });
 
     
-
+    this.textarea.addEventListener("change",(e)=>{
+        this.value = this.textarea.value;
+      this.updateFromInput(e.target.value);
+    })
     this.textarea.addEventListener("keyup", (e) => {
       if (e.key === "Enter" && !e.shiftKey) {
         const message = this.replaceMentionsWithAuthors(this.value);
diff --git a/src/snek/static/stt.js b/src/snek/static/stt.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f5174a0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/snek/static/stt.js
@@ -0,0 +1,122 @@
+class STTButton extends HTMLElement {
+  /** monitor target attribute so it can change on-the-fly */
+  static get observedAttributes() { return ['target']; }
+
+  constructor() {
+    super();
+    this.attachShadow({mode: 'open'});
+
+    /* —— UI —— */
+    const btn   = document.createElement('button');
+    btn.setAttribute('part', 'button');
+    btn.setAttribute('aria-label', 'Start voice dictation');
+    btn.innerHTML = '🎤';               // tiny icon – swap with SVG if you prefer
+
+    const style = document.createElement('style');
+    style.textContent = `
+      :host          { display:inline-block; }
+      button         { all:unset; cursor:pointer;/* font-size:1.6rem;
+                       padding:.6rem; border-radius:50%; background:#f2f2f2;
+                       transition:background .25s, transform .25s, box-shadow .25s;*/ }
+      button:hover   { background:#e8e8e8; }
+      :host([listening]) button {
+                       background:#d32f2f; color:#fff;
+                       animation:pulse 1.2s ease-in-out infinite; }
+      @keyframes pulse {
+        0%,100% { transform:scale(1);   box-shadow:0 0 0 0 rgba(211,47,47,.6);}
+        50%     { transform:scale(1.12);box-shadow:0 0 0 12px rgba(211,47,47,0);}
+      }
+    `;
+    this.shadowRoot.append(style, btn);
+
+    /* —— speech recognition setup —— */
+    const SR = window.SpeechRecognition || window.webkitSpeechRecognition;
+    if (!SR) { console.warn('Web Speech API not supported in this browser.'); return; }
+
+    this.recog               = new SR();
+    this.recog.lang           = 'en-US';   // always English
+    this.recog.continuous     = true;
+    this.recog.interimResults = true;
+
+    /* handle results */
+let interim = '';                 // grey, volatile
+let committed = '';               // sentences we've decided are final
+
+this.recog.onresult = (e) => {
+  interim = '';                   // reset interim on every event
+
+  for (let i = e.resultIndex; i < e.results.length; i++) {
+    const res = e.results[i];
+    const txt = res[0].transcript.trim();
+
+    if (res.isFinal) {
+      // 1) Capitalise first letter
+      const sentence =
+        txt.charAt(0).toUpperCase() + txt.slice(1);
+
+      // 2) Ensure closing punctuation
+      const punctuated =
+        /[.!?]$/.test(sentence) ? sentence : sentence + '.';
+
+      committed += punctuated + ' ';   // add to permanent text
+    } else {
+      interim += txt + ' ';            // live but volatile
+    }
+  }
+
+  /* --- paint to DOM --- */
+  if (this.targetEl) {
+    this.targetEl.setAttribute("value",committed + interim)
+/*this.targetElement.dispatchEvent(new ChangeEvent('change', {
+  bubbles: true,
+  cancelable: true
+}));*/
+    
+  }
+};
+
+    /*  const transcript = Array.from(e.results)
+                              .map(res => res[0].transcript)
+                              .join('');
+      if (this.targetEl) this.targetEl.value = transcript;
+        console.info(transcript)*/
+
+
+    /* update state when recognition stops unexpectedly */
+    this.recog.onend = () => { this.listening = false; };
+
+    /* click toggles listening state */
+    btn.addEventListener('click', () => this.toggle());
+  }
+
+  /* react to attribute changes or late target wiring */
+  attributeChangedCallback(name, _, newVal) {
+    //if (name === 'target') this.targetEl = document.querySelector(newVal);
+  }
+
+  get targetEl() { return document.activeElement || null; }
+  
+
+  connectedCallback() {            // initial target lookup
+   // if (this.getAttribute('target'))
+  //    this.targetEl = document.activeElement || null;
+      
+          //document.querySelector(this.getAttribute('target'));
+  }
+
+  /* property reflects listening status via [listening] attribute */
+  get listening() { return this.hasAttribute('listening'); }
+  set listening(val) {
+    if (val) this.setAttribute('listening','');
+    else     this.removeAttribute('listening');
+  }
+
+  toggle() {
+    if (!this.recog) return;
+    if (this.listening) { this.recog.stop();  this.listening = false; }
+    else               { this.recog.start(); this.listening = true;  }
+  }
+}
+
+customElements.define('stt-button', STTButton);
+
diff --git a/src/snek/templates/app.html b/src/snek/templates/app.html
index f5b0481..050712f 100644
--- a/src/snek/templates/app.html
+++ b/src/snek/templates/app.html
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
   <link rel="stylesheet" href="/file-upload-grid.css">
   
   <script src="/njet.js" type="module"></script>
+  <script src="/stt.js" type="module"></script>
   <script src="/file-upload-grid.js" type="module"></script>
   <script src="/polyfills/Promise.withResolvers.js" type="module"></script>