On iPhone, Monologue sometimes needs to open the main Monologue app before the keyboard can record.
This is normal. iOS does not let a third-party keyboard start and keep a microphone session entirely by itself.
What to do
Open the app where you want to type.
Switch to the Monologue keyboard.
Tap Start Monologue.
If the Monologue app opens, wait for the microphone session to start.
Swipe back to the app where you were typing.
Continue recording from the Monologue keyboard.
Tap Stop when you are done.
Monologue should transcribe your recording and insert the text back into the field where you were typing.
Why it does not happen every time
After the microphone session starts, it stays active for a while. During that time, you can usually start another recording directly from the Monologue keyboard without switching to the main app again.
When that microphone session times out, the next recording may need to open the Monologue app again.
Change the microphone session timeout
If you want to keep recording from the keyboard without switching apps as often, you can increase the microphone session timeout in Monologue's settings.
If you are done recording and want the microphone session to end sooner, you can also turn it off manually.
If something gets stuck
If the Monologue keyboard looks stuck, tap Cancel and start again.
If you keep getting stuck, contact support and send a short screen recording that starts right before you tap Start Monologue and continues through the part that fails.