* feat: Make Whisper tiny the default engine and download during install
- Changed default engine from 'vosk' to 'whisper' in config_manager.py
- Changed default model_size from 'small' to 'tiny' in config_manager.py
- Added install_whisper_model() function to install.sh that downloads
the Whisper tiny model (~75MB) during installation
- Whisper model is downloaded when Whisper package is installed
(in non-interactive mode or with --with-whisper flag)
- Updated installation summary to show Whisper model status
- Updated documentation (README.md, INSTALL.md, SECURITY.md, USER_GUIDE.md)
to reflect Whisper tiny as the default engine
This provides a better out-of-box experience: users can install and
immediately use Vocalinux without any additional downloads or prompts.
* test: Update test to reflect whisper as default engine
* fix: install/uninstall scripts for curl | bash usage
Install script improvements:
- Detect non-interactive mode (curl | bash) automatically
- Skip interactive prompts in non-interactive mode
- Add --no-whisper and -y/--yes flags for explicit control
- Continue with defaults when stdin is not a tty
Uninstall script improvements:
- Clean up curl-installed files:
- ~/.local/share/vocalinux-install (cloned repo)
- ~/.local/share/vocalinux/venv (virtual environment)
- ~/.local/bin/vocalinux (symlink)
- ~/.local/bin/activate-vocalinux.sh
- Add -y/--yes flag for non-interactive mode
- Verify all curl-installed components are removed
README updates:
- Document curl installation with --with-whisper option
- Add uninstall instructions for both methods
- Clarify what gets installed where
* feat: install Whisper by default in non-interactive mode
- curl | bash now installs both VOSK and Whisper out of the box
- Users can freely switch between engines in settings
- Add --no-whisper flag for faster install (VOSK only)
- Update README to reflect new default behavior
* chore: remove install-whisper.sh (now part of install.sh)
Whisper is installed by default via install.sh, making this
separate script redundant.
* chore: remove activate-vocalinux.sh (generated by install.sh)
This file is dynamically created by install.sh based on the
venv location, so the static template is not needed.
* feat: Implement comprehensive Whisper speech recognition support
🎯 Complete Whisper Implementation:
- Proper model size validation and mapping (small->base, medium->small, large->medium)
- GPU/CPU device detection and automatic model placement
- Efficient in-memory audio processing (no temporary files)
- Custom model cache directory for organized storage
- Enhanced error handling with detailed logging
- Optimized transcription parameters for better accuracy
🔧 Technical Improvements:
- Replace temporary file approach with direct tensor processing
- Add torch.no_grad() context for efficient inference
- Implement proper audio normalization and padding
- Add comprehensive error handling and recovery
- Support for both CPU and CUDA acceleration
📦 Installation Integration:
- Add --with-whisper flag to installation script
- Update setup.py with correct openai-whisper dependencies
- Include torch and torchaudio in whisper extras
- Automatic and manual installation options
🧪 Testing & Validation:
- Add comprehensive test suite for Whisper functionality
- Test model size mapping, initialization, and transcription
- Mock-based testing for environments without Whisper installed
- Integration with existing test infrastructure
💡 Performance Optimizations:
- Efficient audio buffer processing without file I/O
- GPU acceleration when available
- Optimized Whisper parameters for real-time usage
- Memory-efficient model loading and caching
🔄 Backward Compatibility:
- Maintains full compatibility with existing VOSK implementation
- Graceful fallback when Whisper dependencies are missing
- No breaking changes to existing API
This implementation provides a production-ready Whisper integration
that significantly improves transcription accuracy while maintaining
the performance characteristics needed for real-time voice dictation.
* feat: Add comprehensive Whisper installation support and error handling
🎯 Enhanced User Experience:
- Add intelligent Whisper import error detection in settings dialog
- Show helpful installation instructions when Whisper is missing
- Automatically revert to VOSK when Whisper selection fails
- Provide multiple installation methods and troubleshooting tips
📋 New Installation Helper:
- Create install-whisper.sh script for dedicated Whisper installation
- Support multiple installation methods (standard, trusted hosts, break-system-packages)
- Comprehensive error handling and fallback options
- Clear instructions for SSL issues and alternative approaches
🔧 Improved Error Handling:
- Detect Whisper import errors specifically in settings dialog
- Show user-friendly dialog with installation instructions
- Graceful fallback to VOSK when Whisper unavailable
- Detailed logging for troubleshooting
💡 User Guidance:
- Step-by-step installation instructions in error dialog
- Multiple installation options for different environments
- Clear explanation of disk space and time requirements
- Troubleshooting tips for common SSL issues
🛠️ Technical Features:
- Automatic virtual environment detection
- Installation verification and model listing
- SSL issue detection and workarounds
- Comprehensive error reporting and recovery
This addresses the immediate issue where users get cryptic errors
when trying to use Whisper without proper installation, providing
clear guidance and multiple solutions for different scenarios.
* feat: Enhance Whisper support and improve Settings UI
## Whisper Implementation Fixes
- Fix Whisper transcription by removing unnecessary audio padding
- Fix API usage: pass numpy array directly instead of torch tensor
- Remove confusing model size remapping (users select exact model names)
- Add fp16=False for CPU to prevent warnings
- Fix missing 'import torch' in install-whisper.sh verification
## Audio System Improvements
- Add ALSA error handler to suppress noisy warnings
- Process remaining audio buffer when stopping recognition (fixes test button)
## Settings Dialog UI Enhancements
- Add model metadata display (download status, size, recommendations)
- Show ✓ for downloaded models, ↓ for pending downloads, ★ for recommended
- Add system-based model recommendations (based on RAM/GPU)
- Implement auto-apply settings on change (remove Apply button)
- Fix VOSK settings visibility when Whisper is selected
- Add VOSK model info panel with same features as Whisper
- Fix test recognition to show results in dialog instead of injecting text
- Fix race condition in test result display
## Startup Improvements
- Load saved config on startup (engine/model now persists correctly)
- Settings are remembered between app restarts
## Code Quality
- Add get_text_callbacks/set_text_callbacks methods for test isolation
- Update tests with proper mocking
* feat: Package VOSK model with installation for faster first-run experience
🚀 Installation Improvements:
- Add VOSK small model download during installation process
- Eliminate first-run model download delay for better user experience
- Add --skip-models option for offline installations
- Include wget, curl, unzip in system dependencies for model download
🔍 Model Management Enhancements:
- Add multi-location model search (user, system-wide, pre-installed)
- Prioritize pre-installed models over downloads
- Add informative logging for model source detection
- Create marker files to identify installer-provided models
📦 Installation Script Features:
- Robust model download with progress indicators
- Internet connectivity checking before download attempts
- Graceful fallback when download fails (runtime download)
- Comprehensive error handling and cleanup
- Installation summary includes model status
🔧 Recognition Manager Updates:
- Check multiple model locations in priority order:
1. User's local models directory
2. System-wide installation directories
3. Download to user directory if not found
- Enhanced logging for model source identification
- Backward compatibility with existing installations
💡 Benefits:
- Faster application startup (no initial model download)
- Better offline installation support
- Reduced first-run friction for users
- Maintains fallback to runtime download if needed
- Clear feedback about model installation status
This addresses the issue where users had to wait for model downloads
on first application launch, making VocaLinux ready to use immediately
after installation.
* fix: Move install_vosk_models function definition before its call
The function was being called before it was defined, causing a
'command not found' error during installation. Fixed by moving
the function definition to before the installation steps where
it's called.
This resolves the installation error:
./install.sh: line 701: install_vosk_models: command not found
* Implement custom icon for Vocalinux (Closes#10)
* Fix system tray icon display issue
* Temp commit before purging
* refactor: restructure project into proper vocalinux package
* test: fix and improve audio_feedback and tray_indicator tests with proper mocking and isolation
* test: update import paths in test files to use the new package structure
* Remove icon background
* fix: implement robust resource path discovery in audio_feedback module
* fix: improve resource discovery across application for consistent icon and sound loading
* chore: ensure uninstall script is compatible with new resource paths
* Fix black formatting