Vocalinux # Vocalinux **Voice-to-text for Linux, finally done right!** [![Privacy: 100% offline](https://img.shields.io/badge/privacy-100%25%20offline-success)](https://github.com/VocaHQ/vocalinux#features) [![X11 & Wayland](https://img.shields.io/badge/display-X11%20%7C%20Wayland-lightgrey)](https://github.com/VocaHQ/vocalinux#features) [![PRs Welcome](https://img.shields.io/badge/PRs-welcome-brightgreen.svg)](CONTRIBUTING.md) [![License: AGPL-3.0](https://img.shields.io/badge/License-AGPL--3.0-blue.svg)](https://www.gnu.org/licenses/agpl-3.0) [![Python 3.11+](https://img.shields.io/badge/python-3.11+-blue.svg)](https://www.python.org/downloads/) [![Discord](https://img.shields.io/discord/1538633755877580810?logo=discord&logoColor=white&label=Discord)](https://discord.gg/t6muquAJbm) [![VocaHQ](https://img.shields.io/badge/VocaHQ-vocahq.com-1a7f4e)](https://vocahq.com) [![GitHub release](https://img.shields.io/github/v/release/VocaHQ/vocalinux)](https://github.com/VocaHQ/vocalinux/releases) [![PyPI](https://img.shields.io/pypi/v/vocalinux)](https://pypi.org/project/vocalinux/) [![AUR](https://img.shields.io/aur/version/vocalinux)](https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/vocalinux) [![Vocalinux CI](https://github.com/VocaHQ/vocalinux/actions/workflows/unified-pipeline.yml/badge.svg?branch=main)](https://github.com/VocaHQ/vocalinux/actions/workflows/unified-pipeline.yml?query=branch%3Amain) [![codecov](https://codecov.io/gh/VocaHQ/vocalinux/branch/main/graph/badge.svg)](https://codecov.io/gh/VocaHQ/vocalinux) [![Follow on X](https://img.shields.io/badge/Follow%20%40vocahq-000000?style=flat&logo=x&logoColor=white)](https://x.com/vocahq) [![Ubuntu](https://img.shields.io/badge/Ubuntu-24.04+-E95420?logo=ubuntu&logoColor=white)](docs/DISTRO_COMPATIBILITY.md) [![Debian](https://img.shields.io/badge/Debian-12+-A81D33?logo=debian&logoColor=white)](docs/DISTRO_COMPATIBILITY.md) [![Fedora](https://img.shields.io/badge/Fedora-39+-51A2DA?logo=fedora&logoColor=white)](docs/DISTRO_COMPATIBILITY.md) [![Arch](https://img.shields.io/badge/Arch-rolling-1793D1?logo=archlinux&logoColor=white)](docs/DISTRO_COMPATIBILITY.md) [![openSUSE](https://img.shields.io/badge/openSUSE-Tumbleweed-73BA25?logo=opensuse&logoColor=white)](docs/DISTRO_COMPATIBILITY.md)
Linux has always punched above its weight, except when it comes to voice typing. Vocalinux fixes that. It's a free, AGPL-3.0-licensed desktop app that lets you dictate text into *any* application, on X11 or Wayland, using fully offline speech recognition. Pick from three engines (whisper.cpp, OpenAI Whisper, or VOSK), get automatic GPU acceleration via Vulkan, and control it all with customizable keyboard shortcuts: toggle or push-to-talk. No internet required. No data leaves your machine. Just speak and type. ## 📚 What's New in v0.16.0 > **0.16.0** adds an in-app update checker with tray notifications, defaults new installs to hold Right Alt push-to-talk, makes the language list searchable, lets you delete unused downloaded models, and adds a family dictation tone picker. The project license is AGPL-3.0. The installer is hardened (Justfile, uv lockfiles, distro python3-gi). The app icon, tray states, and site favicons use the shared Voca family mic. ### Highlights | Feature | Description | |---------|-------------| | **Update checker** | Settings → About checks stable/nightly channels; tray shows Update Available when GitHub has a newer release (#631, #645) | | **Right Alt PTT default** | New installs default to hold Right Alt (push-to-talk); existing configs keep their shortcut (#648) | | **Searchable languages** | Type to filter the Speech Model language list (#672) | | **Delete unused models** | Remove leftover downloaded speech models from Settings (#671) | | **AGPL-3.0** | License aligned with other VocaHQ projects (#660) | | **Family mic icons** | App icon, tray states, and site favicons use the shared Voca family mic (#704) | | **Tone picker** | Settings → Audio: Lift, Flick, Ember, Step, Voca, Soft, Chirp, Scale, Drop, Glass, Off, plus Preview. New installs default to Voca. Catalog uses family preview WAVs (#707, #708) | | **Installer** | Justfile, uv lockfiles, distro python3-gi required (no pip sdist of PyGObject). Epic #701 still open (#700, #705, #706) | ### Also in this release - IBus: safer scoped injection, engine restore after teardown, XKB layout restore on X11 (#623, #643, #665) - Audio: filter unsafe virtual capture devices; open stereo mics at native channel count; catalog tones are the family preview WAVs, not the synthesized #707 files (#629, #673, #708) - Clipboard: restore after ydotool paste; text-only reads and safer overlapping restore (#588, #646) - GPU / AppImage: honor bundled GPU libs and skip software Vulkan; ship transitive GI typelibs (AppImage fix already hotfixed onto the v0.15.0 AppImages) (#674, #637) - Settings / tray: separate Close from Test Dictation; reuse Settings/Logs windows; prefer Ayatana AppIndicator on KDE; optional missing-tray warning toggle (#670, #669, #621, #628) - Test Dictation: no longer reports no speech when recognition never started (#702) - Settings: About page groups this app, the VocaHQ family, and talk-to-us links (#718) - Installer / downloads / tests: gate `util-linux-extra` to Ubuntu 24.04+; report failed model downloads; stop tests from overwriting real `config.json` (#635, #690, #694) - Website: vocalinux.com restyled to the Voca family workbench; Discord and X links point at VocaHQ (#728, #729, #722, #717) See [docs/UPDATE.md](docs/UPDATE.md) and the [full changelog](https://github.com/VocaHQ/vocalinux/releases/tag/v0.16.0). --- ## Features - 🎤 **Toggle or Push-to-Talk** activation modes - ⚡ **Real-time transcription** with minimal latency - 🌎 **Universal compatibility** across all Linux applications - 🔒 **100% Offline operation** for privacy and reliability - 🤖 **whisper.cpp by default** - High-performance C++ speech recognition - 🎮 **Universal GPU support** - Vulkan acceleration for AMD, Intel, and NVIDIA - 🎨 **System tray integration** with visual status indicators - 🚀 **Start on login support** via XDG autostart (desktop-session startup) - 🔊 **Pleasant audio feedback** - smooth gliding tones, headphone-friendly - ⚙️ **Graphical settings** dialog for easy configuration - 📦 **3 engine choices** - whisper.cpp (default), OpenAI Whisper, or VOSK ## 📸 Screenshots Vocalinux in action. Settings gallery shots may lag the newest UI. Full gallery on the [website screenshots page](https://vocalinux.com/screenshots/). ### Product
Transcription in Action
Real-time voice-to-text transcription 		System Tray
System tray with listening indicator
About View
About & Updates in Settings 		Log Viewer
Log viewer for debugging
### Settings
Speech Engine settings
Speech Engine 		Recognition settings
Recognition 		Audio settings
Audio
Performance settings
Performance 		General settings
General 		Advanced tuning and settings
Advanced
## 🚀 Quick Install ### Interactive Install (Recommended) Our new interactive installer guides you through setup with intelligent hardware detection: ```bash curl -fsSL raw.githubusercontent.com/VocaHQ/vocalinux/main/install.sh -o /tmp/vl.sh && bash /tmp/vl.sh ``` **Choose your engine:** 1. **whisper.cpp** ⭐ (Recommended) - Fast, works with any GPU via Vulkan 2. **Whisper** (OpenAI) - PyTorch-based, NVIDIA GPU only 3. **VOSK** - Lightweight, works on older systems The installer will: - **Auto-detect your hardware** (GPU, RAM, Vulkan support) - **Recommend the best engine** for your system - **Download the appropriate model** (~74MB for the default whisper.cpp tiny model) - **Install neural VAD support** when ONNX Runtime is available - **Install in ~1-2 minutes** (vs 5-10 min with old Whisper) > **Note**: Always installs the latest release. For a specific version, check [GitHub Releases](https://github.com/VocaHQ/vocalinux/releases). ### Installation Options **Default (whisper.cpp - recommended):** ```bash curl -fsSL raw.githubusercontent.com/VocaHQ/vocalinux/main/install.sh -o /tmp/vl.sh && bash /tmp/vl.sh ``` Fastest installation (~1-2 min), universal GPU support via Vulkan. **Whisper (OpenAI) - if you prefer PyTorch:** ```bash curl -fsSL raw.githubusercontent.com/VocaHQ/vocalinux/main/install.sh -o /tmp/vl.sh && bash /tmp/vl.sh --engine=whisper ``` NVIDIA GPU only (~5-10 min, downloads PyTorch + CUDA). **VOSK only - for low-RAM systems:** ```bash curl -fsSL raw.githubusercontent.com/VocaHQ/vocalinux/main/install.sh -o /tmp/vl.sh && bash /tmp/vl.sh --engine=vosk ``` Lightweight option (~40MB), works on systems with 4GB RAM. ### Arch Linux (AUR) ```bash yay -S vocalinux ``` See [docs/AUR.md](docs/AUR.md). ### Flatpak (any distro) For a sandboxed, distro-independent install (great for NixOS, Fedora Silverblue, Steam Deck, and anywhere else), build the Flatpak from the bundled manifest: ```bash flatpak install flathub org.gnome.Platform//50 org.gnome.Sdk//50 flatpak-builder --user --install --force-clean build-dir \ packaging/flatpak/com.vocalinux.Vocalinux.yml flatpak run com.vocalinux.Vocalinux ``` The Flatpak ships the whisper.cpp engine with Vulkan GPU support and runs through XWayland on Wayland sessions. See [`packaging/flatpak/README.md`](packaging/flatpak/README.md) for build details, permissions, and Flathub submission notes. Flathub publishing is in progress. ### Alternative: Install from Source ```bash # Clone the repository git clone https://github.com/VocaHQ/vocalinux.git cd vocalinux # Run the interactive installer (engine picker + GPU detection) ./install.sh # Or pick the engine up front ./install.sh --engine=whisper_cpp # whisper.cpp (default, GPU-accelerated) ./install.sh --engine=vosk # lightweight VOSK ``` The installer handles everything: system dependencies, Python environment, speech models, and desktop integration. ### 🌙 Nightly Releases (Bleeding Edge) For developers and early adopters who want to test the latest features, check out our [GitHub Releases page](https://github.com/VocaHQ/vocalinux/releases) which includes both beta and nightly builds. > **⚠️ Warning**: Nightly releases contain the absolute latest code and may be unstable. For production use, we recommend using the latest beta release. Nightly builds are automatically generated from the `main` branch every day. They include all merged changes but haven't undergone the same testing as beta releases. **Release Channels:** - **Beta** (Recommended) - Tested pre-releases with known features - **Nightly** - Untested bleeding edge with latest commits ### After Installation ```bash # If ~/.local/bin is in your PATH (recommended): vocalinux # Or activate the virtual environment first: source ~/.local/bin/activate-vocalinux.sh vocalinux # Or run directly: ~/.local/share/vocalinux/venv/bin/vocalinux ``` Or launch it from your application menu! ## 📋 Requirements - **OS**: Linux (tested on Ubuntu 24.04+, Debian 12+, Fedora 39+, Arch Linux, openSUSE Tumbleweed) - **Python**: 3.11 or newer - **Display**: X11 or Wayland - **Hardware**: Microphone for voice input **Note:** See [Distribution Compatibility](docs/DISTRO_COMPATIBILITY.md) for distribution-specific information and experimental support for Gentoo, Alpine, Void, Solus, and more. ## 🎙️ Usage ### Voice Dictation 1. **Push-to-talk (default)**: Hold Right Alt (Option on Mac-layout keyboards) and speak 2. Speak clearly into your microphone 3. **Release** the key to stop, or switch to **Toggle mode** in Settings (double-tap a key to start/stop) ### Voice Commands | Command | Action | |---------|--------| | "new line" | Inserts a line break | | "period" / "full stop" | Types a period (.) | | "comma" | Types a comma (,) | | "question mark" | Types a question mark (?) | | "exclamation mark" | Types an exclamation mark (!) | | "delete that" | Deletes the last sentence | | "capitalize" | Capitalizes the next word | ### Command Line Options ```bash vocalinux --help # Show all options vocalinux --debug # Enable debug logging vocalinux --engine whisper_cpp # Use whisper.cpp engine (default) vocalinux --engine whisper # Use OpenAI Whisper engine vocalinux --engine vosk # Use VOSK engine vocalinux --model medium # Use medium-sized model vocalinux --model medium.en-q5_0 # Use exact whisper.cpp model variant vocalinux --model large-v3-turbo # Use large-v3 Turbo with whisper.cpp vocalinux --wayland # Force Wayland mode vocalinux --start-minimized # Start without first-run modal prompts ``` ### Autostart on Login Vocalinux uses the Linux desktop standard for autostart: - **Mechanism**: XDG autostart desktop entry (`vocalinux.desktop`) - **Path**: `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/autostart/` or `~/.config/autostart/` (fallback) - **Launch mode**: Starts as a regular **user desktop app** in your graphical session - **Not used**: No `systemd` unit/service is created by Vocalinux for autostart How to enable/disable: - First-run welcome dialog - Tray menu: **Start on Login** - Settings dialog: **Start on Login** Compatibility notes: - Works on mainstream desktop environments (GNOME, KDE, Xfce, Cinnamon, MATE, LXQt) - On minimal/custom window-manager sessions, an autostart handler may be required (for example DE-specific startup hooks or tools like `dex`) ## ⚙️ Configuration Configuration is stored in `~/.config/vocalinux/config.json`: ```json { "speech_recognition": { "engine": "whisper_cpp", "model_size": "tiny", "vad_sensitivity": 3, "silence_timeout": 2.0 } } ``` For whisper.cpp, `model_size` may be a size such as `tiny` or an exact ggml model ID such as `medium.en-q5_0` or `large-v3-turbo`. You can also configure this through the graphical Settings dialog, where whisper.cpp models are split into **Model Size** and **Specialization** controls. Unused leftover downloads can be deleted from **Unused downloads** on the Speech Model page (expand the section, then delete one model at a time). ### Neural Voice Activity Detection Vocalinux ships with a Silero VAD model and uses it automatically when `onnxruntime` is available. The official installer attempts to install this support automatically. Without it, recording falls back to the simpler amplitude-threshold VAD. For manual or PyPI installs, enable neural VAD with: ```bash pip install "vocalinux[vad]" ``` Restart Vocalinux after install. The Recognition tab in Settings shows which backend is active. The same `vad_sensitivity` (1-5) works for both -- it's mapped to a Silero probability threshold internally (1 = 0.8, 5 = 0.3). ## 🔧 Development Setup ```bash # Clone and install in dev mode git clone https://github.com/VocaHQ/vocalinux.git cd vocalinux ./install.sh --dev # Activate environment source venv/bin/activate # Run tests pytest # Run from source with debug python -m vocalinux.main --debug ``` ## 📁 Project Structure ``` vocalinux/ ├── src/vocalinux/ # Main application code │ ├── speech_recognition/ # Speech recognition engines (VOSK, Whisper, whisper.cpp) │ │ └── recognition_manager.py # Unified engine interface │ ├── text_injection/ # Text injection (X11/Wayland) │ ├── ui/ # GTK UI components │ └── utils/ # Utility functions │ ├── whispercpp_model_info.py # whisper.cpp model metadata & hardware detection │ └── vosk_model_info.py # VOSK model metadata ├── tests/ # Test suite ├── scripts/ # Development utilities │ └── generate_sounds.py # Sound generation script ├── resources/ # Icons and sounds ├── docs/ # Documentation └── web/ # Website source ``` ## 📖 Documentation - [Installation Guide](docs/INSTALL.md) - Detailed installation instructions - [Update Guide](docs/UPDATE.md) - How to update Vocalinux - [User Guide](docs/USER_GUIDE.md) - Complete user documentation - [Distribution Compatibility](docs/DISTRO_COMPATIBILITY.md) - Distro/session behavior and caveats - [Contributing](CONTRIBUTING.md) - Development setup and contribution guidelines ## Repository mirrors GitHub is the **primary** forge for issues, pull requests, CI, and releases. | Role | URL | |------|-----| | Primary | https://github.com/VocaHQ/vocalinux | | Read-only mirror (Codeberg) | https://codeberg.org/jatinkrmalik/vocalinux | The Codeberg copy is a read-only source backup. Open issues and PRs on GitHub only. ## 🔊 Sound Customization Vocalinux uses smooth, pleasant gliding tones for audio feedback: - **Start**: Ascending F4→A4 (0.6s) - positive, uplifting - **Stop**: Descending A4→F4 (0.6s) - resolves completion - **Error**: Lower descending E4→C4 (0.7s) - gentle but noticeable All sounds use pure sine waves with smoothstep interpolation for buttery smooth pitch transitions - perfect for headphone use! ### Regenerate Sounds To modify or regenerate the notification sounds: ```bash python scripts/generate_sounds.py ``` This script generates all three sounds using the same smooth glide algorithm. You can edit the frequencies, durations, and amplitudes in the script to customize the sounds to your preference. ## 🗺️ Roadmap - [x] ~~Custom icon design~~ ✅ - [x] ~~Graphical settings dialog~~ ✅ - [x] ~~Whisper AI support~~ ✅ - [x] ~~Multi-language support (FR, DE, RU)~~ ✅ - [x] ~~whisper.cpp integration (default engine)~~ ✅ - [x] ~~Vulkan GPU support~~ ✅ - [x] In-app update mechanism ✅ - [x] ~~Wayland support via IBus~~ ✅ - [x] ~~Flatpak packaging~~ ✅ (Flathub submission in progress) - [ ] Application-specific commands - [ ] Debian/Ubuntu package (.deb) - [ ] Voice command customization ## 🌐 The Voca Ecosystem Vocalinux is part of [VocaHQ](https://vocahq.com). Same privacy-first, offline voice dictation idea, one app per operating system. | Platform | Project | Website | GitHub | Status | |----------|---------|---------|--------|--------| | 🐧 Linux | **VocaLinux** | [vocalinux.com](https://vocalinux.com) | [VocaHQ/vocalinux](https://github.com/VocaHQ/vocalinux) | ✅ Stable v0.16.0 | | 🍎 macOS | **VocaMac** | [vocamac.com](https://vocamac.com) | [VocaHQ/vocamac](https://github.com/VocaHQ/vocamac) | 🚀 Beta | | 🪟 Windows | **VocaWin** | [vocawin.com](https://vocawin.com) | [VocaHQ/vocawin](https://github.com/VocaHQ/vocawin) | 📋 Planned | > Each platform uses native technologies for the best possible integration, while sharing the same privacy-first philosophy and offline-only architecture. ## 🤝 Contributing We welcome contributions! Whether it's bug reports, feature requests, or code contributions, please check out our [Contributing Guide](CONTRIBUTING.md). ### Contributors Thanks to everyone who has contributed to Vocalinux! 🙌 ### Quick Links - 🐛 [Report a Bug](https://github.com/VocaHQ/vocalinux/issues/new?template=bug_report.md) - 💡 [Request a Feature](https://github.com/VocaHQ/vocalinux/issues/new?template=feature_request.md) - 💬 [Discussions](https://github.com/VocaHQ/vocalinux/discussions) ## ⭐ Support If you find Vocalinux useful, please consider: - ⭐ Starring this repository - 🐛 Reporting bugs you encounter - 📖 Improving documentation - 🔀 Contributing code ## 📜 License This project is licensed under the **GNU Affero General Public License v3.0** ([AGPL-3.0](LICENSE)), aligning with the other [VocaHQ](https://github.com/VocaHQ) distribution projects ([VocaMac](https://github.com/VocaHQ/vocamac), [VocaPhone](https://github.com/VocaHQ/vocaphone), [VocaGateway](https://github.com/VocaHQ/vocagateway)). You may use, study, modify, and redistribute the software under AGPL-3.0. If you run a modified version as a network service, AGPL also requires that you make the corresponding source available. ## Star Chart [![Star History Chart](https://api.star-history.com/chart?repos=VocaHQ/vocalinux&type=date&legend=top-left&sealed_token=ZWyQQLhSORoR4mKf6UXMGFSCBXRxM_yEZgc8MFCH_ysBjaFUm_OCH-bI3TD7OivczEzm-ADRIpF9xCWFOMHvBPW95eQBxzfRMpNksChz7rN_eiqL7AIMDw)](https://www.star-history.com/?type=date&repos=VocaHQ%2Fvocalinux) ---

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