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Jatin K MalikandGitHub 3bd9f8e1db Update README.md
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# <img src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/56dabe5c-5c65-44d5-a36a-429c9fea0719" width="30" height="30"> Vocalinux
#### Voice-to-text for Linux, finally done right!
<!-- Project Status -->
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![Vocalinux Users](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/e3d8dd16-3d4f-408c-b899-93d85e98b107)
**A seamless free open-source private voice dictation system for Linux**, comparable to built-in solutions on macOS and Windows.
## 📚 What's New in v0.5.0-beta
We're excited to announce our first **Beta release**! Vocalinux has evolved significantly since the last alpha, with numerous bug fixes and feature improvements.
### 🐛 Critical Bug Fixes
- Fixed text escaping issues (apostrophes and quotes no longer have backslash escapes)
- Fixed stop sound being transcribed as "thank you"
- Fixed missing spaces after punctuation when transcribing again
### ✨ Key New Features
- **Customizable keyboard shortcuts** - Configure your own activation shortcuts via GUI
- **Modern GNOME HIG settings dialog** - Complete UI overhaul following GNOME design guidelines
- **Pleasant audio feedback** - Gliding tones replace harsh beeps
- **Interactive installer with GPU detection** - Smart hardware auto-detection
- **Better Wayland support** - Native keyboard shortcuts without XWayland
### 🔧 Quality Improvements
- **80%+ test coverage** - Comprehensive test suite across all modules
- **Microphone reconnection** - Automatic recovery when microphone disconnects
- **Audio buffer management** - Prevents memory issues during long recordings
---
> 🎉 **Beta Release!**
>
> We're excited to share Vocalinux Beta with the community!
> See "What's New" above for details on this release.
---
## ✨ Features
- 🎤 **Double-tap Ctrl** to start/stop voice dictation
- ⚡ **Real-time transcription** with minimal latency
- 🌎 **Universal compatibility** across all Linux applications
- 🔒 **Offline operation** for privacy and reliability (with VOSK)
- 🤖 **Optional Whisper AI** support for enhanced accuracy
- 🎨 **System tray integration** with visual status indicators
- 🔊 **Pleasant audio feedback** - smooth gliding tones, headphone-friendly
- ⚙️ **Graphical settings** dialog for easy configuration
## 📸 Screenshots
Here are some screenshots showcasing Vocalinux in action:
<table>
<tr>
<td align="center">
<img src="resources/screenshots/00-transcription.png" alt="Transcription in Action" width="350"><br>
<em>Real-time voice-to-text transcription</em>
</td>
<td align="center">
<img src="resources/screenshots/02-system-tray.png" alt="System Tray" width="350"><br>
<em>System tray with listening indicator</em>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center">
<img src="resources/screenshots/05-about-view.png" alt="About View" width="350"><br>
<em>About view with version info</em>
</td>
<td align="center">
<img src="resources/screenshots/03-log-viewer.png" alt="Log Viewer" width="350"><br>
<em>Log viewer for debugging</em>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="center">
<img src="resources/screenshots/04-features-overview.png" alt="Features Overview" width="500"><br>
<em>Overview of key features and configuration options with annotations</em>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
## 🚀 Quick Install
### Interactive Install (Recommended for New Users)
Let the installer guide you through the setup with smart hardware detection:
```bash
curl -fsSL raw.githubusercontent.com/jatinkrmalik/vocalinux/main/install.sh -o /tmp/vl.sh && bash /tmp/vl.sh --tag=v0.5.0-beta --interactive
```
The interactive installer will:
- **Auto-detect your hardware** (GPU, RAM)
- **Recommend the best configuration** for your system
- **Guide you through each step** with clear explanations
- **Show you how to launch and use** Vocalinux after installation
### One-liner Installation (Quick Install)
```bash
curl -fsSL raw.githubusercontent.com/jatinkrmalik/vocalinux/main/install.sh -o /tmp/vl.sh && bash /tmp/vl.sh --tag=v0.5.0-beta
```
> **Note**: Installs v0.5.0-beta. For the most recent version, check [GitHub Releases](https://github.com/jatinkrmalik/vocalinux/releases).
>
> **GPU Detection**: The installer now automatically detects NVIDIA GPUs and uses CPU-only PyTorch when no GPU is present, saving you ~2GB of download!
This will:
- Clone the repository to `~/.local/share/vocalinux-install`
- Install all system dependencies
- Set up a virtual environment in `~/.local/share/vocalinux/venv`
- Install **both VOSK and Whisper AI** speech engines:
- **VOSK**: installs the `vosk` Python package from PyPI
- **Whisper**: installs the `openai-whisper` package from PyPI, which also pulls in PyTorch (the ML framework Whisper requires)
- Create a symlink at `~/.local/bin/vocalinux`
- Download the default **Whisper tiny** speech model (~75MB)
> ⏱️ **Note**: Installation takes ~5-10 minutes due to Whisper AI dependencies (PyTorch with CUDA support, ~2.3GB).
**Whisper with CPU-only PyTorch (no NVIDIA GPU needed):**
```bash
curl -fsSL raw.githubusercontent.com/jatinkrmalik/vocalinux/main/install.sh -o /tmp/vl.sh && bash /tmp/vl.sh --tag=v0.5.0-beta --whisper-cpu
```
This installs Whisper with CPU-only PyTorch (~200MB instead of ~2.3GB). Works great for systems without NVIDIA GPU.
**For low-RAM systems (8GB or less) - VOSK only:**
```bash
curl -fsSL raw.githubusercontent.com/jatinkrmalik/vocalinux/main/install.sh -o /tmp/vl.sh && bash /tmp/vl.sh --tag=v0.5.0-beta --no-whisper
```
This skips Whisper installation entirely and configures VOSK as the default engine.
### Alternative: Install from Source
```bash
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/jatinkrmalik/vocalinux.git
cd vocalinux
# Run the installer (will prompt for Whisper)
./install.sh
# Or with Whisper support
./install.sh --with-whisper
```
The installer handles everything: system dependencies, Python environment, speech models, and desktop integration.
### 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!
## 📚 What's New in v0.5.0-beta
We're excited to announce our first **Beta release**! Vocalinux has evolved significantly since the last alpha, with numerous bug fixes and feature improvements.
### 🐛 Critical Bug Fixes
- Fixed text escaping issues (apostrophes and quotes no longer have backslash escapes)
- Fixed stop sound being transcribed as "thank you"
- Fixed missing spaces after punctuation when transcribing again
### ✨ Key New Features
- **Customizable keyboard shortcuts** - Configure your own activation shortcuts via GUI
- **Modern GNOME HIG settings dialog** - Complete UI overhaul following GNOME design guidelines
- **Pleasant audio feedback** - Gliding tones replace harsh beeps
- **Interactive installer with GPU detection** - Smart hardware auto-detection
- **Better Wayland support** - Native keyboard shortcuts without XWayland
### 🔧 Quality Improvements
- **80%+ test coverage** - Comprehensive test suite across all modules
- **Microphone reconnection** - Automatic recovery when microphone disconnects
- **Audio buffer management** - Prevents memory issues during long recordings
For a complete list of changes, see the release notes.
## 📋 Requirements
- **OS**: Ubuntu 22.04+ (other Linux distros may work)
- **Python**: 3.8 or newer
- **Display**: X11 or Wayland
- **Hardware**: Microphone for voice input
## 🎙️ Usage
### Voice Dictation
1. **Double-tap Ctrl** to start recording
2. Speak clearly into your microphone
3. **Double-tap Ctrl** again (or pause speaking) to 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 # Use Whisper AI engine
vocalinux --model medium # Use medium-sized model
vocalinux --wayland # Force Wayland mode
```
## ⚙️ Configuration
Configuration is stored in `~/.config/vocalinux/config.json`:
```json
{
"speech_recognition": {
"engine": "vosk",
"model_size": "small",
"vad_sensitivity": 3,
"silence_timeout": 2.0
}
}
```
You can also configure settings through the graphical Settings dialog (right-click the tray icon).
## 🔧 Development Setup
```bash
# Clone and install in dev mode
git clone https://github.com/jatinkrmalik/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
│ ├── text_injection/ # Text injection (X11/Wayland)
│ ├── ui/ # GTK UI components
│ └── utils/ # Utility functions
├── 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
- [Contributing](CONTRIBUTING.md) - Development setup and contribution guidelines
## 🔊 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)~~ ✅
- [ ] In-app update mechanism
- [ ] Application-specific commands
- [ ] Debian/Ubuntu package (.deb)
- [x] ~~Improved Wayland support~~ ✅
- [ ] Voice command customization
## 🤝 Contributing
We welcome contributions! Whether it's bug reports, feature requests, or code contributions, please check out our [Contributing Guide](CONTRIBUTING.md).
### Quick Links
- 🐛 [Report a Bug](https://github.com/jatinkrmalik/vocalinux/issues/new?template=bug_report.md)
- 💡 [Request a Feature](https://github.com/jatinkrmalik/vocalinux/issues/new?template=feature_request.md)
- 💬 [Discussions](https://github.com/jatinkrmalik/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 General Public License v3.0** - see the [LICENSE](LICENSE) file for details.
---
<p align="center">
Made with ❤️ for the Linux community
</p>
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