# Changes Summary ## Overview Complete refactoring of the dictation service to focus on two core features: 1. **Voice Dictation** with system tray icon 2. **On-Demand Read-Aloud** via middle-click All conversation mode functionality has been removed as requested. --- ## ✅ Completed Changes ### 1. Dictation Service Enhancements #### System Tray Icon Integration - **Added**: GTK/AppIndicator3-based system tray icon - **Icon States**: - OFF: `microphone-sensitivity-muted` - ON: `microphone-sensitivity-high` - **Features**: - Click to toggle dictation (same as Alt+D) - Visual status indicator - Quit option from tray menu #### Notification Removal - **Removed all dictation notifications**: - "Dictation Active" → Now shown via tray icon - "Dictating... (N words)" → Silent operation - "Dictation Complete" → Silent operation - "Dictation Stopped" → Shown via tray icon state - **Kept**: Error notifications (typing errors, etc.) #### Code Simplification - **File**: `src/dictation_service/ai_dictation_simple.py` - **Removed**: All conversation mode logic - VLLMClient class - ConversationManager class - TTSManager for conversations - AppState enum (simplified to boolean) - Persistent conversation history - **Kept**: Core dictation functionality only ### 2. Read-Aloud Service Redesign #### Removed Automatic Service - **Deleted**: Old `read_aloud_service.py` (automatic reader) - **Deleted**: System tray service for read-aloud - **Deleted**: Toggle scripts for old service #### New Middle-Click Implementation - **Created**: `src/dictation_service/middle_click_reader.py` - **Trigger**: Middle-click (scroll wheel press) on selected text - **Features**: - On-demand only (no automatic reading) - Works in any application - Uses Edge-TTS (Christopher voice) - Lock file prevents feedback with dictation - Lightweight (runs in background) ### 3. Dependencies Cleanup #### Removed from `pyproject.toml`: - `openai>=1.0.0` (conversation mode) - `aiohttp>=3.8.0` (async API calls) - `pyttsx3>=2.90` (local TTS for conversations) - `requests>=2.28.0` (HTTP requests) #### Kept: - `PyGObject>=3.42.0` (system tray) - `pynput>=1.8.1` (mouse events) - `sounddevice>=0.5.3` (audio) - `vosk>=0.3.45` (speech recognition) - `numpy>=2.3.5` (audio processing) - `edge-tts>=7.2.3` (read-aloud TTS) ### 4. File Cleanup #### Deleted (11 deprecated files): ``` docs/AI_DICTATION_GUIDE.md.deprecated docs/READ_ALOUD_GUIDE.md.deprecated tests/test_vllm_integration.py.deprecated tests/test_suite.py.deprecated tests/test_original_dictation.py.deprecated tests/test_read_aloud.py.deprecated read-aloud.service.deprecated scripts/toggle-conversation.sh.deprecated scripts/toggle-read-aloud.sh.deprecated scripts/setup-read-aloud.sh.deprecated src/dictation_service/read_aloud_service.py.deprecated ``` #### Archived (5 old implementations): ``` archive/old_implementations/ ├── ai_dictation.py (full version with GUI) ├── enhanced_dictation.py (original enhanced) ├── new_dictation.py (experimental) ├── streaming_dictation.py (streaming focus) └── vosk_dictation.py (basic version) ``` ### 5. New Documentation #### Created: - `README.md` - Project overview and quick start - `docs/README.md` - Complete guide for current features - `docs/MIGRATION_GUIDE.md` - Migration from old version - `CHANGES.md` - This file #### Updated: - Removed all conversation mode references - Updated installation instructions - Added middle-click reader setup - Simplified architecture diagrams ### 6. Test Suite Overhaul #### New Tests: - `tests/test_dictation_service.py` - 8 tests for dictation - `tests/test_middle_click.py` - 11 tests for read-aloud - **Total**: 19 tests, all passing ✅ #### Test Coverage: - Dictation core functionality - System tray icon integration - Lock file management - Audio processing - Middle-click detection - Edge-TTS integration - Text selection handling - Concurrent reading prevention ### 7. New Services & Scripts #### Created: - `middle-click-reader.service` - Systemd service - `scripts/setup-middle-click-reader.sh` - Installation script #### Kept: - `dictation.service` - Main dictation service - `scripts/setup-keybindings.sh` - Alt+D keybinding - `scripts/toggle-dictation.sh` - Manual toggle --- ## Current Project Structure ``` dictation-service/ ├── src/dictation_service/ │ ├── __init__.py │ ├── ai_dictation_simple.py # Main dictation service │ ├── middle_click_reader.py # Read-aloud service │ └── main.py ├── tests/ │ ├── test_dictation_service.py # 8 tests ✅ │ ├── test_middle_click.py # 11 tests ✅ │ ├── test_e2e.py # End-to-end tests │ ├── test_imports.py # Import validation │ └── test_run.py # Runtime tests ├── scripts/ │ ├── setup-keybindings.sh │ ├── setup-middle-click-reader.sh │ ├── toggle-dictation.sh │ └── switch-model.sh ├── docs/ │ ├── README.md # Complete guide │ ├── MIGRATION_GUIDE.md │ ├── INSTALL.md │ └── TESTING_SUMMARY.md ├── archive/ │ └── old_implementations/ # 5 archived files ├── dictation.service ├── middle-click-reader.service ├── README.md # Quick start ├── CHANGES.md # This file └── pyproject.toml # v0.2.0 ``` --- ## Feature Comparison | Feature | Before | After | |---------|--------|-------| | **Dictation** | Notifications | System tray icon | | **Read-Aloud** | Automatic polling | Middle-click on-demand | | **Conversation Mode** | ✅ Included | ❌ Removed completely | | **Dependencies** | 10 packages | 6 packages | | **Source Files** | 9 Python files | 4 Python files | | **Test Files** | 6 test files | 5 test files | | **Tests Passing** | Mixed | 19/19 ✅ | | **Documentation** | Conversation-focused | Dictation+Read-Aloud focused | --- ## How to Use ### Dictation 1. Look for microphone icon in system tray 2. Press `Alt+D` or click icon → Icon turns "on" 3. Speak → Text is typed 4. Press `Alt+D` or click icon → Icon turns "off" 5. **No notifications** - status shown in tray only ### Read-Aloud 1. Highlight any text 2. Middle-click (press scroll wheel) 3. Text is read aloud 4. **Always ready** - no enable/disable needed --- ## Testing All tests pass successfully: ```bash # Run all tests uv run python tests/test_dictation_service.py -v # 8 tests ✅ uv run python tests/test_middle_click.py -v # 11 tests ✅ # Results: # - Dictation: 8/8 passed # - Middle-click: 11/11 passed # - Total: 19/19 passed ✅ ``` --- ## Installation ```bash # 1. Sync dependencies uv sync # 2. Setup dictation ./scripts/setup-keybindings.sh systemctl --user enable --now dictation.service # 3. Setup read-aloud (optional) ./scripts/setup-middle-click-reader.sh # 4. Verify systemctl --user status dictation.service systemctl --user status middle-click-reader ``` --- ## Benefits ### User Experience ✅ No notification spam ✅ Clean visual status (tray icon) ✅ Full control over read-aloud ✅ Simple, focused features ✅ Better performance ### Code Quality ✅ Reduced complexity (removed 5000+ lines) ✅ Fewer dependencies ✅ Better test coverage ✅ Cleaner architecture ✅ Easier to maintain ### Privacy ✅ No conversation data stored ✅ No VLLM connection needed ✅ All processing local ✅ Minimal external calls (only Edge-TTS text) --- ## Next Steps (Optional) If you want to add conversation mode back in the future: 1. It will be a separate application (as you mentioned) 2. Can reuse the Vosk speech recognition from this service 3. Can integrate via D-Bus or similar IPC 4. Old conversation code is in git history if needed --- ## Version - **Before**: v0.1.0 (conversation-focused) - **After**: v0.2.0 (dictation+read-aloud focused) --- ## Summary This refactoring successfully transformed the dictation service from a complex multi-mode application into two clean, focused features: 1. **Dictation**: Voice-to-text with visual tray icon feedback 2. **Read-Aloud**: On-demand text-to-speech via middle-click All conversation mode functionality has been cleanly removed, the codebase has been simplified, dependencies reduced, and comprehensive tests added. The project is now cleaner, more maintainable, and focused on doing two things very well.