v0.6.0-beta

What's Changed in v0.6.0-beta

🚀 Major Feature: whisper.cpp is Now Default!

This release introduces whisper.cpp as the new default speech recognition engine — a game-changing upgrade that brings massive improvements to speed, compatibility, and ease of installation.

Performance Improvements

• ⚡ 10x faster installation — No more 2.3GB PyTorch downloads (installation now takes ~1-2 min instead of 5-10 min)
• 🎮 Universal GPU support — Works with AMD, Intel, and NVIDIA via Vulkan (not just NVIDIA CUDA like OpenAI Whisper)
• 💾 Smaller footprint — Tiny model is only ~39MB vs ~75MB for Whisper
• 🔥 Better performance — C++ optimized inference with true multi-threading (no Python GIL)
• 🌍 99+ languages with automatic language detection

✨ New Features

• whisper.cpp integration — High-performance C++ speech recognition with Vulkan GPU acceleration (#179) - @jatinkrmalik
• Interactive installer — Choose between 3 engines: whisper.cpp (recommended), Whisper, or VOSK (#179) - @jatinkrmalik
• Hardware auto-detection — Automatically detects your GPU and recommends optimal settings (#179) - @jatinkrmalik
• Enhanced logging — Comprehensive debug info for whisper.cpp troubleshooting (#179) - @jatinkrmalik
• Cross-distro compatibility — Phase 1-6 complete, supporting Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian, Arch, and more - @jatinkrmalik
  • Phase 1: Critical cross-distribution compatibility fixes (#158)
  • Phase 2: Enhanced distro detection and package manager support (#159)
  • Phase 3: Better error handling and documentation (#160)
  • Phase 4: Testing & Polish improvements (#161)
  • Phase 5 & 6: Complete cross-distro compatibility fixes (#168)
• Language indicator — Show detected language with flag in live demo (#169) - @jatinkrmalik
• Auto-detect browser language — For live demo speech recognition (#166) - @jatinkrmalik

🐛 Bug Fixes

• Text injection — Check ydotoold daemon before selecting ydotool on wlroots compositors (#176) - @jatinkrmalik
• Installation — Add python3-dev dependency for evdev wheel build (#177) - @jatinkrmalik
• NVIDIA detection — Prevent silent exit on systems without NVIDIA GPU (#175) - @jatinkrmalik
• Install script — Make quick install command fully visible with text wrap (#156) - @jatinkrmalik
• Website UX — Update install commands to use /tmp/vl.sh for better UX (#154) - @jatinkrmalik

🔧 Infrastructure & CI

• Nightly builds — Improve workflow for user accessibility (#180) - @jatinkrmalik
• Nightly builds — Handle both wheel and tar.gz file renaming - @jatinkrmalik
• CI testing — Actually test install.sh distro detection in CI matrix (#163) - @jatinkrmalik
• Documentation — Add distribution package mapping reference (#162) - @jatinkrmalik
• Screenshots — Add screenshots section to README (#153) - @jatinkrmalik

📚 Documentation Updates

Comprehensive documentation overhaul highlighting whisper.cpp benefits:

• README.md — Major update with whisper.cpp as default messaging - @jatinkrmalik
• docs/INSTALL.md — New installation options and GPU support info - @jatinkrmalik
• docs/USER_GUIDE.md — Engine selection guide added - @jatinkrmalik
• SECURITY.md — Updated supported versions and engine descriptions - @jatinkrmalik
• Website — Cleaner hero layout with tech stack details (#181) - @jatinkrmalik

🎯 Version Bump

• From: v0.5.0-beta
• To: v0.6.0-beta (#181) - @jatinkrmalik

📝 Installation

# Install the latest beta
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jatinkrmalik/vocalinux/main/install.sh | bash -s -- --tag=v0.6.0-beta

# Or use interactive mode to choose your engine
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jatinkrmalik/vocalinux/main/install.sh | bash -s -- --tag=v0.6.0-beta --interactive

📋 Full Commit List

03d55a9 chore(release): prepare v0.6.0-beta with whisper.cpp as default (#181) - Jatin K Malik
318e188 fix(ci): handle both wheel and tar.gz file renaming in nightly builds - jatinkrmalik
4b51e9b fix(ci): improve nightly build workflow for user accessibility (#180) - Jatin K Malik
61b8555 fix(ci): improve nightly build workflow for user accessibility - jatinkrmalik
57a0ddd feat(speech): add whisper.cpp with Vulkan support for GPU acceleration (#179) - Jatin K Malik
4a72c96 fix(text-injection): check ydotoold daemon before selecting ydotool (#176) - Jatin K Malik
5e83362 fix(install): add python3-dev dependency for evdev build (#177) - Jatin K Malik
ff994a3 fix(install): prevent silent exit on systems without NVIDIA GPU (#175) - Jatin K Malik
e9134e0 feat(web): show detected language with flag indicator in live demo (#169) - Jatin K Malik
04eada7 feat: Phase 5 & 6 - Complete cross-distro compatibility fixes (#168) - Jatin K Malik
589d79d fix(web): auto-detect browser language for live demo speech recognition (#166) - Jatin K Malik
8e48b99 ci: Actually test install.sh distro detection in CI matrix (#163) - Jatin K Malik
9efe53e docs: Add distribution package mapping reference (#162) - Jatin K Malik
6b0e81c feat: Phase 4 - Testing & Polish improvements (#161) - Jatin K Malik
461400b feat: Phase 3 - Better error handling and documentation (#160) - Jatin K Malik
f2e13bb feat: Phase 2 - Enhanced distro detection and package manager support (#159) - Jatin K Malik
2b498f0 fix: Phase 1 - Critical cross-distribution compatibility fixes (#158) - Jatin K Malik
3bd9f8e Update README.md - Jatin K Malik
04aa999 fix(web): make quick install command fully visible by enabling text wrap (#156) - Jatin K Malik
257749f fix(website): update install commands to use /tmp/vl.sh for better UX (#154) - Jatin K Malik
03caf47 feat(readme): add screenshots section to README (#153) - Jatin K Malik

🙏 Contributors

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this release!

Full Changelog: v0.5.0-beta...v0.6.0-beta