v0.3.10

Presspeech 0.3.10

Before opening macOS 0.3.10: Model downloads start as they did in
0.3.9. On a clean install without a complete model cache, Setup asks you to
choose Download Model before the first network transfer; Set Up Later
defers it. Existing installations keep automatic startup, so a missing model
may still download on launch. The new Parakeet Ultra model downloads only
after you choose it and confirm Download and Switch. Model requests carry
no inherited Hugging Face account token, but valid inherited proxy settings
still route them. Dictation audio and transcripts are not sent with model
requests. Read the
macOS model-download privacy guide
before deciding to launch or clear a working cache.

This update adds an optional, more accurate speech model, starts recording
sooner after an idle hotkey press, and fixes a freeze after model downloads.

Speech model choice

• Settings → Dictation → Speech Model now offers Parakeet Ultra alongside
  the default Parakeet TDT v3. Ultra is a post-trained v3 with the same 25
  languages and similar speed, and lower word error rates in FluidAudio's
  published benchmarks.
• Ultra is opt-in. Choosing it asks first, then downloads about 630 MB from
  Hugging Face (v3 is about 480 MB) and verifies every file before use. If
  Ultra cannot be downloaded, verified, or loaded, Presspeech switches back to
  v3 and says so.
• The v3 copy stays on disk, so switching back needs no download. Reset
  Speech Model Cache resets only the selected model.
• Parakeet TDT v3 remains the default, and nothing changes unless you choose
  Ultra. The bundled FluidAudio speech runtime moves to 0.17.7; on the
  project's comparison recordings, v3 transcripts were unchanged.

Responsiveness

• Recording starts faster after the hotkey when the microphone was idle.
  Presspeech now prepares the audio input while idle without starting it, so
  the microphone and its recording indicator stay off until you press the
  hotkey. Built-in and USB microphones use this path; Bluetooth, aggregate,
  virtual, and other wireless inputs start as before.
• Each recording start writes one line of step timings to the local log,
  beginning press timing:. It contains durations only, with no key, app,
  window, or audio content.
• Presspeech no longer becomes unresponsive for minutes after a speech-model
  download finishes. Download progress rebuilt the menu for every received
  chunk; it now updates in the 5% steps the status already shows. This
  affected first-run model downloads as well as model switches.

Output mute

• On outputs with no mute control, such as many HDMI and DisplayPort displays,
  Mute system audio while recording now records without attempting to
  mute and notes this once in the local log, instead of logging a failed mute
  on every dictation. Outputs that can mute behave as before.

Diagnostics

• When automatic insertion stops and the transcript is copied for manual
  paste, the local log now says why: which destination check failed and at
  which step, a held modifier key, an unavailable paste key, or a Unicode
  typing limit. Delivery decisions are unchanged. App names, window titles,
  transcript text, and clipboard contents are not logged.

Audio and transcription remain local.