Releases: ronb1964/TalkType
Releases · ronb1964/TalkType
v0.5.15 — Performance Presets & Onboarding Polish
What's New
Performance Presets
Choose from Battery Saver, Light, Balanced, Quality, or Most Accurate via the tray menu or GNOME extension. One click to switch your entire transcription setup.
Unified CUDA + Model Download
When selecting a preset that needs both CUDA libraries and a new model, a single download window handles both with clear progress bars.
Smart Model Selection
Large-v3 model is no longer grayed out — clicking it explains what's needed and offers to set it up automatically.
Onboarding Improvements
- Streamlined Setup Complete screen with constrained model picker
- Phantom-proof hotkey test (hold → release verification)
- Animated "Setting up TalkType..." button feedback
- Eliminated 5-10 second UI freeze after model download
Bug Fixes
- Fixed text injection mode not taking effect when changed from tray menu (required reopening Preferences as workaround)
- Fixed large-v3 model selection showing blocking dialog instead of offering CUDA download
- Fixed GTK auto-repeat flooding hotkey test with phantom key events
- Background AppImage copy eliminates onboarding stall
v0.5.13 — Always-Active Dual Hotkeys
What's New
Always-Active Dual Hotkeys
- F8 (hold-to-talk) and F9 (tap-to-toggle) are now both active simultaneously — no mode switching needed
- Removed the Mode dropdown from Preferences; both hotkeys are always enabled
- Updated Help dialog and README to reflect the new dual-hotkey behavior
Bug Fixes
- Fixed welcome dialog hotkey test showing F8 as "Working!" instantly on open — caused by GNOME's hidden Alt+F8 window-resize keybinding firing into the dialog
- Fixed crash after model download (Python 3.10 f-string compatibility in AppImage)
- Fixed "Setup Complete" screen text alignment
Performance Improvements
- Config file is now cached and only re-read when it changes on disk
- All regex patterns in the auto-punctuation engine are precompiled at startup
- PipeWire microphone detection improved
Other
- Added "Restart Service" menu item to tray and GNOME extension
- Test Hotkeys dialog in Preferences also fixed for the same Alt+F8 false-positive bug
v0.5.12 - Fix audio device compatibility
What's Fixed
Audio sample rate compatibility — After system updates (particularly on Fedora/Nobara), some ALSA devices reject 16kHz recording and the default output device can be a mic-only USB device. This caused:
- Dictation failing silently when pressing F8 (no recording)
- "Invalid sample rate" errors in Preferences mic test
- Start/stop beeps not playing
- Mic test replay not working
Changes
- Smart sample rate detection: Records at the device's native sample rate (e.g. 48kHz) and resamples to 16kHz for Whisper, instead of demanding 16kHz which raw ALSA
hw:devices reject - Output device routing: Finds a working output device (PipeWire/PulseAudio) for beeps and playback, instead of defaulting to a mic-only USB device
- Preferences fixes: Mic level monitor, test recording, and replay all use the same adaptive sample rate logic
Who's Affected
Anyone whose system enumerates raw ALSA hardware devices before PipeWire virtual devices. Most commonly triggered by system updates that change audio stack behavior.
v0.5.11 - Bug fixes for dictation and hallucination filtering
What's New
Bug Fixes
- Fix longer paragraphs losing middle sentences during dictation — Previously, when dictating longer passages, some middle sentences could be dropped. This is now fixed.
- Improved Whisper hallucination filtering — Phrases like "thank you" are no longer incorrectly filtered out when you actually say them. The filter now uses Whisper's
no_speech_probconfidence score to distinguish real speech from hallucinated text during silence.
Other
- Repository cleanup (no code changes — removed internal dev docs, test scripts, and build artifacts from tracking)
Installation
- Download
TalkType-v0.5.11-x86_64.AppImage - Make it executable:
chmod +x TalkType-v0.5.11-x86_64.AppImage - Run it:
./TalkType-v0.5.11-x86_64.AppImage
GNOME Users
Download talktype-gnome-extension.zip for the native GNOME Shell indicator (installed automatically on first run).
v0.5.10 - Onboarding improvements and robustness fixes
Onboarding Protection
- Service won't start during onboarding (prevents hotkey interference during setup)
- Default hotkeys now empty until user picks during onboarding
- Service exits gracefully if onboarding not complete
Update System Improvements
- Fixed "Text file busy" error when auto-updating
- Added verification before restart
- Post-update notification after successful update
Text Injection Fixes
- Device ungrab now happens BEFORE text injection (fixes ydotool access)
- Added logging for troubleshooting
Other Improvements
- Better service detection (checks both patterns)
- ydotoold systemd service finds actual system binary path
- Preferences hotkey test now stops service during testing
- Improved UI messaging for required setup steps
- Added fresh-start-kubuntu.sh for Kubuntu testing
🤖 Generated with Claude Code
v0.5.8 - Branded icon, improved device grabbing, compact dialogs
What's New
Features
- Branded TalkType icon now shows in application menu (the blue icon with microphone)
- Icon automatically installed to
~/.local/share/icons/on first run - KDE menu cache auto-refreshes after desktop launcher creation (no logout needed)
Bug Fixes
- Improved hotkey handling - now grabs ALL keyboard devices to prevent key repeat in terminals
- Added logging for device grab success/failure to help debug issues
- Fixed license in About dialog (MIT, not GPL-3.0)
UI Improvements
- Setup Complete dialog is now more compact (no scrolling needed)
- Smaller margins and tighter spacing for cleaner look
Testing Auto-Update
If you have v0.5.7 installed, you can test the new auto-update feature:
- Open TalkType Preferences → Updates tab
- Click "Check for Updates"
- Click "Download & Install"
- TalkType will download, install to
~/AppImages/TalkType.AppImage, and restart automatically!
Fresh Installation
- Download
TalkType-v0.5.8-x86_64.AppImage - Make it executable:
chmod +x TalkType-v0.5.8-x86_64.AppImage - Run it:
./TalkType-v0.5.8-x86_64.AppImage
The branded TalkType icon will appear in your Applications menu after first run.
GNOME users: Download talktype-gnome-extension.zip for GNOME Shell tray integration.
v0.5.7 - Auto-update, desktop launcher, and UX improvements
What's New
Features
- Auto-update: Click "Download & Install" in Preferences → Updates to automatically update and restart TalkType
- Desktop launcher: TalkType is automatically added to your Applications menu on first run
- Standard install location: AppImage is installed to
~/AppImages/TalkType.AppImage - Setup complete dialog: Shows where TalkType is installed after first-run setup
UX Improvements
- Preferences tabs now scroll to top when switching tabs
- Commands tab layout improved (buttons at top, compact list)
- Help dialog now resizable (was fixed size)
- Added "Installation & Updates" section to Help dialog Tips tab
Bug Fixes
- Fixed hotkey causing repeated characters (tildes) in terminal windows
- Added PortAudio detection and one-click install for Kubuntu/KDE systems
Installation
- Download
TalkType-v0.5.7-x86_64.AppImage - Make it executable:
chmod +x TalkType-v0.5.7-x86_64.AppImage - Run it:
./TalkType-v0.5.7-x86_64.AppImage
On first run, TalkType will:
- Copy itself to
~/AppImages/TalkType.AppImage - Add "TalkType" to your Applications menu
- Guide you through setup
Requirements
- Linux with Wayland or X11
- ydotool (for text injection)
- NVIDIA GPU optional (for faster transcription)
GNOME users: Download talktype-gnome-extension.zip to get the GNOME Shell extension for better system tray integration.
v0.5.6 - PortAudio detection & one-click install
What's New
PortAudio Detection & One-Click Install
- Detects if PortAudio library is missing (required for microphone recording)
- Shows "Audio Library Required" section in welcome wizard if missing
- One-click install button that uses your system's package manager:
- Ubuntu/Debian:
libportaudio2 - Fedora:
portaudio - Arch:
portaudio
- Ubuntu/Debian:
This fixes the issue where TalkType would crash on first run with "PortAudio library not found" error on systems without PortAudio pre-installed (like Kubuntu).
🤖 Generated with Claude Code
v0.5.5 - Improved Onboarding & Auto-Install
What's New
🔧 One-Click ydotool Installation
- New "Install ydotool" button in onboarding wizard
- Automatically detects your package manager (apt, dnf, pacman, zypper, apk)
- Installs ydotool with a single click and password prompt
- No more scary terminal commands for new users!
📋 Improved Typing Setup
- Clear status display showing what's working (✅) and what needs fixing (❌)
- Combined "Fix Typing" button handles both ydotoold daemon setup AND permissions
- Better error messages and progress feedback
💬 Clearer Messaging
- Updated logout/reboot instructions: "Log out and back in to apply (some systems require reboot)"
- Acknowledges that some Linux distributions need a full reboot for group changes
Installation
Download the AppImage and make it executable:
chmod +x TalkType-v0.5.5-x86_64.AppImage
./TalkType-v0.5.5-x86_64.AppImageGNOME users: The extension will be offered during first-run setup.
Requirements
- Linux with Wayland (X11 works but Wayland recommended)
- PipeWire or PulseAudio for audio
- ydotool (can be installed automatically during setup)
🤖 Generated with Claude Code
v0.5.4 - Window Sizing & Onboarding Fixes
Bug Fixes
- Preferences window now resizable - Can resize and scroll on smaller screens
- Onboarding cancellation fixed - If you cancel the welcome wizard, it will show again on next launch (instead of being skipped forever)
- LICENSE file corrected - Now properly MIT (was incorrectly GPL-3.0)
Installation
Download TalkType-v0.5.4-x86_64.AppImage and make it executable:
chmod +x TalkType-v0.5.4-x86_64.AppImage
./TalkType-v0.5.4-x86_64.AppImageRequirement: FUSE 2 must be installed (libfuse.so.2). See README for details.
GNOME Extension
The talktype-gnome-extension.zip is offered automatically on first run for GNOME desktop users.