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Changelog

All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.

The format is based on Keep a Changelog, and this project adheres to Semantic Versioning.

[Unreleased]

0.6.0 (2026-07-05)

Added

  • VS Code Extension — Configurable Transcription Language (verba.transcription.language): New setting to explicitly select the Deepgram transcription language — multi for multilingual auto-detection (default) or a fixed ISO code such as de, en, fr, es, it, nl, pt. This is a backward-compatible optional override: when it is not set, transcription continues to follow verba.language exactly as before. Changes apply live (no window reload needed). Closes the parity gap with the macOS app for users who dictate in a fixed language independent of their post-processing language.
  • macOS App — Native menu-bar dictation app (TF-518): The macOS build ships as a standalone Tauri menu-bar app with the full dictation flow — record → Deepgram Nova-3 transcription → Claude post-processing → paste into the frontmost application — triggered by a global hotkey (Ctrl+Alt+D). Includes:
  • Clipboard paste mechanism: pastes via the clipboard plus a synthetic ⌘V, saving and restoring the user's previous clipboard text.
  • API keys from the environment: keys resolve ENV → Keychain → GUI prompt, so a shell-launched build needs no prompt; the native env_var command is allowlisted to the Verba/Deepgram/Anthropic key names.
  • JSON configuration at ~/.config/verba/config.json (XDG-aware), with defensive defaults — a missing or malformed file falls back to defaults rather than failing.
  • Working-state visualization: tray-icon states (idle / recording / transcribing / processing) plus a focus-safe, click-through HUD pill that never steals focus from the target application.
  • Settings UI via tray submenus (transcription language, cleanup language, provider, and active template) that write the config and apply on the next dictation without a restart.
  • Post-processing templates shipped as config data (the nine built-in templates), with an active-template selector persisted to the config; user overrides via a templates array in config.json.

Changed

  • Shared configuration schema in @verba/core: Configuration resolution — defaults, type validation, and active-template selection — is now defined once in the platform-agnostic @verba/core package and consumed by both the VS Code extension and the macOS app through a common ConfigProvider adapter. Behaviour for valid settings is unchanged, and verba.glossary, verba.expansions, and verba.templates are now portable between the two hosts (identical validation on both). The scattered getConfiguration('verba') reads in the extension, and the macOS app's own resolver, now go through this single source; the macOS tray reads the same canonical default templates.
  • VS Code Extension — Stricter template validation (all-or-nothing): If any entry in verba.templates is malformed — missing a non-empty name or a string prompt — the extension now falls back to the complete set of built-in default templates instead of silently loading only the valid entries. This prevents a partially-broken template menu and matches the macOS app. A parity test keeps the built-in template defaults in package.json in lockstep with the canonical set shipped by @verba/core.
  • Glossary/expansion settings validated per entry (both hosts): verba.glossary and verba.expansions are validated element by element in the shared schema — invalid entries are dropped while valid ones are kept, and empty/whitespace-only glossary terms are ignored. A single malformed entry never discards the whole list.

Fixed

  • macOS App — Transcription language mis-detection: removed the contradictory detect_language=true that was sent alongside language=multi, which caused some German dictation to be transcribed as Dutch. The transcription language is now configurable and defaults to multilingual mode.
  • macOS App — Invalid environment API key no longer dead-ends: when a Deepgram key sourced from an environment variable is rejected, Verba now shows a distinct, actionable message (correct or unset the variable) instead of silently re-prompting in an unrecoverable loop.
  • macOS App — Silent failures surfaced: a failed global-hotkey registration, a malformed config.json, and a failed tray settings write now raise a native notification instead of only writing to a hidden window or stderr (invisible on a menu-bar app).
  • macOS App — Clipboard restore on paste failure: the previous clipboard is now restored even when the synthetic ⌘V fails, so a failed paste no longer leaves the transcript stranded on the clipboard with the user's prior content lost.

0.5.0 (2026-03-04)

Added

  • Undo Last Dictation (TF-258): dictation.undo command (Cmd+Z context-aware) reverts the last dictation insertion. Works in both editor (via document edit reversal) and terminal (via backspace sequence). Single-level undo with automatic expiry after new edits.
  • Dictation History with Full-Text Search (TF-264): Persistent dictation history stored via globalState. Browse recent dictations via Quick Pick (dictation.showHistory), search across raw transcript and cleaned text (dictation.searchHistory). Actions: insert at cursor, copy to clipboard, show details. Configurable max entries (verba.history.maxEntries, default 500). Privacy: history stays local, never sent to APIs.
  • Continuous Dictation with Deepgram Streaming (TF-260): Longer dictation sessions using Deepgram Nova-3 WebSocket streaming. ffmpeg captures microphone audio (raw PCM to stdout), piped directly to Deepgram's real-time transcription API. Deepgram's built-in VAD handles pause detection and utterance segmentation. Each completed utterance goes through Claude cleanup, then insertion. New command dictation.startContinuous (Cmd+Shift+Alt+D). Per-utterance undo and history records.
  • Multi-Language Auto-Detection (TF-261): Deepgram language: 'multi' enables automatic language detection for both single-shot and continuous transcription. Detected language is passed through to Claude post-processing for language-appropriate cleanup. Manual override via verba.language setting.
  • Retry Logic for API Overload (TF-273): Exponential backoff with up to 3 retries when Claude API returns HTTP 529 (overloaded). Backoff delays: 2s, 4s, 8s. Prevents dictation loss during transient API capacity issues.

Changed

  • Deepgram Consolidation (TF-272): Replaced OpenAI Whisper API with Deepgram Nova-3 pre-recorded API for single-shot dictation. Both single-shot and continuous now use Deepgram (shared API key). openai npm package retained for embeddings only. Cost reduced from $0.006/min (Whisper) to $0.0043/min (Deepgram Nova-3).
  • Deepgram keyterm token limit reduced to prevent request failures with large glossaries
  • Language configuration passed through from transcription service to Deepgram API

Fixed

  • API key deletion now checks for HTTP 401/403 status codes instead of deleting on any transcription error
  • Undo records cleared correctly after new editor edits to prevent stale undo operations
  • History persistence errors handled gracefully without disrupting the dictation pipeline
  • Resource leak fixed when continuous recorder fails to start (status bar listener now disposed)
  • Unreachable auth-detection code removed from continuous segment error handler
  • Duplicate historyManager import statements removed

[0.4.0] - 2026-03-02

Added

  • API Key Management: dictation.manageApiKeys command to view (masked), update, or delete stored OpenAI and Anthropic API keys via the Command Palette.
  • LLM Cost Tracking & Overview (TF-270): dictation.showCostOverview command opens a WebView panel showing per-model API usage costs. Tracks Whisper transcription (by audio duration), Claude processing (by input/output tokens), and OpenAI Embeddings (by prompt tokens). Costs displayed per session and accumulated across all sessions, grouped by provider (OpenAI / Anthropic) in a card layout with VS Code theme support. Total costs reset automatically on the 1st of each month; older records are retained in storage.
  • Adaptive Personal Dictionary (TF-263): dictation.generateGlossary command scans workspace for project-specific terms (package names, class/interface/function names, README/CLAUDE.md headings and bold terms). Users review suggestions via Multi-Select Quick Pick before merging into .verba-glossary.json. Supports TypeScript, Java, and Python projects.
  • Multi-Cursor / Selection-aware Dictation (TF-265): Dictation now respects editor selections and multi-cursors. When text is selected, the dictated output replaces the selection; with multi-cursors, text is inserted at all cursor positions simultaneously. Selected text is passed as context to Claude post-processing via <selection> tags. New "Transform Selection" default template for voice-driven text transformation (e.g. translate, refactor, explain).
  • Text Expansion / Abbreviations (TF-262): User-defined abbreviations that are automatically expanded during post-processing. Configure via verba.expansions setting (e.g. "mfg" → "Mit freundlichen Grüssen") or workspace-specific .verba-expansions.json. Global and workspace expansions are merged, with workspace entries taking precedence for the same abbreviation.
  • File-Type-Aware Templates (TF-259): Templates can now define a fileTypes array with VS Code language IDs (e.g. ["java", "kotlin"]). When verba.autoSelectTemplate is enabled (default), the template matching the active editor's file type is automatically selected. Falls back to the last manually chosen template when no match is found. Built-in defaults: JavaDoc → java/kotlin, Markdown → markdown.

Changed

  • Release automation migrated from manual workflow to release-please for automatic versioning, changelog generation, and GitHub Releases

[0.3.0] - 2026-02-26

Added

  • Offline Transcription (TF-257): Local transcription via whisper.cpp CLI as an alternative to OpenAI Whisper API. Audio never leaves the machine. Strategy pattern on TranscriptionService with setProvider('openai'|'local').
  • Model Download: GGML models from Hugging Face via dictation.downloadModel command with progress indicator and cancellation support. Model selection: tiny, base, small, medium, large.
  • Provider Display in Status Bar: Tooltip shows active provider (OpenAI Whisper / Local whisper.cpp), transcribing state displays provider explicitly.
  • Streaming Post-Processing: Claude responses are received via streaming with real-time progress display in the status bar (e.g. "Processing... 182 chars"). Dictation can be cancelled during processing by pressing the shortcut again.
  • Course Correction: Self-corrections in dictation are automatically detected and removed (e.g. "no wait, actually Friday" → "Friday"). Active in all modes (freeform and templates).
  • Voice Commands: Spoken formatting commands are recognized and applied (e.g. "New paragraph", "Period", "Bullet point"). Works language-independently in all modes.
  • Glossary/Dictionary: Terms (product names, technical terms, abbreviations) are preserved exactly during transcription and cleanup. Global terms via verba.glossary setting, project-specific via .verba-glossary.json.
  • JSDoc Documentation: All public APIs across 13 source files documented.

Fixed

  • SIGKILL escalation for hanging whisper-cli processes
  • Provider validation with fallback for invalid settings
  • Minimum file size check after model download

Changed

  • Marketplace homepage link updated to talent-factory.xyz
  • Marketplace category changed from Other to Snippets

[0.2.0] - 2026-02-24

Added

  • Configurable Prompt Templates (TF-248): 5 default templates (Freeform, Commit Message, JavaDoc, Markdown, Email) with full customization via verba.templates setting
  • Context-Aware Dictation with semantic code search via grepai or OpenAI Embeddings
  • 3 context-aware templates: Code Comment, Explain Code, Claude Code Prompt
  • dictation.indexProject command to build a local embeddings index for context search
  • verba.contextSearch.provider setting (auto, grepai, openai) and verba.contextSearch.maxResults setting
  • GitHub Actions changelog preview workflow: posts a categorized changelog preview as a PR comment when opening PRs to main
  • Template Quick-Pick selection menu integrated into dictation workflow
  • Template auto-reuse: last used template is automatically reused, Quick Pick only on first use
  • dictation.selectTemplate command (Cmd+Alt+T / Ctrl+Alt+T) to change template without starting a recording
  • Status bar shows active template name in idle state
  • Pipeline context architecture for dynamic system prompt passing to Claude
  • Cross-Platform Audio Device Selection: macOS (AVFoundation), Linux (PulseAudio), Windows (DirectShow)
  • dictation.selectAudioDevice command for microphone selection on any platform
  • verba.audioDevice setting for manual microphone configuration
  • Windows-specific ffmpeg search paths (Chocolatey, Scoop, WinGet, Program Files)
  • PowerShell fallback (Win32_SoundDevice) when ffmpeg finds no Windows audio devices
  • Marketplace Publishing: extension icon (SVG/PNG), screenshots, workflow GIF
  • Open-source governance files: MIT License, Code of Conduct, Security Policy
  • Semantic-release configuration with emoji-aware conventional commit parsing
  • GitHub Actions release workflow for automated versioning on merge to main

Fixed

  • Template shortcut changed from Cmd+Shift+T to Cmd+Alt+T to avoid conflict with VS Code's built-in shortcut
  • CHANGELOG.md included in VSIX package for the Marketplace Changelog tab
  • Git identity configured for GitHub Actions release commits (github-actions[bot])
  • Extension bundled with esbuild to fix activation failure
  • Transcript wrapped in XML tags to prevent Claude generating conversational responses instead of clean output
  • Terminal focus detection rewritten with two separate commands and mutually exclusive when clauses
  • Template prompt wrapped with framing context for reliable output format
  • Windows audio recording: robust device detection supporting both ffmpeg v7 (section-based) and v8+ (inline (audio)) output formats
  • Audio device selection enabled for macOS and Linux (previously only Windows)
  • make dev workflow compatible with Windows/Cygwin
  • install:local npm script now works cross-platform

[0.1.1] - 2026-02-20

Added

  • Terminal dictation: dictation.startFromTerminal command inserts dictated text into the active terminal
  • verba.terminal.executeCommand setting to auto-execute dictated text as a terminal command
  • Shared keybinding Cmd+Shift+D / Ctrl+Shift+D with context-aware routing (terminal vs editor)
  • Whisper silence/hallucination detection (recordings with only dots/ellipsis are rejected)
  • Debug logging throughout the transcription and cleanup pipeline