blitztext-app-linux/linux/CHANGELOG.md

Changelog

All notable changes to Blitztext for Linux (the native dictation tool in linux/) are documented here. The format follows Keep a Changelog, and this project adheres to Semantic Versioning.

The version is defined in blitztext/__init__.py.

Unreleased

1.1.0 - 2026-06-04

Added

• Debian package (packaging/build-deb.sh) producing an installable blitztext_<ver>_arm64.deb with a desktop entry, app icon, and a blitztext launcher. Installs via the Software app or apt install ./…deb. Bundles a relocatable venv with all Python deps (no pip/network at install) and declares system deps (python3-gi, xdotool, libnotify-bin, a recorder) so they pull in automatically. The bundled venv is built on the system /usr/bin/python3, so the tray works out of the box.

Notes

• python3-gi is already present on a standard Ubuntu GNOME install; the tray only seemed unavailable from source when the project venv was built from a non-system Python (e.g. conda/miniforge). The .deb avoids this entirely.

1.0.1 - 2026-06-03

Changed

• Redesigned the control-panel window: minimal flat layout, Ubuntu font throughout, clickable workflow rows with hover (click to record / stop), subtle dividers, and text-style Settings/Quit actions. Dropped the monogram avatars and per-row buttons in favour of a cleaner, simpler look. The Settings window picks up the same font and styling.

1.0.0 - 2026-06-03

First release of the Linux port. The upstream project is a macOS-only menu-bar app (Swift/SwiftUI, CoreML/WhisperKit) that cannot run on Linux or in a container; this is a native host tool that reproduces the workflow — focus any text field, press a hotkey, speak, and the (optionally rewritten) text is typed into that field.

Added

• Native dictation engine (daemon.py): global hotkeys via pynput, each hotkey toggles record → transcribe → optional rewrite → deliver.
• Local transcription via faster-whisper (transcribe.py); device="auto" tries CUDA and falls back to CPU int8 (CPU-only on this arm64 host).
• Microphone recording (recorder.py) through pw-record / parecord / arecord — 16 kHz mono WAV, no Python audio bindings required.
• Optional LLM rewrite (rewrite.py) against any OpenAI-compatible endpoint (OpenAI, or a local vLLM / llama-swap), configurable per workflow.
• Typing into the focused window via xdotool (paste.py): type directly or paste through the clipboard; re-activates the target window first.
• Configurable workflows (config.py) in ~/.config/blitztext/config.toml, with five defaults (Transcribe, Nicer email, Improve text, Calm down, Add emojis), per-workflow prompt/model/temperature overrides, and a TOML writer.
• Control-panel window (gui.py, tkinter): workflow rows with monogram avatars, hotkey badges, per-row Record buttons, a live status dot, and a Settings window that edits config and can Save & Restart.
• System-tray mode (tray.py, AppIndicator): macOS-menu-bar-style status icon with a menu to trigger each workflow, Show panel, Settings…, and Quit; shares one daemon/model/hotkey set with the window. Falls back to the window with an install hint when PyGObject is absent.
• CLI (__main__.py): tray (default), gui, run, transcribe, config-path, and --version.
• Packaging: install.sh (venv with --system-site-packages), requirements.txt, and a blitztext.service systemd user unit.

Notes

• Targets an X11 session (uses xdotool); Wayland would need ydotool/wtype.
• System tray requires a one-time sudo apt install python3-gi (the GTK / AppIndicator typelibs and GNOME ubuntu-appindicators extension are already present on the target host).