blitztext-app-linux/MANUAL.md

Blitztext — User Manual

A reference for every setting in the Blitztext Settings window, tab by tab.

Open Settings from the system-tray menu (Settings…) or the control panel. The window has seven tabs — Presets · Engines · Input · General · Benchmark · Log · About — and three buttons along the bottom.

Where settings are stored: ~/.config/blitztext/config.toml (or $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/blitztext/config.toml). You can edit that file directly; the relevant TOML key is noted next to each setting below.

Saving your changes

Button	What it does
Close	Discard and close. Nothing is written.
Save	Write config.toml. A note reminds you that engine/hotkey changes need a restart to take effect.
Save & Restart	Write config.toml and immediately relaunch Blitztext (blitztext tray) so every change applies. Use this after changing engines, hotkeys, or the wakeword.

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Presets tab

Presets are your dictation actions. Each one either types what you say, or rewrites it through the language model first (e.g. into a polished email). Trigger a preset by speaking its keyword, or with an optional keyboard shortcut.

Use the dropdown at the top to pick a preset to edit, + Add to create one, or Delete to remove it (you must keep at least one). Each preset maps to a [[workflow]] entry in the config.

Setting	TOML key	Description
Name	name	Short name for the action, shown in the main panel.
Icon (emoji)	icon	Emoji shown next to this preset in the "matched preset" notification — give each a distinct one to tell them apart at a glance. Default ⚡.
Description	description	One line explaining what the preset does (shown in the panel).
Keywords (comma)	keywords	Spoken trigger words, comma-separated. Say one at the start or end of your speech to select this preset (fuzzy-matched, e.g. nicer email, bessere email).
Hotkey (optional)	hotkey	A direct keyboard shortcut for this preset. Click Set and press the combo, or type it (e.g. <ctrl>+<alt>+e). Leave blank for keyword-only.
Mode	mode	transcribe types your words as-is · rewrite sends them to the language model first · stream shows live text from a realtime STT engine.
LLM model (opt.)	model	Override the language model for this preset only. Blank = use the active LLM engine's model.
Temperature (opt.)	temperature	Creativity of the rewrite, 0–1. Lower is more predictable. Blank = engine default.
Prompt sent to the LLM	prompt	The instruction used in rewrite mode (e.g. "Rewrite this as a polite, professional email"). Ignored in transcribe/stream mode.

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Engines tab

Engines do the work: the speech-to-text (STT) engine turns your voice into text; the language model (LLM) rewrites it. Each engine can run locally or on a server you specify. A green dot means it's reachable, red means offline. The currently selected engine in each dropdown is the active one.

Speech-to-text engine

Buttons: + Add (cloud/OpenAI-style), + Stream (realtime Riva/NIM), Delete, Test (records 4 s and transcribes), Refresh (re-check status). Each engine maps to a [[stt_engine]] entry; the active one is [stt] active.

Setting	TOML key	Description
Name	name	A label for this engine (e.g. "faster-whisper GPU").
Type	type	local (in-process faster-whisper) · openai (any OpenAI-compatible /v1 STT server) · riva_realtime (live streaming engine).
URL	url	Server endpoint. Example: http://localhost:8010/v1 · realtime: http://localhost:8006/v1. Ignored for local.
Model	model	Model name. For local: tiny/base/small/medium/large-v3 or a path. For remote: blank = server default, or pick from the searchable list fetched from the URL.
API key env	api_key_env	Name of the environment variable holding the API key (e.g. GROQ_API_KEY). Optional.

Local engine (faster-whisper) — device & precision (global, [whisper]):

Setting	TOML key	Description
Device	device	auto (try CUDA, fall back to CPU) · cpu · cuda.
Compute type	compute_type	auto · int8 · float16 · int8_float16. Lower precision is faster and uses less memory.

Language model (rewrite)

Buttons: + Add, Delete, Refresh. Each maps to a [[llm_engine]] entry; the active one is [llm] active.

Setting	TOML key	Description
Name	name	A label for this LLM (e.g. "Local Qwen").
Type	type	local (a server on this machine) or cloud.
Base URL	url	OpenAI-compatible endpoint, e.g. http://localhost:28080/v1 or https://api.openai.com/v1.
Model	model	The model to use; pick from the list once the URL is set.
API key env	api_key_env	Environment-variable name holding the key (e.g. OPENAI_API_KEY). Blank for local servers.
Temperature	temperature	Default creativity for rewrites (e.g. 0.3). Presets can override this.

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Input tab

Controls how you start and stop dictating, the noise filter, hands-free wakeword, and audio cues.

Input mode & keys

All keys live in the [input] section.

Setting	TOML key	Description
Input mode	mode	modifiers: hold/press the keys below · hotkeys: each preset uses its own shortcut combo (set per preset).
Push-to-talk	push_to_talk	When on, recording lasts only while the Start key is held (release to stop). When off, the keys toggle recording.
Start	start	Key(s) to start recording. Default <ctrl>+<cmd> (Ctrl + Windows key).
Stop + paste	stop	Stop recording and deliver the text. Default <ctrl>.
Stop + paste + Enter	send	Stop, deliver, then press Enter (e.g. to send a chat message). Default <alt>.
Cancel	cancel	Discard the current recording. Default <esc>.

Click Set next to a key field and press the combination to rebind it.

Quality gate

Filters out clips that aren't real speech before they're transcribed. Keys live in the [quality] section.

Setting	TOML key	Description
Min seconds	min_speech_seconds	Minimum audio length; shorter clips are ignored. Default 0.4.
Silence RMS	silence_rms	Microphone-volume threshold below which a clip counts as silent and is dropped. Default 150.0.
Reject hallucinations	reject_hallucinations	Drop STT "ghost" outputs like "Thank you." / "Bye." that Whisper invents from silence.
Strip trailing punctuation	strip_trailing_punctuation	Remove ending periods from delivered text — handy for code insertion.

Hands-free (Wakeword)

Start dictation with a spoken keyword via an external Wyoming openWakeWord server. Maps to the [wakeword] section.

Setting	TOML key	Description
Enable wakeword	enabled	Turn hands-free detection on/off.
Wyoming URI	uri	Address of the wakeword server. Default tcp://127.0.0.1:10400. The ⟳ button loads the available models from it.
Model name	model	Which wake model to listen for (e.g. computer, okay_computer). Pick from the list loaded from the server.
Input level	—	Live mic level bar (read-only) so you can confirm the microphone is being heard.
Test Wakeword	—	Listens for 10 s and reports whether the wake word was detected.
Silence to stop (s)	silence_seconds	After the wakeword starts recording, end it this many seconds after you stop speaking. Hands-free auto-stop (the wakeword can't be released like a key). Default 2.0.
Sound: detected	sound_detected	WAV/OGA played the instant the wake word fires and recording starts — your "speak now" cue (hands-free sessions only). Empty = no sound. Independent of the Play audio cues switch.
Sound: captured	sound_done	Played when your spoken command is captured and recording stops (silence/stop) (hands-free sessions only). Empty = no sound.

Tip: A hands-free session suppresses desktop notifications, so these sounds are its only feedback — that's why they're independent of the manual "Play audio cues" switch, and why an empty field means silence (not a system chime). You can also pause/resume detection from the tray ("Pause wakeword"), which toggles the /tmp/wake_muted flag.

Audio cues (manual dictation)

These control the chimes for manual (keyboard/hotkey) dictation only. The hands-free wakeword sounds above are separate and independent.

Setting	TOML key	Description
Play audio cues	[sounds] enabled	On/off for the manual start/stop chimes below. Does not affect the wakeword sounds above.
Play before	[sounds] before	Chime when recording starts (manual dictation). Empty = built-in system sound.
Play after	[sounds] after	Chime when recording stops (paste, paste+Enter, or auto-stop on silence). Empty = built-in system sound.

Each sound row has ▶ (preview) and ⌫ (clear).

The two pairs differ by trigger and by empty-behaviour:

	Plays on	Used for	When empty
Sound: detected / captured	start / stop	hands-free wakeword only	silent
Play before / after	start / stop	manual (keyboard) only	system chime

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General tab

Microphone, text delivery, language, notifications, and autostart.

Setting	TOML key	Description
Microphone	mic	Which input device Blitztext records from.
Input level	—	Live level bar (read-only); should move when you speak.
Output	output	type types the text key-by-key · paste copies it and presses Ctrl+V (faster for long text).
Language hint	language	Spoken-language code (de, en, …). Blank = auto-detect.
Notifications	notify	Show desktop notifications for recording/transcription status and errors (manual sessions).
Announce matched preset	notify_routing	After a voice command, pop a notification showing which preset (and spoken keyword) matched — shown even for hands-free sessions, with the preset's emoji. Only fires on a real match.
Launch on login	(autostart file)	Start Blitztext automatically when you log in (writes a desktop autostart entry, not config.toml).

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Benchmark tab

Compare your STT engines for speed and accuracy on the same clip. Add an engine preset (Engines tab) for each model you want to compare. No persistent settings — it's a one-off tool.

1. Audio (.wav) — a recording to transcribe.
2. Reference (.txt) — a text file with exactly what is said. (Auto-filled if a matching *.txt / *.reference.txt sits next to the WAV.)
3. Run benchmark — fills the table with one row per engine.

Result columns: Engine · Model · Device · Time (s) · Accuracy · Output. A summary line names the fastest and most accurate engine.

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Log tab

A live activity log — useful to watch a model load/download or to diagnose a problem (recording, transcription, routing, and wakeword events all appear here). Press Copy to put the log on the clipboard when reporting an issue. No settings.

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About tab

Read-only information:

• Version and a link to the source repository (github.com/mARTin-B78/blitztext-app-linux).
• License: MIT.
• Sub-tabs with the full Changelog and License text.

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System-tray menu (quick reference)

Item	What it does
● status	Current state (Ready / Recording / Transcribing / Error).
Preset names	Click to trigger that preset.
Pause wakeword	Reversible toggle to pause/resume hands-free detection (only shown when the wakeword is enabled).
Show panel	Open the control panel window.
Settings…	Open this Settings window.
Quit Blitztext	Exit the app.

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Config-only options

A few behaviours live in config.toml without a dedicated tab control:

• [routing] — voice-keyword routing: enabled, hotkey (one shortcut to dictate and let the spoken keyword pick the preset), default (preset used when no keyword matches), and threshold (0–1 fuzzy-match strictness).
• timeout — network timeout (seconds) for remote STT/LLM requests.
• type_delay_ms — delay between simulated keystrokes in type output mode.