QuillScribe

A voice-powered transcription desktop app with local and cloud speech-to-text support.

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Features

• Voice Recording — Real-time audio capture with live level monitoring and device selection
• Local Transcription — Offline speech-to-text via Whisper models (Tiny through Large, including distilled variants)
• Cloud Transcription — OpenAI and Groq API support for fast cloud-based transcription
• Flexible Output — Copy to clipboard, simulate typing into the active window, or both
• Global Hotkey — Start and stop recording from any application
• 12 Themes — 6 light and 6 dark themes with instant switching
• Floating Overlay — Recording timer that stays visible over other windows
• System Tray — Minimize to tray with quick-access context menu
• Transcription History — Browse and search past sessions (30-day window)
• Auto-Updates — Built-in OTA update mechanism via GitHub Releases
• Cross-Platform — Windows and Linux (deb, AppImage)

Tech Stack

Layer	Technology
Frontend	Svelte 5 (runes) + Vite
Desktop Framework	Tauri 2
Backend	Rust
Audio Capture	cpal
Local Transcription	whisper-rs (whisper.cpp bindings)
Build Targets	NSIS (Windows), deb / AppImage (Linux)

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v22 recommended)
• Rust (MSRV 1.77.2)
• Tauri 2 system dependencies — see the Tauri prerequisites guide

Install & Run

# Install frontend dependencies
npm install

# Run the full desktop app (Vite dev server + Tauri)
npx tauri dev

# Or run frontend only (no Rust backend)
npm run dev

Build

# Production frontend build
npm run build

# Desktop installer (NSIS on Windows, deb/AppImage on Linux)
npx tauri build

Rust Checks

cargo fmt --check --manifest-path src-tauri/Cargo.toml
cargo clippy --manifest-path src-tauri/Cargo.toml -- -D warnings
cargo check --manifest-path src-tauri/Cargo.toml

Architecture

QuillScribe uses Tauri's two-process model:

• Frontend process — Svelte 5 app rendered in a WebView
• Backend process — Rust binary handling audio, transcription, and system integration
• IPC — Frontend calls Rust via invoke() commands; backend pushes updates via Tauri events

Windows

Window	Purpose
Main (960x560)	Recording, transcription, history, and settings
Overlay (floating)	Transparent always-on-top recording timer

Backend Modules

Module	Responsibility
audio.rs	Microphone capture, device enumeration, WAV encoding
whisper.rs	Local model management, cloud API calls, transcription
commands.rs	~40 IPC command handlers (the full API surface)
config.rs	JSON settings persistence
output.rs	Clipboard, simulated typing, paste-tool detection
tray.rs	System tray icon and context menu
hotkey.rs	Global keyboard shortcut registration
sound.rs	Notification sound playback
window.rs	Window management and overlay control
statistics.rs	Transcription history storage

Transcription Engines

Local (Whisper)

Models are downloaded on demand and cached locally. Available sizes range from Tiny (~75 MB) to Large, plus distilled variants for faster inference.

Cloud

Provider	Models
OpenAI	gpt-4o-transcribe, gpt-4o-mini-transcribe
Groq	whisper-large-v3-turbo, whisper-large-v3

API keys are configured in the settings dialog and validated before use.

Themes

6 light themes: White, Warm Gray, Soft Beige, Blue Gray, Warm Taupe, Soft Sage

6 dark themes: Dark Charcoal, Dark Blue, Dark Purple, Dark Forest, Dark Burgundy, Obsidian

Themes are applied via CSS custom properties and synchronized across both windows.

Project Structure

quillscribe-frontend/
├── src/
│   ├── App.svelte              # Root component
│   ├── app.css                 # Global styles and CSS custom properties
│   ├── main.js                 # Main window entry
│   ├── overlay.js              # Overlay window entry
│   └── lib/
│       ├── RecordPanel.svelte
│       ├── TranscriptionPanel.svelte
│       ├── HistoryPanel.svelte
│       ├── SettingsDialog.svelte
│       ├── Sidebar.svelte
│       ├── TitleBar.svelte
│       ├── RecordingOverlay.svelte
│       ├── Toast.svelte
│       ├── QuillIcon.svelte
│       ├── themes.js           # Theme definitions
│       └── overlayStyles.js
├── src-tauri/
│   ├── Cargo.toml
│   ├── tauri.conf.json
│   └── src/                    # Rust backend modules
├── public/                     # Logos, favicon, icons
└── .github/workflows/          # CI and release pipelines

Branding

Asset	Path
Logo (dark)	public/logo.svg
Logo (light)	public/logo-light.svg
Favicon	public/favicon.svg