Project Roadmap

Build a transcription app you want to use. Share it with the world. See what happens.

Guiding document: Principles

v1.0.0 Release

Release Goal: This project will reach v1.0.0 as part of a coordinated release with AirGap Deploy and AirGap Transfer.

v1.0.0 Scope: The MVP features documented in this roadmap.

Cross-Project Integration: v1.0.0 validates the integrated transcription deployment workflow works end-to-end.

Release Coordination: See Release Roadmap for cross-project timeline and integration milestones.

Target: Suite Milestone 5 (Month 10) — MVP Complete

Note: Development begins after AirGap Transfer is complete (Suite Milestone 5).

Current Status

Phase: Requirements Specified

Next: Begin MVP implementation

Requirements, design, and test specifications are complete and ready for implementation.

MVP Goal: A working app you can use daily.

MVP Scope

Feature	Implementation
Record audio	Microphone → WAV file
Transcribe	Subprocess to whisper.cpp
View result	Tray menu + notification
Copy text	Hotkey + menu click
History	SQLite, shown in tray menu
Settings	Native dialog (whisper path, model path, hotkeys)
Tray	Background operation, status indicator

Implementation Milestones

Milestone 1: Skeleton

Target: Suite Milestone 5 (early)

Goal: Tray icon appears.

• Create Cargo project with dependencies

• Create module files per SDD architecture

• Initialize system tray with placeholder icon

• Verify app runs and shows tray icon

Done when: Tray icon visible, right-click shows “Quit”.

Milestone 2: Recording

Target: Suite Milestone 5

Goal: Record voice to WAV file.

• List audio input devices

• Capture from default device

• Write samples to WAV (16kHz mono)

• Left-click tray toggles recording

• Tray icon changes when recording (red)

• Show recording duration in tray menu

• Configurable recording duration limit (default: 120 min)

• Audio input device selection in settings

Done when: Can record, find WAV file, play in system player.

Milestone 3: Transcription

Target: Suite Milestone 5

Goal: Get text from whisper.cpp.

• Settings stored in SQLite

• Settings dialog for whisper binary path

• Settings dialog for model path

• Validate both paths exist

• Invoke whisper.cpp with configured paths

• Capture and parse stdout for transcription text

• Show notification with result preview

• Handle transcription errors with system notification

Done when: Record → notification shows text.

Milestone 4: Persistence

Target: Suite Milestone 5

Goal: Save transcriptions, survive restart.

• Initialize SQLite in app data directory

• Create tables on first run (see SDD schema)

• Save transcription after whisper completes

• Load recent transcriptions into tray menu

• Click menu item copies text to clipboard

• “View History” opens native dialog with full list

• Delete transcription from history dialog

• Export transcription as .txt file from history dialog

Done when: Close app, reopen, history still there.

Milestone 5: Hotkeys

Target: Suite Milestone 5

Goal: Control without touching mouse.

• Register Ctrl+Alt+R for toggle recording

• Register Ctrl+Alt+C for copy last transcription

• Settings dialog to change hotkeys

• Handle registration failures gracefully

Done when: Can record and copy without touching mouse.

Milestone 6: Polish

Target: Suite Milestone 5 (Month 10) — MVP Complete

Goal: Comfortable daily use.

• First-run: prompt for whisper paths if not set

• Error notification when whisper not found

• Error notification when recording fails

• Show timestamp and preview on menu items

• Tray icon shows busy state during transcription

• Settings persist between runs

• Sanitize file paths (reject ..)

• Use parameterized database queries

• Verify no network calls under any circumstance

• Offline build dependencies (cargo vendor)

• Single-directory deployment support

Done when: Use it for a week without frustration.

Milestone 7: Testing & Documentation

Target: Suite Milestone 5 (Month 10) — MVP Complete

Goal: Comprehensive testing and documentation

Unit Tests:

• Audio recording (device selection, WAV format)

• Transcription (whisper.cpp invocation, output parsing)

• Database (CRUD operations, transactions, parameterized queries)

• Settings (persistence, validation, hotkey configuration)

• Security (path sanitization, no network calls)

Integration Tests:

• End-to-end: record → transcribe → save → retrieve

• Multi-platform testing (Linux, macOS, Windows via CI)

• Error scenarios (missing whisper binary, permission denied, disk full)

• History management (large databases, deletion, export)

Documentation:

• API documentation (rustdoc)

• User guide — Getting started, configuration, usage

• Developer guide — Architecture, contributing

• Deployment guide — air-gap installation with AirGap Deploy

CI/CD:

• Run tests on Linux, macOS, Windows

• Clippy lints (deny warnings)

• rustfmt checks

• cargo-deny license checks

• Release automation (GitHub releases)

Done when: 80%+ code coverage, complete documentation, CI/CD pipeline.

Definition of Done

MVP is complete when:

• Press hotkey → recording starts (tray icon changes)

• Press hotkey → notification shows transcription

• Press hotkey → last text copied to clipboard

• Recent transcriptions visible in tray menu

• Click menu item → text copied to clipboard

• Quit and reopen → history preserved

• 80%+ code coverage

• Zero clippy warnings

• All dependency licenses compatible with AGPL-3.0

• Documentation covers all use cases

• Use daily for one week without major issues

What’s NOT in MVP

Defer all of this until after shipping:

• Error recovery beyond “show notification”

• Dedicated accessibility features (screen reader support, etc.) – basic accessibility via customizable hotkeys is in MVP

• Dark mode toggle (follow system is fine)

• Performance optimization

• Code signing (needed for distribution, not development)

Key Documents

Document	Purpose
Principles	Design principles (read first)
Requirements (SRS)	Functional and non-functional requirements
Design (SDD)	Architecture and component design
Test Plan	Test cases with traceability

See Also

• Meta-Architecture — How Cleanroom Whisper fits in the AirGap suite

• Specification Overview — Project statistics and traceability overview

• AirGap Deploy — Deployment packaging tool

• AirGap Transfer — Large file transfer companion tool

Progress Log

Date	Activity
2026-01-28	Created specification and documentation
2026-01-31	Updated roadmap to align with 6-milestone release plan
2026-02-16	Requirements specified and ready for implementation