The measured problem (330MB DMG / 1066MB app): electron-builder's
dependency collector packed the whole production dep tree into
app.asar (502MB) regardless of the files allow-list, because
normalizeFiles turns the array into one {filter} fileSet whose
entries ALL feed the per-dep copier (its implicit '**/*' passing
everything), and unpacked the native rungs into a 150MB
app.asar.unpacked. The launcher needs nothing but electron + node
builtins — the server ships via extraResources.
The fix (electron-builder.yml files): gitignore-style negation
ordering — '!**/*' first excludes everything, then only
electron/** and package.json re-include. The same list reaches the
per-dep filter, where app-builder-lib's destination-path quirk
(stat.moduleFullFilePath in util/filter.js) means no dep file can
ever re-include: all 566 modules collect zero files (DEBUG-mode
verified). Locale trim rides along (mac.electronLanguages: en).
Result on a fresh desktop:dist: app.asar 502MB -> 16KB (shell only:
electron/main.cjs, preload.cjs, package.json), app.asar.unpacked
gone, Frameworks 288MB -> 239MB, app 1066MB -> 367MB, DMG 330MB ->
144MB. Resources/server curation untouched (127MB, sharp native +
pdfjs traced and verified live).
Live verification against the packaged app: server spawn via
ELECTRON_RUN_AS_NODE on its kernel-assigned port, model slots via
PUT /api/settings/models, chat round-trip streaming an exact echo,
read tool on a PDF through the pdfjs path (exact text extracted),
image attach through the vision slot, GET /api/graph snapshot and
render-settings.
Docs full-accuracy pass (owner-approved scope): README +
docs/architecture.md swept of the dead embeddings / graph-context
injection / cluster-namer / semantic-clusters story (wave-7
casualties), MODELS/config roster rewritten to the BYOK slot
chain, EXTRACTION.chunkTokens -> graph.extractionChunkTokens,
route count 16 -> 25, steer_ctx_ dropped, seam table re-pointed at
the prober graph tools; docs/research/stt.md:50's "we already ship
transformers.js" premise corrected; config.ts orphaned EXTRACTION
doc block (left over from eed4b4e) deleted.
Note for master: npm prune still owed in the master tree (~690MB
stale @huggingface/onnxruntime trees absent from the lockfile);
worktree tree is clean and verified.
Owner's second live test:
- DEFERRED transcript: finals accumulate in a buffer during the run and
flush into the primary input once, when dictation ends (Stop →
CloseStream → Deepgram's last finals → socket close → one joined
append; the 3s safety net covers a missing close). Nothing textual
renders while recording — the meter is the only live feedback. Live
output may return as a toggleable setting at the settings milestone;
deferred is the default behavior.
- ADAPTIVE meter: cell count derives from the measured strip width (4px
pitch, 8-48 cells, ResizeObserver; cells drop their minimum width) so
narrow rows beside the knowledge-context slider fit — verified in the
dev shell: draft 20 cells/83px, chat 48 cells/273px, no overlap.
Owner's first live mic test (2026-09-17) drove four changes:
- ONE primary transcription input at all times: while a quiz/ask
question waits, finals land in its field (text mode → 'Your answer',
select modes → 'Your thinking') via a module-level claim registry
(useDictationTarget in dictation.tsx); the composer is the fallback.
Esc in a question field also stops dictation (threaded through
DockOverlay → QuestionDock).
- No interim results: live words were distracting and shifted the meter.
Params now match the pi dictate extension exactly (no interim_results,
endpointing=300, no utterance_end_ms); the meter's width stays fixed.
- Optimistic meter: the click enters the meter view immediately (Stop
pill + meter within one frame, verified at 150ms in the dev shell);
token mint and mic acquisition run concurrently behind it.
- Wide idle button: the stats-bar middle is one full-width affordance —
a quiet bordered 'Dictate' button when idle (failure text replaces the
label), Stop pill + fixed meter while live.
Live-verified in the Electron dev shell: wide button renders on home
(167px) and chat (358px), meter + Stop appear at 150ms after click,
flat 2px bars in silence, clean return to 'Dictate' on stop.
Two live-verified Deepgram facts from the first real mic-test round:
- /v1/auth/grant returns { access_token }, not { token } — the route now
parses the right field.
- Minted JWTs authenticate over the WebSocket via the "bearer"
subprotocol; ["token", jwt] is rejected at the handshake (token is
for raw API keys only, as in the pi dictate extension).
Also documents the env-precedence gotcha in docs/research/stt.md: a
DEEPGRAM_API_KEY exported in the shell (e.g. .zshrc) silently beats
.env.local in next dev and the desktop authEnv() seam.
amosblomqvist