"""Raw PCM capture with a live level meter. Dictation records one source. A meeting records two of them at once, the microphone and what comes out of the speakers, and for that it goes through ffmpeg: one process reading both devices and merging them into the two channels of a single stream, which is the only way the two stay aligned with each other over an hour. Which programs do the capturing is a property of the machine, not of the code above: PulseAudio or PipeWire on Linux, AVFoundation through ffmpeg on macOS. They are gathered into one group each near the bottom of this file, and a chooser picks between them. macOS uses one ffmpeg process per AVFoundation device: two AVFoundation sessions in one process silently starve one another. """ import array import collections import json import math import os import re import shutil import signal import subprocess import sys import tempfile import threading import wave from PyQt6.QtCore import QObject, pyqtSignal from i18n import t RATE = 16000 CHANNELS = 1 SAMPLE_WIDTH = 2 # s16 CHUNK_FRAMES = 1024 CHUNK_BYTES = CHUNK_FRAMES * SAMPLE_WIDTH * CHANNELS CHUNK_LATENCY_MS = round(CHUNK_FRAMES / RATE * 1000) MIN_FRAMES = int(RATE * 0.25) class Recorder(QObject): """Runs the available sound-server recorder and reads raw PCM from stdout.""" level = pyqtSignal(float) # 0.0 - 1.0, for the waveform stopped = pyqtSignal(str, float, object) # wav path, duration (s), per-chunk RMS failed = pyqtSignal(str) def __init__(self, parent=None): super().__init__(parent) self._proc = None self._thread = None self._buffer = bytearray() self._rms = [] self._cancelled = False self._stopping = False self._lock = threading.Lock() @property def active(self): return self._thread is not None and self._thread.is_alive() def start(self, target="", max_seconds=300): if self.active: return try: cmd = recording_command(target) except AudioDeviceError as exc: self.failed.emit(str(exc)) return if not cmd: self.failed.emit(t(sound().missing)) return try: self._proc = subprocess.Popen( cmd, stdout=subprocess.PIPE, stderr=subprocess.PIPE, bufsize=0 ) except OSError as exc: self.failed.emit(t("Could not start recording: {error}", error=exc)) return self._buffer = bytearray() self._rms = [] self._cancelled = False self._stopping = False self._max_bytes = int(max_seconds * RATE * SAMPLE_WIDTH * CHANNELS) self._thread = threading.Thread(target=self._pump, daemon=True) self._thread.start() def _pump(self): proc = self._proc stdout = proc.stdout try: while True: chunk = stdout.read(CHUNK_BYTES) if not chunk: break peak, rms = chunk_levels(chunk) with self._lock: self._buffer.extend(chunk) self._rms.append(rms) too_long = len(self._buffer) >= self._max_bytes self.level.emit(peak) if too_long: self._terminate() break except (OSError, ValueError): pass # Nobody asked it to end and it captured nothing: the recorder is not # installed properly, or the device was refused. Said out loud here, # because stop() would otherwise report it as a recording that was too # short, which sends the user looking in the wrong place. with self._lock: captured = bool(self._buffer) if self._stopping or self._cancelled or captured: return try: detail = proc.stderr.read().decode("utf-8", "replace").strip() except (AttributeError, OSError): detail = "" self.failed.emit(t( "Audio recorder stopped before receiving sound: {error}", error=detail or f"exit code {proc.returncode}", )) def _terminate(self): self._stopping = True proc = self._proc if proc and proc.poll() is None: try: proc.send_signal(signal.SIGINT) proc.wait(timeout=1.5) except (subprocess.TimeoutExpired, OSError): try: proc.kill() except OSError: pass def cancel(self): self._cancelled = True self._terminate() if self._thread: self._thread.join(timeout=2) self._thread = None self._proc = None with self._lock: self._buffer = bytearray() def stop(self): """End the recording and write the WAV file.""" if not self._proc: return self._terminate() if self._thread: self._thread.join(timeout=2) self._thread = None self._proc = None with self._lock: pcm = bytes(self._buffer) rms = list(self._rms) self._buffer = bytearray() if self._cancelled: return frames = len(pcm) // (SAMPLE_WIDTH * CHANNELS) if frames < MIN_FRAMES: # a stray keypress, not speech self.failed.emit(t("Recording too short, speak for at least 0.3 s")) return path = write_wav(pcm) self.stopped.emit(path, frames / RATE, rms) def write_wav(pcm, rate=RATE, channels=CHANNELS, width=SAMPLE_WIDTH): fd, path = tempfile.mkstemp(prefix="dikte-", suffix=".wav") with open(fd, "wb") as raw, wave.open(raw, "wb") as wav: wav.setnchannels(channels) wav.setsampwidth(width) wav.setframerate(rate) wav.writeframes(pcm) return path def recording_command(target=""): """A raw-s16 capture command for the sound system on this machine.""" return sound().record(target) def meeting_commands(mic_target, system_target): """The capture processes that produce one stereo meeting stream. PulseAudio can keep both inputs in one ffmpeg process. AVFoundation cannot: on a real Mac its two sessions silently starve the microphone, so each Mac device is captured and clock-corrected by its own process. MeetingRecorder interleaves those two mono streams after that. """ if sound() is COREAUDIO: return [ _avfoundation_meeting_capture(mic_target), _avfoundation_meeting_capture(system_target), ] return [sound().meeting(mic_target, system_target)] class AudioDeviceError(RuntimeError): """A saved capture device can no longer be selected safely.""" class MeetingRecorder(QObject): """Microphone and speaker output into one stereo file: left is you, right is everyone else. Who said what then needs no guessing at all, because the two voices never shared a channel to begin with. The recording is written to disk as it arrives rather than held in memory, so length is not a problem and a crash costs the tail of the meeting instead of all of it. """ levels = pyqtSignal(float, float) # mine, theirs stopped = pyqtSignal(str, float) # wav path, duration (s) died = pyqtSignal() # ffmpeg quit on its own failed = pyqtSignal(str) def __init__(self, parent=None): super().__init__(parent) self._proc = None self._procs = [] self._thread = None self._wav = None self._logs = [] self._path = "" self._frames = 0 self._mic_zero_frames = 0 self._split_inputs = False self._cancelled = False self._stopping = False self._lock = threading.Lock() @property def active(self): return self._thread is not None and self._thread.is_alive() def start(self, path, mic_target="", system_target="", max_seconds=14400): if self.active: return if not shutil.which("ffmpeg"): self.failed.emit(t("ffmpeg not found. Install it to record a meeting.")) return if not system_target: system_target = default_monitor() if not system_target: self.failed.emit(t("Could not work out which speaker output to record. " "Pick one in Settings → Meeting.")) return try: commands = meeting_commands(mic_target, system_target) except AudioDeviceError as exc: self.failed.emit(str(exc)) return try: os.makedirs(os.path.dirname(path), exist_ok=True) self._wav = wave.open(path, "wb") self._wav.setnchannels(2) self._wav.setsampwidth(SAMPLE_WIDTH) self._wav.setframerate(RATE) # ffmpeg keeps talking to stderr for as long as it runs; a pipe # nobody drains would eventually block it, so it writes to a file. self._logs = [tempfile.TemporaryFile() for _ in commands] self._procs = [] for command, log in zip(commands, self._logs): self._procs.append(subprocess.Popen( command, stdout=subprocess.PIPE, stderr=log, bufsize=0 )) self._proc = self._procs[0] except (OSError, wave.Error) as exc: self._terminate_processes() self._proc = None self._procs = [] self._close_file() self._drop_log() try: os.unlink(path) # an empty header nobody will ever read except OSError: pass self.failed.emit(t("Could not start recording: {error}", error=exc)) return self._path = path self._frames = 0 self._mic_zero_frames = 0 self._split_inputs = len(self._procs) == 2 self._cancelled = False self._stopping = False self._max_frames = int(max_seconds * RATE) self._thread = threading.Thread(target=self._pump, daemon=True) self._thread.start() def _pump(self): if self._split_inputs: self._pump_split() else: self._pump_merged() # Nobody asked it to end: the sound device went away, or ffmpeg fell # over. An hour into a meeting that has to be said out loud rather than # discovered afterwards. if not self._stopping: self.died.emit() def _pump_merged(self): stdout = self._procs[0].stdout block = CHUNK_FRAMES * SAMPLE_WIDTH * 2 try: while True: chunk = stdout.read(block) if not chunk: break if not self._write_chunk(chunk): break except (OSError, ValueError, wave.Error): pass def _pump_split(self): left = self._procs[0].stdout right = self._procs[1].stdout block = CHUNK_FRAMES * SAMPLE_WIDTH try: while True: mine = _read_exact(left, block) theirs = _read_exact(right, block) if not mine or not theirs: break frames = min(len(mine), len(theirs)) // SAMPLE_WIDTH mine = mine[:frames * SAMPLE_WIDTH] theirs = theirs[:frames * SAMPLE_WIDTH] self._mic_zero_frames += _zero_samples(mine) if not self._write_chunk(interleave_mono(mine, theirs)): break except (OSError, ValueError, wave.Error): pass def _write_chunk(self, chunk): mine, theirs = stereo_levels(chunk) with self._lock: if self._wav is None: return False self._wav.writeframes(chunk) self._frames += len(chunk) // (SAMPLE_WIDTH * 2) too_long = self._frames >= self._max_frames self.levels.emit(mine, theirs) if too_long: self._terminate() return False return True def _terminate(self): self._stopping = True self._terminate_processes() def _terminate_processes(self): running = [proc for proc in self._procs if proc.poll() is None] for proc in running: try: proc.send_signal(signal.SIGINT) except OSError: pass for proc in running: try: proc.wait(timeout=2) except (subprocess.TimeoutExpired, OSError): try: proc.kill() except OSError: pass def _close_file(self): with self._lock: wav, self._wav = self._wav, None if wav is not None: try: wav.close() except (OSError, wave.Error): pass def _error_tail(self): tails = [] for log in self._logs: try: log.seek(0) text = log.read().decode("utf-8", "replace").strip() except OSError: continue lines = [line for line in text.splitlines() if line.strip()] if lines: tails.append(lines[-1]) return " | ".join(tails) def _finish_process(self): self._terminate() if self._thread: self._thread.join(timeout=3) self._thread = None codes = [proc.poll() for proc in self._procs] code = next((value for value in codes if value), 0) self._proc = None self._procs = [] self._close_file() return code def cancel(self): self._cancelled = True self._finish_process() self._drop_log() try: os.unlink(self._path) except OSError: pass def stop(self): if not self._proc: return # The count is read after the join: the pump thread is still appending # the last blocks up to the moment it ends. code = self._finish_process() frames = self._frames if self._cancelled: self._drop_log() return # SIGINT is how the recording ends, and ffmpeg reports being interrupted # as a failure; only complain when nothing was captured either. if frames < MIN_FRAMES: tail = self._error_tail() self._drop_log() try: os.unlink(self._path) except OSError: pass self.failed.emit( t("Nothing was recorded: {error}", error=tail or f"ffmpeg → {code}") if tail or code else t("Recording too short, speak for at least 0.3 s") ) return if (self._split_inputs and frames >= RATE * 10 and self._mic_zero_frames / frames > 0.5): empty = round(self._mic_zero_frames / frames * 100) self._drop_log() try: os.unlink(self._path) except OSError: pass self.failed.emit(t( "The macOS microphone stopped delivering audio ({percent}% was " "empty). The unusable recording was discarded; reconnect the " "device and try again.", percent=empty, )) return self._drop_log() self.stopped.emit(self._path, frames / RATE) def _drop_log(self): for log in self._logs: try: log.close() except OSError: pass self._logs = [] def chunk_levels(chunk): """(peak, rms) in 0..1. Peak drives the waveform, RMS drives the silence check.""" samples = array.array("h") usable = len(chunk) - (len(chunk) % 2) if usable <= 0: return 0.0, 0.0 samples.frombytes(chunk[:usable]) peak = max(abs(min(samples)), abs(max(samples))) / 32768.0 rms = math.sqrt(sum(s * s for s in samples) / len(samples)) / 32768.0 return min(1.0, peak), min(1.0, rms) def stereo_levels(chunk): """(left peak, right peak) in 0..1 from interleaved stereo s16.""" samples = array.array("h") usable = len(chunk) - (len(chunk) % 4) if usable <= 0: return 0.0, 0.0 samples.frombytes(chunk[:usable]) left, right = samples[0::2], samples[1::2] return _peak(left), _peak(right) def interleave_mono(left, right): """Two equally long mono-s16 buffers into one stereo-s16 buffer.""" left_samples = array.array("h") right_samples = array.array("h") left_samples.frombytes(left[:len(left) - len(left) % SAMPLE_WIDTH]) right_samples.frombytes(right[:len(right) - len(right) % SAMPLE_WIDTH]) frames = min(len(left_samples), len(right_samples)) stereo_samples = array.array("h") stereo_samples.extend( sample for pair in zip(left_samples[:frames], right_samples[:frames]) for sample in pair ) return stereo_samples.tobytes() def _read_exact(stream, size): """Read one meter-sized block, tolerating short unbuffered pipe reads.""" out = bytearray() while len(out) < size: chunk = stream.read(size - len(out)) if not chunk: break out.extend(chunk) return bytes(out) def _zero_samples(chunk): samples = array.array("h") samples.frombytes(chunk[:len(chunk) - len(chunk) % SAMPLE_WIDTH]) return sum(sample == 0 for sample in samples) def _peak(samples): if not samples: return 0.0 return min(1.0, max(abs(min(samples)), abs(max(samples))) / 32768.0) # --- the sound system, one group per machine ------------------------------- # Both meeting commands merge the same way: each input down to mono at our own # rate, then the two of them into the left and right of one stream. MERGE_FILTER = ( f"[0:a]aresample={RATE}:async=1,aformat=sample_fmts=s16:channel_layouts=mono[m];" f"[1:a]aresample={RATE}:async=1,aformat=sample_fmts=s16:channel_layouts=mono[s];" "[m][s]amerge=inputs=2[out]" ) def _pulse_record(target): """parec, or pw-record where PulseAudio's tools were left out. parec works with both PulseAudio and PipeWire's PulseAudio compatibility service, and its source names are the same ones shown by list_sources(). Keep pw-record as the fallback for minimal native-PipeWire installations. """ if shutil.which("parec"): cmd = [ "parec", "--record", "--raw", f"--rate={RATE}", f"--channels={CHANNELS}", "--format=s16le", # Left alone, parec holds about two seconds before handing anything # over, and then hands over all of it at once: the level meter sits # still and jumps, and the tail of a recording can be lost on the # way out. A chunk of the meter is the unit the rest of this file # is measured in, so ask for that. f"--latency-msec={CHUNK_LATENCY_MS}", ] if target: cmd.append(f"--device={target}") return cmd if shutil.which("pw-record"): cmd = [ "pw-record", *_pw_record_raw_option(), f"--rate={RATE}", f"--channels={CHANNELS}", "--format=s16", ] if target: cmd.append(f"--target={target}") cmd.append("-") return cmd return [] def _pw_record_raw_option(): """Use --raw only on pw-record releases that provide it. PipeWire gained --raw in 1.4, and in the same release stopped treating a filename of "-" as raw on its own: before it, the option is refused and the recorder dies before any sound arrives; after it, leaving the option out wraps the stream in a container the rest of this file would read as noise. Ubuntu 24.04 and anything else still on 1.0 or 1.2 sit on the near side of that line, so ask the installed binary which form it understands. """ try: result = subprocess.run( ["pw-record", "--help"], capture_output=True, text=True, timeout=2 ) help_text = (result.stdout or "") + (result.stderr or "") except (subprocess.SubprocessError, OSError): return ["--raw"] # preserve the existing command when probing itself fails if not help_text.strip(): return ["--raw"] return ["--raw"] if "--raw" in help_text else [] def _pulse_meeting(mic_target, system_target): return [ "ffmpeg", "-hide_banner", "-nostdin", "-loglevel", "error", "-f", "pulse", "-thread_queue_size", "4096", "-i", mic_target or "default", "-f", "pulse", "-thread_queue_size", "4096", "-i", system_target, "-filter_complex", MERGE_FILTER, "-map", "[out]", "-f", "s16le", "-ar", str(RATE), "-", ] def _pactl_sources(): if not shutil.which("pactl"): return [] try: out = subprocess.run( ["pactl", "-f", "json", "list", "sources"], capture_output=True, text=True, timeout=5, check=True, ).stdout return json.loads(out) except (subprocess.SubprocessError, OSError, json.JSONDecodeError): return [] def _pulse_inputs(): return [ (src.get("name", ""), src.get("description") or src.get("name", "")) for src in _pactl_sources() if not src.get("name", "").endswith(".monitor") ] def _pulse_outputs(): return [ (src.get("name", ""), src.get("description") or src.get("name", "")) for src in _pactl_sources() if src.get("name", "").endswith(".monitor") ] def _pulse_default_output(): if not shutil.which("pactl"): return "" try: sink = subprocess.run( ["pactl", "get-default-sink"], capture_output=True, text=True, timeout=5, check=True, ).stdout.strip() except (subprocess.SubprocessError, OSError): return "" if not sink: return "" monitor = f"{sink}.monitor" names = {name for name, _ in _pulse_outputs()} return monitor if not names or monitor in names else "" # macOS hands out no monitor of its own: what the speakers are playing is not # an input, and the only way to record it is a driver that pretends to be one. # These are the three people install. LOOPBACK_DEVICES = ("blackhole", "loopback", "soundflower") def _avfoundation_record(target): if not shutil.which("ffmpeg"): return [] target = _resolve_avfoundation_target(target) return [ "ffmpeg", "-hide_banner", "-nostdin", "-loglevel", "error", # AVFoundation names an input "video:audio", so the empty half in front # of the colon is what says this recording has no picture in it. "-f", "avfoundation", "-i", f":{target or 'default'}", "-ac", str(CHANNELS), "-ar", str(RATE), "-f", "s16le", "-", ] def _avfoundation_meeting_capture(target): target = _resolve_avfoundation_target(target) return [ "ffmpeg", "-hide_banner", "-nostdin", "-loglevel", "error", "-thread_queue_size", "4096", "-f", "avfoundation", "-i", f":{target or 'default'}", "-af", (f"aresample={RATE}:async=1:first_pts=0," "aformat=sample_fmts=s16:channel_layouts=mono"), "-f", "s16le", "-ar", str(RATE), "-ac", "1", "-", ] def _avfoundation_inputs(): """[(index, name)] for every capture device AVFoundation offers. The index is what the recorder is given, because that is what ffmpeg takes; it changes when devices are plugged in, which is why the name is shown. """ if not shutil.which("ffmpeg"): return [] try: # Listing devices is not a thing ffmpeg can do without an input, so it # is asked for one it cannot open: the list comes out on stderr and the # command then fails, which is the documented way of doing this. result = subprocess.run( ["ffmpeg", "-hide_banner", "-f", "avfoundation", "-list_devices", "true", "-i", ""], capture_output=True, text=True, timeout=8, check=False, ) except (subprocess.SubprocessError, OSError): return [] devices, listing = [], False for line in result.stderr.splitlines(): if "AVFoundation audio devices:" in line: listing = True continue if not listing: continue match = re.search(r"\[(\d+)\]\s+(.+)$", line) if match: devices.append((match.group(1), match.group(2).strip())) return devices def _avfoundation_named_inputs(): """Stable settings values: the name is saved, never the moving index.""" return [(description, description) for _index, description in _avfoundation_inputs()] def _resolve_avfoundation_target(target): """Resolve a stored device name to its current, positional ffmpeg index.""" if not target or target == "default": return "default" if str(target).isdigit(): raise AudioDeviceError(t( "The saved macOS audio device uses an old numeric index. Open " "Settings and select the device again before recording." )) matches = [index for index, description in _avfoundation_inputs() if description == target] if not matches: raise AudioDeviceError(t( "The saved macOS audio device is no longer connected: {device}. " "Open Settings and select another device.", device=target, )) if len(matches) > 1: raise AudioDeviceError(t( "More than one macOS audio device is named {device}. Disconnect the " "duplicate or choose a different device.", device=target, )) return matches[0] def _avfoundation_default_output(): for _index, description in _avfoundation_inputs(): if any(word in description.lower() for word in LOOPBACK_DEVICES): return description return "" Sound = collections.namedtuple( "Sound", # How to capture one source and two at once, the two device lists, which # device a meeting records the far side from, and what to say when the # programs for any of it are not installed. "record meeting inputs outputs default_output missing", ) PULSE = Sound( record=_pulse_record, meeting=_pulse_meeting, inputs=_pulse_inputs, outputs=_pulse_outputs, default_output=_pulse_default_output, missing="No audio recorder found. Install pulseaudio-utils or pipewire-audio.", ) COREAUDIO = Sound( record=_avfoundation_record, meeting=None, # two separate capture processes; see meeting_commands() inputs=_avfoundation_named_inputs, # Every macOS capture device is offered as the far side of a meeting, the # loopback driver among them: there is no way to tell them apart, and an # empty list would leave nothing to pick. outputs=_avfoundation_named_inputs, default_output=_avfoundation_default_output, missing="ffmpeg not found. Install it with: brew install ffmpeg", ) def sound(): """The programs this machine records through.""" return COREAUDIO if sys.platform == "darwin" else PULSE def list_sources(): """[(name, description)] for every real input source.""" return sound().inputs() def list_monitors(): """[(name, description)] for whatever can be recorded as the other side. On Linux that is the monitor of an output, and recording it is recording whatever is being played: in a meeting the other participants, and nothing of your own microphone. """ return sound().outputs() def default_monitor(): """The device the far side of a meeting comes from, or ''.""" return sound().default_output()