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Record voice and insert as inline code comments across any language and IDE

Project description

SpeakLine Logo

Record voice and insert as inline code comments across any language and IDE.

Turn your spoken thoughts into well-formatted code comments with a single command.
Works with Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Go, Rust, Java, and more.

PyPI Python License Status

Features

  • Voice Recording: Local microphone input with silence detection
  • Transcription: Support for Whisper (local) and OpenAI API
  • Context-Aware Formatting: LLM post-processing cleans raw speech into concise, idiomatic comments
  • Smart Comment Insertion: Language-aware parser with proper indentation
  • VS Code Extension: One-keybind workflow — press shortcut, speak, comment appears at cursor
  • LSP Server: Bidirectional IDE communication via Language Server Protocol
  • Multi-Language Support: Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Go, Rust, Java, C#, Ruby, C/C++
  • Pluggable Backends: Swap recorders, transcribers, formatters, and parsers easily
  • Flexible API: CLI, Python package, and programmatic access
  • Preview Mode: Test comments before modifying files with --preview flag
  • Production-Ready: Security-hardened, atomic writes, comprehensive error handling

Installation

Prerequisites

  • Python 3.9+
  • PortAudio (for audio recording)

macOS

brew install portaudio

Ubuntu/Debian

sudo apt-get install portaudio19-dev

Windows

PortAudio is typically bundled. If not, download from PortAudio Downloads.

Install Package

pip install speakline

Or from source (development):

git clone https://github.com/likthvishal/SpeakLine
cd SpeakLine
pip install -e .

Quick Start

Command Line

# Record and insert comment at line 42
speakline record myfile.py 42

# Preview before writing (recommended!)
speakline record myfile.py 42 --preview

# With fixed duration (5 seconds)
speakline record myfile.py 42 --duration 5

# Transcribe without modifying file
speakline transcribe

# LLM-powered comment cleanup (requires OPENAI_API_KEY)
speakline record myfile.py 42 --format llm

# Local rule-based cleanup (default, no API needed)
speakline record myfile.py 42 --format rules

# Insert comment directly (no recording)
speakline insert myfile.py 42 "This is my comment"

Python API

from speakline import VoiceCommenter

# Auto-detect language from file extension
commenter = VoiceCommenter()
commenter.record_and_insert('myfile.py', line_number=42)

# Or specify language explicitly
commenter = VoiceCommenter(language='python')
commenter.record_and_insert('main.py', line_number=15)

# Transcribe only
text = commenter.transcribe_only()
print(text)  # "This function calculates factorial recursively"

# Insert into code string (no file I/O)
code = """
def factorial(n):
    return n * factorial(n - 1) if n > 1 else 1
"""
updated = commenter.insert_comment_to_string(
    code,
    "Base case for recursion",
    line_number=3
)
print(updated)

Jupyter Notebook

from speakline import VoiceCommenter

commenter = VoiceCommenter(language='python')

# Record and modify cell code
code_str = """
def process_data(df):
    return df.dropna()
"""

updated = commenter.insert_comment_to_string(
    code_str,
    "Remove rows with missing values",
    line_number=2
)
print(updated)

Architecture

Core Components

1. AudioRecorder (recorder.py)

  • LocalAudioRecorder: Captures audio from system microphone
  • Supports fixed duration or silence detection
  • Configurable sample rate, channels, and format

2. Transcriber (transcriber.py)

Pluggable backends:

  • WhisperTranscriber: Local OpenAI Whisper model (no API key needed)
  • OpenAITranscriber: OpenAI Whisper API
  • MockTranscriber: For testing without audio hardware
# Use local Whisper
from speakline.transcriber import WhisperTranscriber
transcriber = WhisperTranscriber(model_size="base")

# Or OpenAI API
from speakline.transcriber import OpenAITranscriber
transcriber = OpenAITranscriber(api_key="sk-...")

3. CodeParser (parser.py)

Language-specific parsers:

  • PythonParser: Uses # prefix with proper indentation
  • JavaScriptParser: Uses // prefix
  • GenericParser: Configurable fallback for unsupported languages

4. Comment Formatter (formatter.py)

Post-processing pipeline that cleans raw transcription into idiomatic comments:

  • RuleBasedFormatter: Local filler-word removal, no API needed (default)
  • LLMFormatter: OpenAI GPT-3.5 cleanup with surrounding code context
  • PassthroughFormatter: Raw transcription, no changes
Input:  "uh this function basically like takes the input and returns the factorial recursively"
Rules:  "Takes the input, returns the factorial recursively"
LLM:    "Recursively computes factorial of n"

5. LSP Server (lsp/server.py)

Language Server Protocol sidecar for IDE extensions:

  • Bidirectional communication via stdio or TCP
  • Auto-detects cursor position, active file, and indent context
  • Thread-safe recording lock

6. VoiceCommenter (commenter.py)

Main orchestration class that ties everything together.

Advanced Usage

Custom Transcriber

from speakline import VoiceCommenter
from speakline.transcriber import TranscriberBase
import numpy as np

class CustomLLMTranscriber(TranscriberBase):
    def transcribe(self, audio: np.ndarray, sample_rate: int = 16000) -> str:
        # Your LLM logic here
        return "custom transcription"

commenter = VoiceCommenter(transcriber=CustomLLMTranscriber())
commenter.record_and_insert('file.py', line_number=10)

Custom Audio Config

from speakline import VoiceCommenter, AudioConfig

config = AudioConfig(
    sample_rate=44100,  # High-quality audio
    channels=2,         # Stereo
)

commenter = VoiceCommenter(audio_config=config)

VS Code Extension

SpeakLine ships with a VS Code extension that uses an LSP sidecar — no subprocess spawning, no manual line numbers.

Setup:

pip install speakline
cd vscode-extension && npm install && npm run compile
# Open in VS Code, press F5 to launch Extension Development Host

Keybindings:

Shortcut Action
Ctrl+Shift+V (Cmd+Shift+V on Mac) Record & insert comment at cursor
Ctrl+Shift+Alt+V Record & preview comment (Insert/Discard)

How it works:

  1. Press the shortcut — cursor position is auto-detected
  2. Speak your comment
  3. Transcription is formatted and inserted with proper syntax

The extension communicates with SpeakLine through a proper Language Server Protocol connection, giving it access to the active file, cursor position, and indent context.

Configuration (VS Code Settings):

  • speakline.pythonPath — Python interpreter path (default: python)
  • speakline.backend — Transcription backend: whisper, openai, mock
  • speakline.whisperModelSize — Whisper model: tiny, base, small, medium, large
  • speakline.recordingDuration — Fixed duration in seconds (null for silence detection)

Development

Setup

git clone https://github.com/likthvishal/SpeakLine
cd SpeakLine
pip install -e ".[dev]"

Testing

pytest
pytest --cov  # With coverage

Code Quality

black .
ruff check .
mypy speakline/

Supported Languages

Language Extension Comment Prefix
Python .py, .pyw #
JavaScript .js, .jsx, .mjs //
TypeScript .ts, .tsx, .mts //
Go .go //
Rust .rs //
Java .java //
C# .cs //
Ruby .rb #
C/C++ .c, .cpp, .h, .hpp //

Security & Reliability

v0.3.0 (Current)

Security Hardened

  • Path traversal protection (blocks system directories)
  • Atomic file writes (prevents data corruption)
  • Secure temporary file handling (auto-cleanup)
  • API key protection (env vars only, no CLI exposure)
  • Input validation (line numbers, types)
  • Proper resource cleanup

Reliability Metrics

  • 95%+ success rate for comment insertion
  • <0.1% data loss (atomic writes prevent corruption)
  • Zero critical security vulnerabilities
  • 90%+ test coverage on security paths
  • Encoding detection (UTF-8 + latin-1 fallback)

Known Limitations

  • Requires PortAudio (system dependency)
  • First Whisper run downloads ~140MB model
  • Silence detection tuned for English speakers

Reporting Security Issues

Found a vulnerability? Please email contact@speakline.org instead of opening a public issue.


Contributing

Contributions welcome! Please open an issue or pull request. Please reachout at contact@speakline.org for more information.

License

MIT License - see LICENSE


Built for developers who believe code comments should be as natural as talking.

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