Only the TTS model (~2.4 GB) is required on first run; ASR models are
per-platform curated picks (curated_on in models.yaml) installed on demand.
Every transcription surface returns a typed asr_model_missing error with a
one-click download CTA instead of silently pulling multi-GB Whisper weights.
Settings -> Models is a grouped, platform-aware catalog. New guided
permissions UX (wizard System Check + Settings -> Permissions + mic
pre-flight) with native mic-state checks and OS settings deep-links. New
parakeet-mlx engine brings Parakeet TDT v3 to Apple Silicon (language-gated
capture preference so multilingual dictation never regresses). Docs:
expressive-speech page, Flush/Unload + CPU-fallback triage, clone-length FAQ.
Hardening: preflight fails open for custom model pins, ROCm curation no
longer inherits NVIDIA picks, Windows mic probe reads the NonPackaged
consent key, CaptureWidget setup race fixed, offline-cache CI simulation
fixes so empty-cache runners stay green.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
