SESSION_LOG_2026-03-02.md

Session Log - 2026-03-02

Repo State

• Repository: adityachauhan0/gamer-cat
• Active branch: linux
• Remote default branch: linux
• Current HEAD: 4783833 (Add technical error log and mitigation summary)
• Working tree: clean

What Was Done This Session

1. Linux/Arch Runtime Hardening

• Added startup bootstrap in app to set sane defaults for Linux runtime.
• Added Ollama startup + required model checks (llama3.2:3b, moondream).
• Added local runtime hints for missing portal/capture/audio prerequisites.

2. Model and Language Configuration

• Switched default LLM model to llama3.2:3b.
• Set English-only STT defaults:
  • GAMERCAT_STT_MODEL=tiny.en
  • GAMERCAT_STT_LANGUAGE=en
  • GAMERCAT_STT_ENFORCE_LANGUAGE=1
• Set anime-style English TTS defaults:
  • GAMERCAT_TTS_BACKEND=edge
  • GAMERCAT_TTS_VOICE=en-US-AnaNeural
  • GAMERCAT_TTS_RATE=+10%
  • GAMERCAT_TTS_PITCH=+12Hz

3. Capture + Vision Reliability

• Improved capture backend fallback strategy and diagnostics.
• Added Wayland/KDE portal handling guidance and checks.
• Improved vision prompt behavior and empty-response handling.
• Added deterministic answer path for direct screen questions (uses latest valid context, avoids hallucination).

4. TTS/STT Flow and Concurrency Fixes

• Added explicit listen logs:
  • [Listen] Started recording user input (...)
  • [Listen] Stopped recording user input.
• Added configurable post-speech resume delay:
  • GAMERCAT_LISTEN_RESUME_DELAY (set to 15 by default).
• Reworked main orchestration to serialized turn flow:
  • listen -> refresh screen context -> generate -> speak
• Disabled background listener in main path to avoid overlapping record cycles.
• Added hard recorder mutex lock in VoiceEngine to prevent parallel recording paths.
• Added TTS busy/cooldown gating before each listen cycle.

5. Startup Script for Fresh Reboot

• Added startup.sh with:
  • user-session safety (avoid broken sudo DBus/Wayland context)
  • portal user-service checks/restarts
  • dependency sync (uv sync)
  • Ollama/model bootstrap
  • launch command
• Confirmed expected invocation: run as normal user (./startup.sh), not sudo.

6. Documentation and Postmortem

• Updated README.md and DOCUMENTATION.md to match Linux runtime and defaults.
• Added detailed incident postmortem:
  • ERROR_LOGS.md (root causes, fixes, bypasses, validation, residual risks).

Important Commits (linux branch)

• 5614b9b Improve Linux runtime flow, startup, and capture/TTS stability
• 4783833 Add technical error log and mitigation summary

Branch and Remote Actions Completed

• Created/pushed branch: linux
• Set GitHub default branch to: linux
• Updated local remote HEAD:
  • origin/HEAD -> origin/linux

Current Runtime Behavior (Expected)

1. App starts and speaks greeting.
2. Waits for TTS idle + resume delay.
3. Logs waiting and starts recording.
4. Stops recording and transcribes.
5. Captures fresh screen context.
6. Generates response.
7. Speaks response.
8. Repeats.

Open Notes / Residual Risks

• STT still incurs natural inference latency on CPU; this is expected.
• If fully local/offline TTS is required, configure Piper model and set GAMERCAT_LOCAL_ONLY=1.
• Wayland capture remains dependent on active compositor/portal permissions and installed tools.

Fast Resume Checklist for Next Agent

1. Verify branch and cleanliness:
   • git branch --show-current
   • git status --short --branch
2. Start runtime:
   • ./startup.sh
3. If diagnosing turn order, watch for these log markers:
   • [Flow] Waiting for user input...
   • [Listen] Started...
   • [Listen] Stopped...
   • [Flow] Refreshing screen context before response...
   • [Flow] Generating response...
   • [Flow] Speaking response...
4. For historical context, read:
   • ERROR_LOGS.md
   • DOCUMENTATION.md