From db24d111970312dca1cbcb17250bfd15025e0493 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Ben <ben@kraal.se>
Date: Wed, 12 Aug 2026 12:10:55 +0200
Subject: [PATCH] Add project README describing goals and privacy-first design.

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+# mp3Transriber
+
+`mp3Transriber` is a desktop app for managing MP3 recordings from a pocket recorder, viewing their metadata, and generating transcriptions.
+
+The project is being designed with **privacy first** in mind:
+
+- **Local transcription is the default**
+- **MP3 files and transcripts stay on the user's machine by default**
+- **Cloud AI providers may be supported later as an explicit opt-in choice**
+
+## Goals
+
+- Import and manage MP3 recordings from a handheld or pocket recorder
+- Read and display MP3 metadata
+- Transcribe recordings to text
+- Store transcripts inside the app
+- Use a local `SQLite` database
+- Run on **Linux** and **macOS**
+- Be easy to start and use after download
+
+## Planned Product Direction
+
+The current plan is to build this as a **Tauri** desktop application with a small web UI and a Rust backend.
+
+Core design points:
+
+- Desktop-first app for Linux and macOS
+- Local file import and local storage
+- Local transcription engine by default
+- Optional cloud provider support only when the user enables it
+
+## Privacy Model
+
+Privacy is a core requirement for this project because recordings may contain confidential information.
+
+### Default behavior
+
+By default, the app will:
+
+- keep recordings on the local machine
+- transcribe audio locally
+- store transcript text locally in SQLite
+- avoid sending audio or transcript text to the internet
+
+### Optional cloud mode
+
+The app may later support cloud transcription providers, but only under these conditions:
+
+- cloud mode is **off by default**
+- the user must explicitly enable it
+- the user must configure their own provider credentials
+- the UI must clearly warn that audio and transcript data may leave the machine
+
+## Planned Tech Stack
+
+This is the current working stack proposal:
+
+- **Desktop shell:** Tauri
+- **Frontend:** React + TypeScript
+- **Backend orchestration:** Rust
+- **Database:** SQLite
+- **Metadata extraction:** local MP3 tag reader library
+- **Local transcription:** `whisper.cpp` or another fully local ASR engine
+- **Audio conversion:** `ffmpeg` when needed for transcription preprocessing
+
+## Expected Features
+
+### Recording management
+
+- Import MP3 files from disk
+- Keep a list of recordings inside the app
+- Prevent duplicate imports where practical
+
+### Metadata viewer
+
+- Show common MP3 metadata fields such as:
+  - title
+  - artist
+  - album
+  - date
+  - duration
+  - bitrate
+  - file name and path
+
+### Transcription
+
+- Start transcription from the app UI
+- Save the resulting text to the local database
+- Re-open saved transcripts later
+- Support local-only transcription as the primary mode
+
+## Project Status
+
+This repository is currently in the planning and scaffolding stage.
+
+What exists so far:
+
+- initial project notes in `todo.txt`
+- an implementation plan for a privacy-focused desktop app
+
+What is expected next:
+
+- scaffold the Tauri app
+- define the SQLite schema
+- implement MP3 import and metadata extraction
+- integrate local transcription
+- add a basic user interface
+
+## Non-Goals for the First Version
+
+To keep the first version focused, these are likely out of scope initially:
+
+- real-time live microphone dictation
+- syncing files across devices
+- automatic cloud backup
+- multi-user collaboration
+
+## Development Notes
+
+The first implementation will prioritize:
+
+1. local-first behavior
+2. simple setup on Linux and macOS
+3. a clear and minimal UI
+4. auditable privacy behavior
+
+## License
+
+License not chosen yet.