aman

Local amanuensis for X11 desktop dictation

Aman is a local X11 dictation daemon for Linux desktops. The supported path is: install the portable bundle, save the first-run settings window once, then use a hotkey to dictate into the focused app.

Supported Path

Surface	Contract
Desktop session	X11 only
Runtime dependencies	Installed from the distro package manager
Supported daily-use mode	systemd --user service
Manual foreground mode	aman run for setup, support, and debugging
Canonical recovery sequence	aman doctor -> aman self-check -> journalctl --user -u aman -> aman run --verbose
Representative GA validation families	Debian/Ubuntu, Arch, Fedora, openSUSE
Portable installer prerequisite	System CPython 3.10, 3.11, or 3.12

Distribution policy and user persona details live in docs/persona-and-distribution.md.

60-Second Quickstart

First, install the runtime dependencies for your distro:

Ubuntu/Debian

sudo apt install -y libportaudio2 python3-gi python3-xlib gir1.2-gtk-3.0 libayatana-appindicator3-1

Arch Linux

sudo pacman -S --needed portaudio gtk3 libayatana-appindicator python-gobject python-xlib

Fedora

sudo dnf install -y portaudio gtk3 libayatana-appindicator-gtk3 python3-gobject python3-xlib

openSUSE

sudo zypper install -y portaudio gtk3 libayatana-appindicator3-1 python3-gobject python3-python-xlib

Then install Aman and run the first dictation:

1. Verify and extract the portable bundle.
2. Run ./install.sh.
3. When Aman Settings (Required) opens, choose your microphone and keep Clipboard paste (recommended) unless you have a reason to change it.
4. Leave the default hotkey Cmd+m unless it conflicts. On Linux, Cmd and Super are equivalent in Aman, so this is the same modifier many users call Super+m.
5. Click Apply.
6. Put your cursor in any text field.
7. Press the hotkey once, say hello from Aman, then press the hotkey again.

sha256sum -c aman-x11-linux-<version>.tar.gz.sha256
tar -xzf aman-x11-linux-<version>.tar.gz
cd aman-x11-linux-<version>
./install.sh

What Success Looks Like

• On first launch, Aman opens the Aman Settings (Required) window.
• After you save settings, the tray returns to Idle.
• During dictation, the tray cycles Idle -> Recording -> STT -> AI Processing -> Idle.
• The focused text field receives text similar to Hello from Aman.

Visual Proof

Watch the first-run walkthrough (WebM)

Validate Your Install

Run the supported checks in this order:

aman doctor --config ~/.config/aman/config.json
aman self-check --config ~/.config/aman/config.json

• aman doctor is the fast, read-only preflight for config, X11 session, audio runtime, input resolution, hotkey availability, injection backend selection, and service prerequisites.
• aman self-check is the deeper, still read-only installed-system readiness check. It includes every doctor check plus managed model cache, cache writability, service unit/state, and startup readiness.
• Exit code 0 means every check finished as ok or warn. Exit code 2 means at least one check finished as fail.

Troubleshooting

• Settings window did not appear: run aman run --config ~/.config/aman/config.json once in the foreground.
• No tray icon after saving settings: run aman self-check --config ~/.config/aman/config.json.
• Hotkey does not start recording: run aman doctor --config ~/.config/aman/config.json and pick a different hotkey in Settings if needed.
• Microphone test fails or no audio is captured: re-open Settings, choose another input device, then rerun aman doctor.
• Text was recorded but not injected: run aman doctor, then aman run --config ~/.config/aman/config.json --verbose.

Use docs/runtime-recovery.md for the full failure map and escalation flow.

Install, Upgrade, and Uninstall

The canonical end-user guide lives in docs/portable-install.md.

• Fresh install, upgrade, uninstall, and purge behavior are documented there.
• The same guide covers distro-package conflicts and portable-installer recovery steps.

Daily Use and Support

• Supported daily-use path: let the systemd --user service keep Aman running.
• Supported manual path: use aman run in the foreground for setup, support, or debugging.
• Tray menu actions are: Settings..., Help, About, Pause Aman / Resume Aman, Reload Config, Run Diagnostics, Open Config Path, and Quit.
• If required settings are not saved, Aman enters a Settings Required tray state and does not capture audio.

Secondary Channels

• Portable X11 bundle: current canonical end-user channel.
• Debian/Ubuntu .deb: secondary packaged channel.
• Arch PKGBUILD plus source tarball: secondary maintainer and power-user channel.
• Python wheel and sdist: developer and integrator channel.

More Docs

• Install, upgrade, uninstall: docs/portable-install.md
• Runtime recovery and diagnostics: docs/runtime-recovery.md
• Config reference and advanced behavior: docs/config-reference.md
• Developer, packaging, and benchmark workflows: docs/developer-workflows.md
• Persona and distribution policy: docs/persona-and-distribution.md