Proposal for replacing the C++ core, C++ server, and Swift macOS/iOS
clients with a single .NET 10 / C# codebase.
Covers the dependency map (8 vcpkg deps + 1 vendored -> 3 native libs),
the real-time-audio design, per-client strategy, a test-porting plan for
all 29 ctest cases, doc-sync work, an 11-phase migration, and a risk
register.
Two findings drive the shape of the plan:
- SslStream has no RFC 5705 keying-material exporter, which the media
AEAD key derivation depends on (docs/security.md 2). The API is an
unapproved proposal and SChannel structurally cannot export secrets.
Recommends BouncyCastle's managed TLS 1.3 stack, which does implement
the exporter and keeps the wire format byte-compatible with the C++
implementation -- so the existing tree stays usable as a conformance
oracle throughout the port. Protocol-v3 in-band media keys documented
as the fallback.
- The iOS ReplayKit broadcast upload extension stays in Swift: 50 MB
jetsam cap plus an unsupported extension type in .NET for iOS, and it
already doesn't link the core. Leaves one Swift file plus the shared
App Group ring.
Indexed in docs/README.md. Nothing here is implemented yet.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Adds vcpkg as a submodule at vcpkg/, pinned to the exact commit vcpkg.json
already declares as builtin-baseline, so the bundled checkout and the
manifest's resolved port versions can never drift apart.
cmake/voicecat-toolchain.cmake, scripts/common.sh, and
clients/apple/scripts/build-xcframework.sh now resolve vcpkg as:
VCPKG_ROOT env var (external checkout) > bundled submodule. Docs updated
to describe the new one-time setup.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Removes leftover debug scaffolding (stray Console.WriteLine/NSLog traces,
dead nick_buf_ptr, a no-op --print-config flag now implemented for real),
fixes stale/misleading comments (channel passwords are no longer a "future
M5+" feature, a wrong cross-reference, a stale TlsContext::close() mention,
an incomplete BanRecord::subject_type doc, and a smoke test pointing at a
build/m1-dev preset that no longer exists), strips internal M1-M5 milestone
jargon from comments now that the roadmap is done, trims comments that just
restated the following line, and consolidates a few "why" explanations that
were duplicated 2-3 times in the same file.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Adds Assets.xcassets with a placeholder 1024x1024 AppIcon so Xcode
compiles CFBundleIconName and the required icon sizes into the bundle.
Replaces UILaunchStoryboardName (missing storyboard) with UILaunchScreen
dict, valid for iOS 14+ (min target is iOS 18). Fixes all four App Store
Connect validation errors blocking TestFlight upload.
Changes main app bundle ID from cat.voice.VoiceCatiOS, broadcast extension
from cat.voice.VoiceCatiOS.broadcast, and App Group from group.cat.voice.VoiceCat
to match the registered App Store identifier.
Drop the M0 no-deps skeleton preset and all VOICECAT_HAS_NET/AUDIO/OPUS/NS
guards that it required. Every subsystem is fully implemented; the stub
#else paths were dead code that added noise to every header and source file.
- CMakePresets.json: remove skeleton configure/build/test entries
- CMakeLists.txt (root/core/tests): remove VOICECAT_USE_VCPKG_DEPS option
and guards; all targets now build unconditionally
- 17 C++ source files: unwrap HAS_* guards, delete stub #else blocks
- apm_processor.cpp: delete ApmPassthrough no-op class; create() always
returns RnnoiseProcessor
- 18 test files: remove HAS_* guards and stub int main() skip bodies
- docs/building.md: remove skeleton from preset table and prose
VOICECAT_HAS_LOOPBACK (Windows WASAPI loopback platform gate) unchanged.
29/29 ctest green.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Recovery from the 99937c9 audio-device-change commit broadened the
route-change recovery set to "everything except categoryChange /
routeConfigurationChange", which added .override. But .override is
fired by our own applyA2dpSpeakerFallback() -> overrideOutputAudioPort,
which recoverAudio() calls on every recovery. On an A2DP preset
(Stereo Mic / Mono Mic), disconnecting AirPods ping-ponged:
oldDeviceUnavailable -> recoverAudio -> applyA2dpSpeakerFallback
-> overrideOutputAudioPort(.speaker) -> .override routeChange
-> recoverAudio -> applyConfiguration (setCategory resets override)
-> applyA2dpSpeakerFallback -> overrideOutputAudioPort -> .override -> ...
Each iteration also rebuilt the AVAudioEngine via reconfigure() ->
rebuild() -- the audible reinitialize loop + CPU spin. Voice Chat and
Built-in Mic + Speaker were unaffected (applyA2dpSpeakerFallback
early-returns for non-A2DP modes, so no overrideOutputAudioPort call).
Two-part fix (pure Swift iOS-app target; no C ABI / proto / docs changes):
1. AudioSessionManager.handleRouteChange: added .override to the skip
list alongside .categoryChange / .routeConfigurationChange. .override
is only ever fired by our own overrideOutputAudioPort call, so
treating it as a recovery reason is the loop by definition. The
AVAudioEngineConfigurationChange observer in IOSVoiceProcessingEngine
remains as the backstop if an override ever actually stops the engine.
2. IOSAudioRouter.applyA2dpSpeakerFallback: made idempotent via a
lastAppliedOutputOverride tracker that skips the redundant
overrideOutputAudioPort call when the desired state (.none for
external output present, .speaker otherwise) already matches. Reset
to nil at the top of applyConfiguration() (setCategory can reset the
override) and on a failed call. Defense-in-depth on top of fix 1.
Build: xcodebuild -project clients/apple/iOS/VoiceCatiOS.xcodeproj
-scheme VoiceCatiOS -destination 'generic/platform=iOS' build green
(Xcode 26.5 / iOS 18.0).
Network drops (e.g. Wi-Fi -> cellular) and audio-device plug/unplug (wired
headphones, AirPods) used to leave the iOS client in a dead/zombie state:
the engine went silent, no reconnect was attempted, and a live-session
disconnect waited 30-60 s for the C core's TCP keepalive/reaper timeout.
Reconnect (AppState.swift, SessionState.swift):
- Two-layer reconcile. Once SessionState overwrites client.onEvent at auth
success, AppState.handleConnectEvent no longer sees live-session events.
Added a weak SessionState.appState; SessionState.handleEvent .disconnected
calls appState.onLiveSessionDisconnected after the cue -- the single path
AppState learns a live session dropped. Shared teardownLiveSessionAndReconnect
snapshots lastSession, stops audio, releases session/VoiceCatClient (io-
thread join via vc_client_destroy), resets the backoff, and arms
scheduleReconnect (exponential 1s -> 30s cap, indefinite, restored on auth
success via existing TOFU_MATCHED auto-confirm + idempotent join_channel).
- NWPathMonitor now runs WHILE CONNECTED (not only mid-reconnect). On a Wi-Fi
<-> cellular interface change or path .unsatisfied it calls
proactiveReconnect: tearing the session down BEFORE the C core notices the
dead socket collapses the 30-60 s reaper wait into ~1 s + first backoff
tick. Same-interface refreshes (BSSID roams) are ignored via pathSignature.
While mid-reconnect a .satisfied path resets the backoff for a fast retry.
- User-initiated disconnect()/cancelConnect() set userInitiatedDisconnect
and cancel all reconnect state (task + monitor + lastSession + connectedServer).
Audio recovery (AudioSessionManager.swift, IOSVoiceProcessingEngine.swift):
- Intent-gated recoverAudio() replaces the narrow .oldDeviceUnavailable/
.newDeviceAvailable route-change guard; fires on every externally-initiated
route change reason except the ones we cause ourselves (.categoryChange/
.routeConfigurationChange) to avoid a notification loop. Interruption-end
now always recovers instead of only when .shouldResume is set.
- Added AVAudioEngineConfigurationChange observer on the engine so a system
self-stop after our route-change handler wins the race is caught.
- IOSAudioEngine.rebuild() does a one-shot reactivation-retry on
engine.start() failure (iOS sometimes refuses until the session is
re-reactivated -- the silent-death case).
No C ABI / voicecat.h / proto / core changes. Swift-only. iOS sim build green
via scripts/build-ios-client.sh --no-configure (Xcode 26.5 / iOS 18.0 sim).
Three bugs fixed across the full stack (proto/server/core/ABI/Win/macOS/iOS):
1. Join/Leave Voice now truly subscribes/unsubscribes from the voice plane.
Previously the button only toggled the local mic — receiving was always on
(gated by channel membership alone). Added a protocol-level voice subscription
concept: new SubscribeVoiceRequest/UnsubscribeVoiceRequest/VoiceSubscriptionResult
proto messages, User.voice_subscribed field, vc_join_voice/vc_leave_voice C ABI
functions, VC_EVENT_VOICE_STATE event, server-side voice_subscribed flag checked
by the SFU relay recipient filter, and core-client gating of remote-stream
decoder setup. All three clients rewired to subscribe+mic on Join / unsubscribe
on Leave. Text chat works regardless of voice subscription.
2. Channel edit dialog now shows the channel's actual current settings. The read
struct vc_channel was missing sort_order and audio fields — only the write
struct vc_channel_info had them. Extended vc_channel with both (additive, no
ABI break), updated the session model and list_channels marshaling to populate
them, and updated all three clients' edit callers to use actual channel info
instead of hardcoded defaults.
3. Channel parameter updates now automatically restart everyone's streams.
Previously editing a channel's audio config persisted and broadcast a
ChannelEvent::UPDATED, but no layer restarted streams — encoders/decoders are
frozen at announce time. handle_channel_event now detects audio-config changes
on the user's current channel and stop->starts each active local stream. The
server reads the updated config on re-announce; peers wire up fresh decoders
at the new ssrc.
All 29 CTest tests pass; Windows DLL + C# client build clean. Apple clients not
yet compile-verified (Windows environment).
PTT was focus-scoped (WinForms KeyDown/KeyUp) so it died the moment the
window lost focus. Add an optional system-wide path using the Raw Input
API (RegisterRawInputDevices + WM_INPUT with RIDEV_INPUTSINK) instead of
a WH_KEYBOARD_LL low-level hook -- the latter is the keylogger pattern AV
heuristics flag, which is worse for our unsigned MinGW binary. Raw Input
involves no DLL injection or global hook and passes keys through.
- New VoiceCat.App/Native/RawInput.cs: P/Invoke + structs; register the
keyboard sink, decode WM_INPUT to vkey/up-down, GetAsyncKeyState helper.
- MainForm overrides OnHandleCreated/OnHandleDestroyed/WndProc to manage
the sink and route WM_INPUT to PTT; gates the focus-scoped KeyDown/KeyUp
off when system-wide is on; makes the Deactivate force-release
conditional; adds a GetAsyncKeyState watchdog on the pump timer so a
missed key-up (RDP/lock-screen) cannot leave PTT stuck.
- VoiceSettings.SystemWidePtt (default ON) + system-wide checkbox in the
Audio settings PTT section.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>
- Suppress the system ding on global hotkeys/PTT and the user-list Enter
key by setting SuppressKeyPress (Handled alone leaves WM_CHAR to beep).
- Preserve the user-list keyboard selection across talking/mute refreshes
instead of resetting it on every Items.Clear().
- Include the connected server name in the main window titlebar.
- Close the private-message window on Escape.
- Show the PM window without an owner so focus is no longer trapped to it
and the main window can be worked in while a PM is open.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Mic input gain (was 3x) and per-user receive gain (was 2x) had
asymmetric boost ceilings. Raise both, plus the desktop aux input
gain (was 3x), to a uniform 4x (400%) on macOS, iOS, and Windows.
The master Output volume slider is unchanged (still 1x). No core
changes needed: the C ABI only clamps negatives, so the ceilings
live entirely in the client UI sliders.
Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Talon
