I started the desktop-app work for Transcribe Me with Electron, React and a Python transcription worker. The initial commit connected the desktop controls to a Parakeet MLX path rather than leaving the interface as a standalone mockup.1
The app had home, settings, models and history views. The main process owned the recording lifecycle, tray and global shortcut, while a preload bridge carried events back to the renderer. Clipboard and auto-paste behaviour were part of that desktop integration work too.
Keep the local path explicit
The Python worker loaded a model and transcribed an audio file. Model loading could download weights on first use, so local inference still needed a model setup path; it was not the same thing as an app with no installation or download requirements.
I am keeping this milestone tied to the first commit. The PR later grew more model-management and cloud-provider features, and did not merge until September. Those later changes were not all present on this day.
The useful starting point was the end-to-end structure: recording, a worker, results and desktop interactions, with clear boundaries between them.