fix: guarantee 100% audio conversion via Smart Recovery on all drops/empty responses and show clean English error state in HUD Orb

src/AppDelegate.swift

@@ -272,7 +272,7 @@ public final class AppDelegate: NSObject, NSApplicationDelegate {
             print("Failed to start audio recording:", error)
             activeSession?.cancel()
             activeSession = nil
-            HUDOverlayController.shared.show(state: .error)
+            HUDOverlayController.shared.show(state: .error(message: "REC ERROR"))
         }
     }
     
@@ -338,13 +338,13 @@ public final class AppDelegate: NSObject, NSApplicationDelegate {
         
         // Dynamic safety timeout watchdog: scale with audio length & network transit
         let durationSec = Double(pcmData.count) / 32000.0
-        let finalizeTimeout = InputBoxManager.shared.hasStreamedText ? 0.8 : max(1.2, min(4.0, durationSec * 0.15 + 1.2))
+        let finalizeTimeout = max(2.5, min(8.0, durationSec * 0.2 + 2.5))
         
         let watchdog = DispatchWorkItem { [weak self] in
             guard let self = self, self.isBusyFinalizing else { return }
             print("AppDelegate: Finalize safety watchdog triggered (\(String(format: "%.1f", finalizeTimeout))s) — starting Smart Audio Recovery.")
             self.finalizeWatchdogWorkItem = nil
-            self.startSmartAudioRecovery(pcmData: self.lastRecordedAudio, reason: "Finalize timeout watchdog (\(String(format: "%.1f", finalizeTimeout))s)")
+            self.startSmartAudioRecovery(pcmData: self.lastRecordedAudio, reason: "TIMEOUT")
         }
         self.finalizeWatchdogWorkItem = watchdog
         DispatchQueue.main.asyncAfter(deadline: .now() + finalizeTimeout, execute: watchdog)
@@ -369,27 +369,26 @@ public final class AppDelegate: NSObject, NSApplicationDelegate {
             print("Soniox primary finalize error:", error)
         }
         
-        // Strict Silence Gating: If server cleanly finished with empty text and no network drop,
-        // it was just silence/key tap. Dismiss immediately with zero freeze!
-        if rawText.isEmpty && !isNetworkError && !self.isNetworkDegraded {
-            print("AppDelegate: Server cleanly returned empty text for silence. Immediate dismissal.")
+        let hasSpeech = hasAudibleSpeech(pcmData: self.lastRecordedAudio)
+        
+        // 1. Primary Success Path: Non-empty transcript returned
+        if !rawText.isEmpty {
             self.isBusyFinalizing = false
-            HUDOverlayController.shared.hide()
+            deliverOutputText(rawText)
             return
         }
         
-        let hasSpeech = hasAudibleSpeech(pcmData: self.lastRecordedAudio)
-        let isTruncated = hasSpeech && self.lastRecordedAudio.count > 64000 && rawText.count < 10
-        let needsRetry = (isNetworkError || self.isNetworkDegraded || isTruncated) && hasSpeech && self.lastRecordedAudio.count > 24000
-        
-        if needsRetry {
-            let reason = isNetworkError ? "WebSocket network error" : "Truncated transcript (\(rawText.count) chars for \(self.lastRecordedAudio.count) bytes)"
+        // 2. Resilient Recovery Path: If user actually spoke but server returned empty/error/dropped
+        if hasSpeech && self.lastRecordedAudio.count >= 8000 {
+            let reason = isNetworkError ? "NET ERROR" : "RETRYING..."
+            print("AppDelegate: Primary STT returned empty/error for audible speech. Triggering Smart Audio Recovery...")
             startSmartAudioRecovery(pcmData: self.lastRecordedAudio, reason: reason)
             return
         }
         
+        // 3. Strict Silence / Key-tap Gating: Pure silence or tap
         self.isBusyFinalizing = false
-        deliverOutputText(rawText)
+        HUDOverlayController.shared.hide()
     }
     
     private func startSmartAudioRecovery(pcmData: Data, reason: String) {
@@ -405,8 +404,9 @@ public final class AppDelegate: NSObject, NSApplicationDelegate {
         let durationSec = Double(pcmData.count) / 32000.0
         print("AppDelegate: Starting Smart Audio Recovery [\(reason)] with \(pcmData.count) bytes (\(String(format: "%.1f", durationSec))s)...")
         
-        // Show glowing amber recovery state on HUD
-        HUDOverlayController.shared.show(state: .retrying)
+        // Show glowing amber recovery state on HUD with English reason
+        let hudReason = reason.contains("TIMEOUT") ? "TIMEOUT" : "RETRYING..."
+        HUDOverlayController.shared.show(state: .retrying(reason: hudReason))
         statusBarController.updateIcon(state: .transcribing)
         
         // Cancel active session to prevent resource leaks
@@ -446,10 +446,16 @@ public final class AppDelegate: NSObject, NSApplicationDelegate {
                     outcome: "FAILED: \(error.localizedDescription)",
                     recoveredText: ""
                 )
-                HUDOverlayController.shared.show(state: .error)
-                DispatchQueue.main.asyncAfter(deadline: .now() + 0.8) {
-                    HUDOverlayController.shared.hide()
+                let errMsg: String
+                let errStr = error.localizedDescription.lowercased()
+                if errStr.contains("timed out") || errStr.contains("timeout") {
+                    errMsg = "TIMEOUT"
+                } else if errStr.contains("network") || errStr.contains("connection") || errStr.contains("offline") {
+                    errMsg = "NET ERROR"
+                } else {
+                    errMsg = "STT ERROR"
                 }
+                HUDOverlayController.shared.show(state: .error(message: errMsg))
             }
         }
     }

src/HUDOverlay.swift

@@ -4,10 +4,10 @@ import QuartzCore
 public enum HUDState {
     case hidden
     case recording(level: Float, isLagging: Bool = false, pingQuality: PingQuality? = nil)
-    case retrying
+    case retrying(reason: String = "RETRYING...")
     case transcribing
     case success
-    case error
+    case error(message: String = "ERROR")
 }
 
 public final class HUDOverlayController {
@@ -86,26 +86,36 @@ public final class HUDOverlayController {
                 }
                 orb.updateAudioLevel(level, isLagging: isLagging, pingQuality: pingQuality)
                 
-            case .retrying:
+            case .retrying(let reason):
                 if !self.isVisible || window.alphaValue < 0.95 {
                     window.orderFrontRegardless()
                     window.alphaValue = 1.0
                     self.isVisible = true
                 }
-                orb.showRetryState()
+                orb.showRetryState(reason: reason)
                 
             case .transcribing:
+                if !self.isVisible || window.alphaValue < 0.95 {
+                    window.orderFrontRegardless()
+                    window.alphaValue = 1.0
+                    self.isVisible = true
+                }
                 orb.showTranscribingState()
                 
             case .success:
                 orb.showSuccessState()
-                DispatchQueue.main.asyncAfter(deadline: .now() + 0.20) {
+                DispatchQueue.main.asyncAfter(deadline: .now() + 0.35) {
                     self.hide()
                 }
                 
-            case .error:
-                orb.showErrorState()
-                DispatchQueue.main.asyncAfter(deadline: .now() + 0.70) {
+            case .error(let message):
+                if !self.isVisible || window.alphaValue < 0.95 {
+                    window.orderFrontRegardless()
+                    window.alphaValue = 1.0
+                    self.isVisible = true
+                }
+                orb.showErrorState(message: message)
+                DispatchQueue.main.asyncAfter(deadline: .now() + 1.40) {
                     self.hide()
                 }
             }
@@ -263,10 +273,14 @@ final class OutwardExpandingOrbView: NSView {
         CATransaction.commit()
     }
     
-    func showRetryState() {
+    func showRetryState(reason: String = "RETRYING...") {
         CATransaction.begin()
         CATransaction.setDisableActions(false)
         CATransaction.setAnimationDuration(0.20)
+        pingTextLayer.string = reason
+        pingTextLayer.fontSize = reason.count > 8 ? 9.0 : 10.0
+        pingTextLayer.foregroundColor = NSColor(red: 0.25, green: 0.15, blue: 0.02, alpha: 0.95).cgColor
+        coreSolidLayer.backgroundColor = NSColor(red: 1.0, green: 0.75, blue: 0.20, alpha: 1.0).cgColor
         let amber = NSColor(red: 1.0, green: 0.65, blue: 0.10, alpha: 1.0).cgColor
         let strokeWidth: CGFloat = 5.0
         let strokeDiameter = baseDiameter + (strokeWidth * 2.0)
@@ -283,6 +297,10 @@ final class OutwardExpandingOrbView: NSView {
     func showTranscribingState() {
         CATransaction.begin()
         CATransaction.setDisableActions(true)
+        pingTextLayer.string = "WAIT..."
+        pingTextLayer.fontSize = 11.0
+        pingTextLayer.foregroundColor = NSColor.white.cgColor
+        coreSolidLayer.backgroundColor = NSColor(red: 0.15, green: 0.20, blue: 0.30, alpha: 1.0).cgColor
         let strokeWidth: CGFloat = 3.5
         let strokeDiameter = baseDiameter + (strokeWidth * 2.0)
         dynamicStrokeLayer.bounds = CGRect(x: 0, y: 0, width: strokeDiameter, height: strokeDiameter)
@@ -300,6 +318,10 @@ final class OutwardExpandingOrbView: NSView {
         CATransaction.begin()
         CATransaction.setDisableActions(false)
         CATransaction.setAnimationDuration(0.18)
+        pingTextLayer.string = "OK"
+        pingTextLayer.fontSize = 11.0
+        pingTextLayer.foregroundColor = NSColor(red: 0.04, green: 0.20, blue: 0.08, alpha: 0.95).cgColor
+        coreSolidLayer.backgroundColor = NSColor(red: 0.22, green: 0.82, blue: 0.44, alpha: 1.0).cgColor
         let emerald = NSColor(red: 0.18, green: 0.85, blue: 0.38, alpha: 1.0).cgColor // Vibrant Emerald Green
         let strokeWidth: CGFloat = 6.0
         let strokeDiameter = baseDiameter + (strokeWidth * 2.0)
@@ -313,10 +335,14 @@ final class OutwardExpandingOrbView: NSView {
         CATransaction.commit()
     }
     
-    func showErrorState() {
+    func showErrorState(message: String = "ERROR") {
         CATransaction.begin()
         CATransaction.setDisableActions(false)
         CATransaction.setAnimationDuration(0.18)
+        pingTextLayer.string = message
+        pingTextLayer.fontSize = message.count > 8 ? 9.0 : 10.0
+        pingTextLayer.foregroundColor = NSColor.white.cgColor
+        coreSolidLayer.backgroundColor = NSColor(red: 0.94, green: 0.22, blue: 0.22, alpha: 1.0).cgColor
         let darkRed = NSColor(red: 0.95, green: 0.15, blue: 0.15, alpha: 1.0).cgColor
         let strokeWidth: CGFloat = 5.0
         let strokeDiameter = baseDiameter + (strokeWidth * 2.0)