---
summary: "Voice overlay lifecycle when wake-word and push-to-talk overlap"
read_when:
  - Adjusting voice overlay behavior
title: "Voice overlay"
---

# Voice Overlay Lifecycle (macOS)

Audience: macOS app contributors. Goal: keep the voice overlay predictable when wake-word and push-to-talk overlap.

## Current intent

- If the overlay is already visible from wake-word and the user presses the hotkey, the hotkey session _adopts_ the existing text instead of resetting it. The overlay stays up while the hotkey is held. When the user releases: send if there is trimmed text, otherwise dismiss.
- Wake-word alone still auto-sends on silence; push-to-talk sends immediately on release.

## Implemented (Dec 9, 2025)

- Overlay sessions now carry a token per capture (wake-word or push-to-talk). Partial/final/send/dismiss/level updates are dropped when the token doesn't match, avoiding stale callbacks.
- Push-to-talk adopts any visible overlay text as a prefix (so pressing the hotkey while the wake overlay is up keeps the text and appends new speech). It waits up to 1.5s for a final transcript before falling back to the current text.
- Chime/overlay logging is emitted at `info` in categories `voicewake.overlay`, `voicewake.ptt`, and `voicewake.chime` (session start, partial, final, send, dismiss, chime reason).

## Next steps

1. **VoiceSessionCoordinator (actor)**
   - Owns exactly one `VoiceSession` at a time.
   - API (token-based): `beginWakeCapture`, `beginPushToTalk`, `updatePartial`, `endCapture`, `cancel`, `applyCooldown`.
   - Drops callbacks that carry stale tokens (prevents old recognizers from reopening the overlay).
2. **VoiceSession (model)**
   - Fields: `token`, `source` (wakeWord|pushToTalk), committed/volatile text, chime flags, timers (auto-send, idle), `overlayMode` (display|editing|sending), cooldown deadline.
3. **Overlay binding**
   - `VoiceSessionPublisher` (`ObservableObject`) mirrors the active session into SwiftUI.
   - `VoiceWakeOverlayView` renders only via the publisher; it never mutates global singletons directly.
   - Overlay user actions (`sendNow`, `dismiss`, `edit`) call back into the coordinator with the session token.
4. **Unified send path**
   - On `endCapture`: if trimmed text is empty → dismiss; else `performSend(session:)` (plays send chime once, forwards, dismisses).
   - Push-to-talk: no delay; wake-word: optional delay for auto-send.
   - Apply a short cooldown to the wake runtime after push-to-talk finishes so wake-word doesn't immediately retrigger.
5. **Logging**
   - Coordinator emits `.info` logs in subsystem `ai.openclaw`, categories `voicewake.overlay` and `voicewake.chime`.
   - Key events: `session_started`, `adopted_by_push_to_talk`, `partial`, `finalized`, `send`, `dismiss`, `cancel`, `cooldown`.

## Debugging checklist

- Stream logs while reproducing a sticky overlay:

  ```bash
  sudo log stream --predicate 'subsystem == "ai.openclaw" AND category CONTAINS "voicewake"' --level info --style compact
  ```

- Verify only one active session token; stale callbacks should be dropped by the coordinator.
- Ensure push-to-talk release always calls `endCapture` with the active token; if text is empty, expect `dismiss` without chime or send.

## Migration steps (suggested)

1. Add `VoiceSessionCoordinator`, `VoiceSession`, and `VoiceSessionPublisher`.
2. Refactor `VoiceWakeRuntime` to create/update/end sessions instead of touching `VoiceWakeOverlayController` directly.
3. Refactor `VoicePushToTalk` to adopt existing sessions and call `endCapture` on release; apply runtime cooldown.
4. Wire `VoiceWakeOverlayController` to the publisher; remove direct calls from runtime/PTT.
5. Add integration tests for session adoption, cooldown, and empty-text dismissal.

## Related

- [macOS app](/platforms/macos)
- [Voice wake (macOS)](/platforms/mac/voicewake)
- [Talk mode](/nodes/talk)
