Define external recording workflow for MVP

README.md

@@ -20,18 +20,58 @@ Audio
 
 ## Core Features
 
-- Local audio recording
+- Import of existing meeting recordings
-- System audio + microphone recording
+- OBS Studio as the recommended reference recorder
-- High quality transcription
+- High-quality local transcription
 - Speaker diarization
+- Editable working transcripts
 - AI-generated meeting minutes
-- Executive Summary
+- Executive summaries
-- Action Items
+- Action items
-- Decision Tracking
+- Decision tracking
 - Knowledge extraction
-- Local database
+- Local file-based storage
-- Full text search
+- Export to Markdown, PDF and DOCX
-- Export (Markdown, PDF, DOCX)
+
+---
+
+## Recording Workflow
+
+The MVP does not include its own audio recorder.
+
+OBS Studio is the recommended reference recorder for online meetings. It can
+
+capture system audio and microphone audio without joining the meeting as a bot.
+
+Initial workflow:
+
+```text
+
+Online Meeting
+
+    ↓
+
+OBS Studio
+
+    ↓
+
+WAV Recording
+
+    ↓
+
+Meeting Assistant Import
+
+    ↓
+
+Transcription
+
+    ↓
+
+Speaker Diarization
+
+    ↓
+
+Analysis and Export
 
 ---
 

ROADMAP.md

@@ -1,13 +1,14 @@
 # Roadmap
 
-## Phase 1
+## Phase 1: Minimum Viable Processing Pipeline
 
-Minimum Viable Product
+- Import existing WAV recordings
-
+- Validate recording metadata
-- Audio recording
+- Create meeting directory
-- Whisper transcription
+- Create canonical transcript
-- Save transcript
+- Save transcript as JSON
-- Markdown export
+- Export transcript as Markdown
+- Archive confirmed recordings as FLAC
 
 ---
 
@@ -70,7 +71,17 @@ Integrations
 
 ---
 
-## Future Ideas
+## Future Phase: Integrated Recording
+
+- Capture microphone audio
+
+- Capture system audio
+
+- Support separate audio channels
+
+- Provide recording controls in the desktop application
+
+- Replace or complement the external OBS workflow
 
 - Live transcription
 

docs/adr/0009-use-external-recording-for-mvp.md

@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+# ADR 0009: Use External Audio Recording for the MVP
+
+## Status
+
+Accepted
+
+## Context
+
+Reliable simultaneous capture of system audio and microphone audio is highly
+platform-specific.
+
+OBS Studio already provides stable, configurable and cross-platform audio
+capture. Reimplementing audio capture during the initial project phase would
+add substantial complexity without directly improving transcription quality.
+
+The primary value of the Meeting Assistant lies in transcription, speaker
+diarization, analysis, structured knowledge extraction and export.
+
+## Decision
+
+The MVP shall not require an integrated audio recorder.
+
+OBS Studio is the recommended reference recorder for online meetings.
+
+The Meeting Assistant shall initially import existing audio recordings.
+
+Initially supported input formats shall include:
+
+- WAV as the preferred processing input
+- FLAC as a lossless import and archive format
+
+Support for additional formats such as MP3, M4A and Opus may be added later.
+
+The existing `recorder` module shall remain in the project architecture so that
+integrated recording can be implemented in a later phase without restructuring
+the application.
+
+## Consequences
+
+- Development can focus on transcription and downstream processing.
+- Platform-specific audio capture complexity is deferred.
+- OBS configuration remains outside the Meeting Assistant.
+- Users must start and stop the initial recording separately.
+- Imported recordings require validation before processing.
+- A future integrated recorder remains possible.

docs/architecture.md

@@ -15,12 +15,21 @@ The Meeting Knowledge Assistant transforms recorded meetings into structured org
 - Small, focused modules
 - Explicit interfaces
 - Reproducible AI outputs
+- External recording and internal processing are separate responsibilities.
+- The processing pipeline must not depend on OBS-specific metadata or behavior.
+- Imported recordings must be treated like recordings from any other supported source.
 
 ---
 
-# High-Level Pipeline
+## High-Level Pipeline
 
-Recording
+External Recorder
+    ↓
+Audio Import
+    ↓
+Recording Validation
+    ↓
+Meeting Storage
     ↓
 Transcription
     ↓
@@ -36,6 +45,38 @@ Export
 
 ---
 
+## Core Pipeline
+
+External Recording
+
+↓
+
+Audio Import and Validation
+
+↓
+
+Transcription
+
+↓
+
+Speaker Diarization
+
+↓
+
+Working Transcript
+
+↓
+
+LLM Analysis
+
+↓
+
+Knowledge Extraction
+
+↓
+
+Storage and Export
+
 # Domain Model
 
 Meeting
@@ -55,15 +96,42 @@ Meeting
 
 # Module Responsibilities
 
+## Input and Ingest
+
+Responsible for importing existing recordings into the application.
+
+Initial reference source:
+
+- OBS Studio
+
+Initial supported formats:
+
+- WAV
+
+- FLAC
+
+Responsibilities:
+
+- validate the input file
+
+- collect technical metadata
+
+- calculate checksums
+
+- copy or move the recording into the meeting directory
+
+- create the initial Recording domain object
+
+The ingest component must not perform transcription or modify the audio content.
+
 ## Recorder
 
-Responsible only for capturing audio.
+The recorder module is reserved for a future integrated recording implementation.
 
-Input:
+It is not required for the MVP.
-None
 
-Output:
+The initial application workflow uses externally created recordings, with OBS
-Recording
+Studio as the recommended reference recorder.
 
 ---
 
@@ -129,32 +197,39 @@ DOCX
 
 ---
 
-# Artifact Lifecycle
+## Artifact Lifecycle
-
-Recording
-
-↓
 
+```text
+Imported Recording
+    ↓
+Validated Source Recording
+    ↓
 Canonical Transcript
-
+    ↓
-↓
-
 Working Transcript
-
+    ↓
-↓
-
 AI Artifacts
-
+    ↓
-↓
-
 Knowledge Objects
-
+    ↓
-↓
-
 Exports
 
 ---
 
+## Initial Recording Strategy
+
+The MVP does not implement platform-specific audio capture.
+
+OBS Studio is the recommended reference recorder for online meetings.
+
+The application initially processes existing WAV or FLAC recordings. Integrated
+
+recording remains a future extension and must not be required by transcription,
+
+diarization or analysis modules.
+
+---
+
 # Storage Strategy
 
 The domain model is independent of the storage backend.