macOS audio backend groundwork (capture proven, deploy TBD)

Introduce a platform audio backend so the four OS-specific subprocess
touch-points (play, record-stream, transcode, duck) are swappable without
touching the queue/VAD/tone logic. The macOS recorder emits the same
s16/mono/16k PCM-to-stdout wire format as `pw-record -`, so the VAD frame
loop is byte-for-byte identical across platforms.

- platform_audio.py: backend selector (Linux + macOS implemented, Windows
  documented). Compiles the Swift recorder once, cached in ~/.cache/mcspeak.
- _macos/mcspeak_record.swift: AVFoundation recorder, built-ins only (no brew).
  Verified capturing on the target Mac over SSH — TCC does not block headless
  capture.
- audio.py: play_audio uses afplay on macOS (pw-play + volume workaround stay
  Linux-only); record_audio_until_silence streams via the backend command;
  record_audio gains a stream-and-collect path for stdout-only backends.

Linux behavior is unchanged (commands verified, queue tests green, ruff clean).

Not yet done: afconvert transcode branch (generate_audio non-WAV only),
osascript ducking (currently a graceful no-op), and running the server
natively on the Mac + a live speech test.

src/mcspeak/_macos/mcspeak_record.swift

@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+// mcspeak macOS mic recorder — streams 16 kHz mono s16 PCM to stdout until
+// SIGTERM, mirroring `pw-record --rate 16000 --channels 1 --format s16 -`.
+// The VAD loop in audio.py reads this stream frame-by-frame, unchanged, so the
+// rest of mcspeak is oblivious to which OS captured the audio.
+//
+// Built once by platform_audio.ensure_macos_recorder() via `swiftc -O`.
+// Uses only the AVFoundation framework that ships with macOS — no dependencies.
+import AVFoundation
+import Foundation
+
+let targetRate = 16000.0
+
+let engine = AVAudioEngine()
+let input = engine.inputNode
+let inputFormat = input.outputFormat(forBus: 0)
+FileHandle.standardError.write(
+    "mcspeak-record: input \(inputFormat.sampleRate)Hz \(inputFormat.channelCount)ch -> 16000Hz mono s16\n"
+    .data(using: .utf8)!)
+
+guard let targetFormat = AVAudioFormat(
+    commonFormat: .pcmFormatInt16, sampleRate: targetRate,
+    channels: 1, interleaved: true
+) else {
+    FileHandle.standardError.write("mcspeak-record: bad target format\n".data(using: .utf8)!)
+    exit(2)
+}
+guard let converter = AVAudioConverter(from: inputFormat, to: targetFormat) else {
+    FileHandle.standardError.write("mcspeak-record: no converter\n".data(using: .utf8)!)
+    exit(2)
+}
+
+let out = FileHandle.standardOutput
+
+input.installTap(onBus: 0, bufferSize: 2048, format: inputFormat) { buffer, _ in
+    // Resample + downmix each hardware buffer to 16k mono s16 and write raw
+    // little-endian samples straight to stdout.
+    let cap = AVAudioFrameCount(Double(buffer.frameLength) * targetRate / inputFormat.sampleRate) + 32
+    guard let outBuf = AVAudioPCMBuffer(pcmFormat: targetFormat, frameCapacity: cap) else { return }
+    var fed = false
+    var err: NSError?
+    let status = converter.convert(to: outBuf, error: &err) { _, outStatus in
+        if fed { outStatus.pointee = .noDataNow; return nil }
+        fed = true
+        outStatus.pointee = .haveData
+        return buffer
+    }
+    if status == .error { return }
+    if let ch = outBuf.int16ChannelData, outBuf.frameLength > 0 {
+        out.write(Data(bytes: ch[0], count: Int(outBuf.frameLength) * 2))
+    }
+}
+
+// Terminate cleanly on SIGTERM/SIGINT so the WAV/stream closes like pw-record.
+signal(SIGTERM) { _ in exit(0) }
+signal(SIGINT) { _ in exit(0) }
+
+do {
+    try engine.start()
+} catch {
+    FileHandle.standardError.write("mcspeak-record: engine start failed: \(error)\n".data(using: .utf8)!)
+    exit(3)
+}
+
+RunLoop.current.run()

src/mcspeak/audio.py

@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ from pathlib import Path
 
 import numpy as np
 
+from . import platform_audio
 from .settings import settings
 
 _counter = itertools.count(1)
@@ -228,15 +229,10 @@ async def record_audio_until_silence(
 
     vad = webrtcvad.Vad(aggressiveness)
 
-    cmd = [
-        "pw-record",
-        "--rate", str(SAMPLE_RATE),
-        "--channels", "1",
-        "--format", "s16",
-    ]
-    if source:
-        cmd.extend(["--target", source])
-    cmd.append("-")  # stdout
+    # Platform-appropriate recorder — always streams s16 mono PCM to stdout, so
+    # the VAD frame loop below is identical on Linux (pw-record) and macOS (the
+    # Swift/AVFoundation recorder).
+    cmd = platform_audio.record_stream_command(SAMPLE_RATE, 1, source)
 
     proc = await asyncio.create_subprocess_exec(
         *cmd,
@@ -346,9 +342,17 @@ async def record_audio(
     kill it. pw-record handles SIGTERM by closing the WAV header cleanly —
     verified by recording 2s and reading the file back with the wave module.
 
-    Returns out_path on success. Raises PlaybackError on pw-record failure or
+    Returns out_path on success. Raises PlaybackError on recorder failure or
     if the resulting WAV is empty (mic disconnected, etc).
+
+    On macOS the Swift recorder only streams to stdout, so the fixed-duration
+    path collects PCM for `duration_seconds` and writes the WAV itself.
     """
+    if platform_audio.IS_MACOS:
+        return await _record_fixed_stream(
+            out_path, duration_seconds, sample_rate, source, ready_tone, warmup_ms
+        )
+
     cmd = [
         "pw-record",
         "--rate", str(sample_rate),
@@ -407,8 +411,71 @@ async def record_audio(
     return out_path
 
 
+async def _record_fixed_stream(
+    out_path: Path,
+    duration_seconds: float,
+    sample_rate: int,
+    source: str | None,
+    ready_tone: Path | None,
+    warmup_ms: int,
+) -> Path:
+    """Fixed-duration capture for stdout-streaming backends (macOS).
+
+    Runs the streaming recorder, plays the ready tone once the mic is live,
+    collects s16 PCM for `duration_seconds`, then writes the WAV. Mirrors
+    record_audio's contract (returns out_path; raises PlaybackError on no audio).
+    """
+    cmd = platform_audio.record_stream_command(sample_rate, 1, source)
+    proc = await asyncio.create_subprocess_exec(
+        *cmd,
+        stdout=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE,
+        stderr=asyncio.subprocess.DEVNULL,
+    )
+
+    if ready_tone is not None:
+        await asyncio.sleep(warmup_ms / 1000)
+        try:
+            await play_audio(ready_tone, expected_seconds=0.3)
+        except Exception:
+            pass  # tone failure is non-fatal — keep recording
+
+    pcm = bytearray()
+
+    async def _drain() -> None:
+        while True:
+            chunk = await proc.stdout.read(8192)
+            if not chunk:
+                break
+            pcm.extend(chunk)
+
+    try:
+        await asyncio.wait_for(_drain(), timeout=duration_seconds)
+    except asyncio.TimeoutError:
+        proc.terminate()
+        try:
+            await asyncio.wait_for(proc.wait(), timeout=2.0)
+        except asyncio.TimeoutError:
+            proc.kill()
+            await proc.wait()
+    except asyncio.CancelledError:
+        proc.kill()
+        await proc.wait()
+        raise
+
+    if len(pcm) < 100:
+        raise PlaybackError(
+            "macOS recorder produced no audio. Check that the launching process "
+            "has Microphone permission (System Settings > Privacy > Microphone)."
+        )
+    write_wav_from_pcm(
+        bytes(pcm), sample_rate=sample_rate, sample_width=2, channels=1, path=out_path
+    )
+    return out_path
+
+
 async def play_audio(path: Path, expected_seconds: float = 0) -> None:
-    """Play a WAV file through PipeWire (pw-play). Async wrapper.
+    """Play a WAV file to the default output device (pw-play on Linux, afplay on
+    macOS). Async wrapper.
 
     Args:
         path: Path to the WAV file.
@@ -417,35 +484,42 @@ async def play_audio(path: Path, expected_seconds: float = 0) -> None:
     """
     if expected_seconds <= 0:
         expected_seconds = wav_duration(path)
-    # Generous margin: 2x duration + 10s for PipeWire startup overhead
+    # Generous margin: 2x duration + 10s for player startup overhead
     timeout = max(expected_seconds * 2, 10) + 10
 
     proc = await asyncio.create_subprocess_exec(
-        "pw-play", str(path),
+        *platform_audio.play_command(path),
         stdout=asyncio.subprocess.DEVNULL,
         stderr=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE,
     )
-    # Defensive volume override — guards against module-stream-restore drift.
-    vol_task = asyncio.create_task(_force_pwplay_volume_100())
+    # Defensive volume override — guards against PulseAudio module-stream-restore
+    # drift. Linux/PipeWire only; other backends don't need it.
+    vol_task = (
+        asyncio.create_task(_force_pwplay_volume_100())
+        if platform_audio.volume_workaround_applies() else None
+    )
     try:
         _, stderr = await asyncio.wait_for(proc.communicate(), timeout=timeout)
     except asyncio.TimeoutError:
         proc.kill()
         await proc.wait()
-        vol_task.cancel()
+        if vol_task:
+            vol_task.cancel()
         raise PlaybackError(
-            f"pw-play timed out after {timeout:.0f}s "
+            f"playback timed out after {timeout:.0f}s "
             f"(expected {expected_seconds:.1f}s audio)"
         )
     except asyncio.CancelledError:
         # Consumer was cancelled (shutdown or cancel) — don't orphan the subprocess
         proc.kill()
         await proc.wait()
-        vol_task.cancel()
+        if vol_task:
+            vol_task.cancel()
         raise
-    if not vol_task.done():
+    if vol_task and not vol_task.done():
         vol_task.cancel()
     if proc.returncode != 0:
         raise PlaybackError(
-            f"pw-play failed ({proc.returncode}): {stderr.decode().strip()}"
+            f"{platform_audio.play_command(path)[0]} failed ({proc.returncode}): "
+            f"{stderr.decode(errors='replace').strip()}"
         )

src/mcspeak/platform_audio.py

@@ -0,0 +1,134 @@
+"""Platform audio backend — the four OS-specific subprocess touch-points.
+
+The rest of mcspeak reaches the speaker/mic only through here, so porting to a
+new OS means adding a branch, not touching the queue/VAD/tone/secretary logic.
+Every backend's recorder emits the SAME wire format (raw s16, mono, 16 kHz, to
+stdout), so the VAD reader in audio.py is identical on every platform.
+
+- Linux  : PipeWire CLIs — `pw-play`, `pw-record` (the proven Docker path).
+- macOS  : built-ins only — `afplay` (play), a compiled Swift/AVFoundation
+           recorder (`_macos/mcspeak_record.swift`), `afconvert` (transcode),
+           `osascript` (system-volume duck).
+- Windows: PLANNED — `winsound.PlaySound` (stdlib WAV play), `sounddevice`
+           (PortAudio) or `ffmpeg -f dshow` (capture), `pycaw` (per-app duck).
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import hashlib
+import shutil
+import subprocess
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
+
+IS_LINUX = sys.platform.startswith("linux")
+IS_MACOS = sys.platform == "darwin"
+IS_WINDOWS = sys.platform.startswith("win")
+
+_MACOS_DIR = Path(__file__).parent / "_macos"
+_RECORDER_SRC = _MACOS_DIR / "mcspeak_record.swift"
+# Compiled recorder lives in a user cache dir (the install dir may be read-only).
+_CACHE_DIR = Path.home() / ".cache" / "mcspeak"
+
+
+class AudioBackendError(RuntimeError):
+    """Raised when the platform backend can't satisfy a request."""
+
+
+def platform_name() -> str:
+    if IS_MACOS:
+        return "macos"
+    if IS_WINDOWS:
+        return "windows"
+    if IS_LINUX:
+        return "linux"
+    return sys.platform
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Playback
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+def play_command(path: Path | str) -> list[str]:
+    """Command to play a WAV to the default output device, blocking until done."""
+    if IS_MACOS:
+        return ["afplay", str(path)]
+    if IS_WINDOWS:
+        # Windows plays via winsound in-process (see play_audio), not a subprocess.
+        raise AudioBackendError("Windows playback is in-process; don't call play_command")
+    return ["pw-play", str(path)]  # Linux / PipeWire
+
+
+def volume_workaround_applies() -> bool:
+    """Only PulseAudio/PipeWire needs the stream-restore 100% volume override."""
+    return IS_LINUX
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Recording — every backend streams raw s16 mono PCM at `sample_rate` to stdout
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+def record_stream_command(
+    sample_rate: int = 16000, channels: int = 1, source: str | None = None
+) -> list[str]:
+    """Command that streams raw s16 PCM to stdout until it receives SIGTERM."""
+    if IS_MACOS:
+        # The Swift recorder is fixed at 16 kHz mono (Parakeet's format); it
+        # ignores sample_rate/source for now (default input device only).
+        return [str(ensure_macos_recorder())]
+    if IS_WINDOWS:
+        raise AudioBackendError(
+            "Windows capture not implemented yet — planned via sounddevice/ffmpeg"
+        )
+    cmd = ["pw-record", "--rate", str(sample_rate), "--channels", str(channels), "--format", "s16"]
+    if source:
+        cmd.extend(["--target", source])
+    cmd.append("-")  # stdout
+    return cmd
+
+
+def ensure_macos_recorder() -> Path:
+    """Compile the Swift recorder once (cached in ~/.cache/mcspeak), return its path.
+
+    Recompiles only when the source changes (tracked by a content-hash stamp).
+    """
+    if not IS_MACOS:
+        raise AudioBackendError("macOS recorder requested on a non-macOS host")
+    swiftc = shutil.which("swiftc")
+    if not swiftc:
+        raise AudioBackendError(
+            "swiftc not found — install the Xcode command-line tools (xcode-select --install)"
+        )
+    _CACHE_DIR.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+    binary = _CACHE_DIR / "mcspeak-record"
+    src_hash = hashlib.sha256(_RECORDER_SRC.read_bytes()).hexdigest()[:12]
+    stamp = _CACHE_DIR / f".record-{src_hash}"
+    if binary.exists() and stamp.exists():
+        return binary
+
+    proc = subprocess.run(
+        [swiftc, "-O", str(_RECORDER_SRC), "-o", str(binary)],
+        capture_output=True, text=True,
+    )
+    if proc.returncode != 0:
+        raise AudioBackendError(
+            f"swiftc failed compiling the recorder: {proc.stderr.strip()[:500]}"
+        )
+    # Clear any stale stamps, then mark this build good.
+    for old in _CACHE_DIR.glob(".record-*"):
+        old.unlink(missing_ok=True)
+    stamp.write_text("ok")
+    return binary
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Transcode / resample (used by convert_audio and any 16k-mono normalization)
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+def has_ffmpeg() -> bool:
+    return shutil.which("ffmpeg") is not None
+
+
+def prefers_afconvert() -> bool:
+    """On macOS without ffmpeg, use the built-in afconvert."""
+    return IS_MACOS and not has_ffmpeg()