Smooth bottom overlay hotkey-release animation

Sources/Fluid/ContentView.swift

@@ -1612,23 +1612,32 @@ struct ContentView: View {
 
         self.clearActiveRecordingMode()
 
-        // Show "Transcribing..." state before calling stop() to keep overlay visible.
-        // The asr.stop() call performs the final transcription which can take a moment
-        // (especially for slower models like Whisper Medium/Large).
-        DebugLogger.shared.debug("Showing transcription processing state", source: "ContentView")
-        self.menuBarManager.setProcessing(true)
-        NotchOverlayManager.shared.updateTranscriptionText("Transcribing...")
+        let hadLivePreviewText = self.asr.partialTranscription
+            .trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespacesAndNewlines)
+            .isEmpty == false
 
-        // Give SwiftUI a chance to render the processing state before we do heavier work
-        // (ASR finalization + optional AI post-processing).
-        await Task.yield()
+        // Only show a processing transition when we already observed spoken text.
+        // If there was no spoken text, let the overlay disappear immediately on hotkey release.
+        if hadLivePreviewText {
+            if NotchOverlayManager.shared.isBottomOverlayVisible {
+                BottomOverlayWindowController.shared.beginReleaseTransition()
+            }
+
+            DebugLogger.shared.debug("Showing transcription processing state", source: "ContentView")
+            self.menuBarManager.setProcessing(true)
+            NotchOverlayManager.shared.updateTranscriptionText("Transcribing...")
+
+            // Give SwiftUI a chance to render the processing state before heavier work.
+            await Task.yield()
+        }
 
         // Stop the ASR service and wait for transcription to complete
-        // The processing indicator will stay visible during this phase
         let transcribedText = await asr.stop()
 
-        // Reset the transcription text display after transcription completes
-        NotchOverlayManager.shared.updateTranscriptionText("")
+        // Reset transient status text if we showed it.
+        if hadLivePreviewText {
+            NotchOverlayManager.shared.updateTranscriptionText("")
+        }
 
         guard transcribedText.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespacesAndNewlines).isEmpty == false else {
             DebugLogger.shared.debug("Transcription returned empty text", source: "ContentView")
@@ -1644,6 +1653,11 @@ struct ContentView: View {
             promptTest.lastOutputText = ""
             promptTest.lastError = ""
 
+            let overlayStillVisible = NotchOverlayManager.shared.isBottomOverlayVisible || NotchOverlayManager.shared.isAnyNotchVisible
+            if !hadLivePreviewText, overlayStillVisible {
+                self.menuBarManager.setProcessing(true)
+            }
+
             guard DictationAIPostProcessingGate.isConfigured() else {
                 promptTest.lastError = "AI post-processing is not configured. Enable AI Enhancement and configure a provider/model (and API key for non-local endpoints)."
                 self.menuBarManager.setProcessing(false)
@@ -1702,6 +1716,11 @@ struct ContentView: View {
         if shouldUseAI {
             DebugLogger.shared.debug("Routing transcription through AI post-processing", source: "ContentView")
 
+            let overlayStillVisible = NotchOverlayManager.shared.isBottomOverlayVisible || NotchOverlayManager.shared.isAnyNotchVisible
+            if !hadLivePreviewText, overlayStillVisible {
+                self.menuBarManager.setProcessing(true)
+            }
+
             // Update overlay text to show we're now refining (processing already true)
             NotchOverlayManager.shared.updateTranscriptionText("Refining...")
 

Sources/Fluid/Services/MenuBarManager.swift

@@ -94,10 +94,10 @@ final class MenuBarManager: ObservableObject {
         asrService.$partialTranscription
             .receive(on: DispatchQueue.main)
             .sink { [weak self] newText in
-                guard self != nil else { return }
+                guard let self else { return }
                 // CRITICAL FIX: Check if streaming preview is enabled before updating notch
                 // The "Show Live Preview" toggle in Preferences should control this behavior
-                if SettingsStore.shared.enableStreamingPreview {
+                if SettingsStore.shared.enableStreamingPreview, !self.isProcessingActive {
                     NotchOverlayManager.shared.updateTranscriptionText(newText)
                 }
             }

Sources/Fluid/Services/TypingService.swift

@@ -47,11 +47,11 @@ final class TypingService {
     /// if the layout data is unavailable.
     private static func virtualKeyCode(for character: Character, qwertyFallback: CGKeyCode) -> CGKeyCode {
         if Thread.isMainThread {
-            return tisLookup(for: character, qwertyFallback: qwertyFallback)
+            return self.tisLookup(for: character, qwertyFallback: qwertyFallback)
         }
         var result = qwertyFallback
         DispatchQueue.main.sync {
-            result = tisLookup(for: character, qwertyFallback: qwertyFallback)
+            result = self.tisLookup(for: character, qwertyFallback: qwertyFallback)
         }
         return result
     }