Phase 7: Polish, Onboarding, and Release

[sonnes]

Goal

First-run experience, accessibility audit, performance optimization, and release preparation.

Deliverables

Onboarding Flow

• Welcome screen — explain September's purpose and core features
• Accessibility permissions — guide user through System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility (required for keystroke injection). Detect permission status, show banner if not granted
• Microphone permission — request for transcription features
• Account setup — name, diagnosis info (optional)
• AI provider wizard — select provider, enter API key, test connection
• Voice selection — pick TTS voice, preview it

Accessibility Audit

• VoiceOver — full walkthrough of every screen. Every interactive element has .accessibilityLabel() and .accessibilityHint()
• Switch Control — test with Switch Control enabled
• Keyboard-only navigation — every action reachable without mouse
• Dynamic Type — support where applicable
• Reduced Motion — respect accessibilityReduceMotion (disable animations)

Performance

• Profile with Instruments — Time Profiler, Allocations, SwiftUI view body evaluations
• Keyboard render time — must be under 200ms
• 60fps animations — key press feedback, panel transitions
• AI debouncing — prediction calls are cancellable, no redundant requests
• Memory profiling — no leaks during long sessions

Security

• Keychain integration — migrate API keys from SwiftData to macOS Keychain. API keys must never be stored in plaintext in the database

Menu Bar Item

• Status bar icon — optional menu bar presence for quick access
• Show/hide keyboard shortcut
• Mode switching from menu bar

Distribution

• Code signing — Developer ID certificate for distribution outside App Store
• Notarization — submit to Apple for notarization
• Auto-update — Sparkle framework integration, OR TestFlight for beta
• Crash reporting — basic crash reporting (opt-in)
• Privacy — no content data collected, only interaction patterns (opt-in analytics)

Acceptance Criteria

• New user can complete onboarding and start typing within 2 minutes
• Accessibility permission flow clearly guides the user and detects current status
• VoiceOver user can navigate and use the full keyboard
• No Instruments warnings for main thread hangs > 200ms
• API keys stored in Keychain, not visible in SwiftData database
• App is signed, notarized, and installs cleanly on a fresh Mac

Dependencies

All previous phases (0-6)