Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.useraven.ai/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
This page gives contributors a bird’s-eye view of Raven’s architecture - enough to understand the codebase without diving into implementation details.
The Big Picture
Raven is an Electron desktop app with three layers:
| Layer | Role |
|---|
| Renderer (React + Tailwind + Zustand) | What the user sees - overlay, dashboard, settings |
| Preload (Context Bridge) | Secure IPC boundary between renderer and main |
| Main Process (TypeScript + Native) | Audio capture, transcription, AI, database |
Data Flow
When a user starts a recording:
- Native capture grabs system audio + mic simultaneously (Swift on macOS, Rust on Windows)
- Echo cancellation removes speaker bleed from the mic stream
- Dual transcription sends clean mic and system audio to the transcription provider separately
- Transcript merge combines both streams with speaker labels (“You” / “Them”)
- AI service uses the transcript as context for responses
In Raven Pro, the Recall SDK can replace native capture for supported meetings, and AssemblyAI can replace Deepgram as the transcription provider.
Key Subsystems
| Subsystem | What it does |
|---|
| Audio Manager | Orchestrates capture, echo cancellation, and transcription. Handles start/stop lifecycle. |
| Transcription | Manages connections to the transcription provider. Merges streams, handles reconnects. |
| AI Service | Provider abstraction over Claude and OpenAI. Handles quick actions, typed questions, and screenshot context. |
| Session Manager | Creates sessions, auto-saves every 60s, generates summaries, manages history. |
| Modes | Loads mode profiles, applies system prompts, manages document context. |
| Window Manager | Creates overlay and dashboard windows, manages stealth mode, handles positioning. |
| Store | Local settings and data persistence via SQLite and electron-store. |
The Renderer
The UI is split into two windows:
| Window | Purpose |
|---|
| Overlay | Floating transparent panel - transcript, AI responses, controls, pill |
| Dashboard | Main window - session history, settings, mode editor, search |
window.raven API exposed via the preload script.
The Native Layer
Audio capture and echo cancellation require native code:
| Platform | Capture | Echo Cancellation |
|---|
| macOS | Swift binary (ScreenCaptureKit + CoreAudio) | C++ addon (GStreamer + WebRTC AEC3) |
| Windows | Rust addon (WASAPI) | C++ addon (GStreamer + WebRTC AEC3) |
