# WhispAssist v0.7.0

**Privacy-first, Windows-native meeting assistant — everything on-device, nothing leaves unless you say so.**

This release is about **control over install and startup** — for a single user and for admins rolling
WhispAssist out across a fleet. You can now launch WhispAssist at login, choose a per-user (no-admin)
or all-users install, preset every default with a deployment file, and re-scan your hardware without
restarting. No feature here changes the privacy posture: everything optional stays off-by-default and
local-first.

One universal installer (**MSI** and **NSIS**) covers every machine: **Vulkan** for all GPUs
(NVIDIA/AMD/Intel), the Intel **NPU** (OpenVINO), a **DirectML** fallback, and **CPU**.

---

## ✨ New

### Launch at login (opt-in)
A new **Settings ▸ Recording ▸ Launch WhispAssist at login** toggle starts WhispAssist when you sign
in to Windows. It's **off by default**, needs **no admin** (a per-user startup entry), and does **not**
begin recording on its own.

### Choose a per-user or all-users install
The NSIS setup (`WhispAssist_0.7.0_x64-setup.exe`) now lets you install for **just yourself**
(no admin rights required) or for **all users**. The MSI remains the per-machine, all-users installer.

### Customize deployments with a file (`wa-defaults.ini`)
Admins can preset WhispAssist's defaults for every machine using native Windows tooling (Group Policy,
SCCM, Intune, `msiexec`) — no management console. Drop a `wa-defaults.ini` next to the installer or in
`%PROGRAMDATA%\WhispAssist\`, and each machine's **first launch** seeds its settings from it: record-
by-default, preferred backend, a model to auto-download, retention, storage location, AI provider, and
more. You can also set a **custom install location** with standard `msiexec INSTALLDIR=…` / NSIS `/D=`
flags. **Secrets are never read from this file** — API keys and tokens stay in the OS credential store.
Full key reference and silent-install examples in
[`docs/enterprise-deployment.md`](docs/enterprise-deployment.md).

### Refresh hardware
A **Refresh** button in **Settings ▸ Hardware** re-detects your GPU/NPU on the spot — handy after
installing a driver or plugging in an eGPU — no restart needed.

---

## 📦 Install

**Requirements:** Windows 10 or 11 (x64). WhispAssist needs **WebView2** (preinstalled on Windows 11;
the installer fetches it on Windows 10). Importing from a file/URL additionally needs **`ffmpeg`**
(and **`yt-dlp`** for URLs) on your PATH — install those separately.

1. Download **`WhispAssist_0.7.0_x64_en-US.msi`** (or the NSIS **`WhispAssist_0.7.0_x64-setup.exe`**).
2. Run it and accept the UAC prompt. If SmartScreen appears, choose **More info → Run anyway**.
3. Launch **WhispAssist** from the Start menu.

On first run WA picks the best transcription backend (**NPU → NVIDIA → AMD → Intel → CPU**). It runs
without admin rights, does **not** add itself to startup unless you opt in, and keeps all data under
`%LOCALAPPDATA%\WhispAssist`.

Deploying to many machines? See [`docs/enterprise-deployment.md`](docs/enterprise-deployment.md).

## 🔐 Checksums (SHA-256)

```
730676580dbef5c4bb2c155f46a73a5791722139ab144a3fc0286e3a4449c432  WhispAssist_0.7.0_x64_en-US.msi
6a34c16eb6f876fc92c7a79d37414b4fdd2c09f4f40873008149db36cd0a30aa  WhispAssist_0.7.0_x64-setup.exe
```

Verify after download:

```powershell
Get-FileHash .\WhispAssist_0.7.0_x64_en-US.msi -Algorithm SHA256
```

---

## Privacy, unchanged
Everything optional is **off by default**. With nothing configured, WhispAssist makes **no content
egress at all**. Recording is opt-in; sync/AI credentials live only in the OS credential store; the
MCP server is loopback-only and adds no egress; the deployment file never carries secrets. The
reachable-host allowlist is derived from your settings and enforced in the core.