Separate auto-start recording from new note creation

[hyper-charlie]

Use Case

Users who use Hyprnote for both note-taking and transcription need independent control over:

• Creating a new note (text-based)
• Starting a recording/transcription

Currently, these actions are coupled, which forces users to either auto-record every new note or manually start recording each time.

Desired Behavior

Provide separate controls for:

• Auto-starting recording when creating a note
• Creating notes without automatically triggering recording

Options:

• Multiple buttons (e.g., "New Note" vs "New Recording")
• Settings to toggle auto-recording behavior independently
• Both approaches could improve the workflow

Rationale

This would allow users to seamlessly switch between text note-taking and transcription workflows without friction.

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Environment:

• Platform: macOS 26.3.1 (aarch64)
• App: 1.0.14

[devin-ai-integration]

Codebase Exploration

Current Architecture

The codebase already has partial separation between "new note" and "new note + recording" — the foundation for this feature exists but isn't fully surfaced to the user.

Two hooks in apps/desktop/src/components/main/shared.ts:

• useNewNote() — Creates a session and opens it without auto-starting recording. No autoStart flag is set.
• useNewNoteAndListen() — Creates a session and opens it with autoStart: true, which triggers recording automatically.

How auto-start works:

The autoStart flag flows through the tab state system:

1. SessionsState (defined in plugins/windows/src/tab/state.rs:16-19) has an auto_start: Option<bool> field
2. When a session tab opens with autoStart: true, TabContentNote in apps/desktop/src/components/main/body/sessions/index.tsx:119-149 checks this flag and calls startListening() if the listener is inactive and STT connection is ready
3. After starting, the flag is cleared: autoStart: null

Entry points that trigger recording (via autoStart: true):

Entry Point	File	Auto-records?
Cmd+N (keyboard shortcut)	apps/desktop/src/components/main/body/index.tsx:847-862	No — calls useNewNote()
Cmd+Shift+N (keyboard shortcut)	apps/desktop/src/components/main/body/index.tsx:1022-1031	Yes — calls useNewNoteAndListen()
"New Note" menu item (Cmd+N via app menu)	plugins/tray/src/menu_items/app_new.rs:13-16	No — navigates to /app/new which calls useNewNote()
"Start a new recording" tray item	plugins/tray/src/menu_items/tray_start.rs:18-34	Yes — sets auto_start: Some(true)
Notification events (calendar/detection)	apps/desktop/src/components/event-listeners.tsx:68,98	Yes — always sets autoStart: true
Right-click on "+" tab button	apps/desktop/src/components/main/body/index.tsx:151-159	Context menu with 3 options: "Open Empty Tab", "Create New Note", "Create and Start Listening"
Empty tab "New Note" button	apps/desktop/src/components/main/body/empty/index.tsx:55	No — calls useNewNote()

Key Observation

The separation between note-taking and recording already exists at the code level. The Cmd+N shortcut creates a note without recording, and Cmd+Shift+N creates a note with recording. The right-click context menu on the "+" button also offers both options.

However, the notification-triggered sessions always auto-record — there's no user setting to control this behavior. The event-listeners.tsx unconditionally sets autoStart: true for both notification_confirm and notification_accept events.

What's Missing / Potential Approaches

1. Notification auto-record toggle: A new setting (e.g., notification_auto_record) in apps/desktop/src/store/tinybase/store/settings.ts and apps/desktop/src/config/registry.ts could control whether notification-triggered sessions auto-start recording. The event-listeners.tsx would check this setting before setting autoStart: true.

2. Discoverability: The existing separation (Cmd+N vs Cmd+Shift+N, right-click menu) may not be obvious to users. Improving onboarding or tooltip hints could help.

3. Settings UI: A toggle in apps/desktop/src/components/settings/general/ for "Auto-record on notification" would give users the control described in the issue, without needing to change the already-separated Cmd+N / Cmd+Shift+N flows.

Relevant Files Summary

• apps/desktop/src/components/main/shared.ts — useNewNote() and useNewNoteAndListen() hooks
• apps/desktop/src/components/main/body/sessions/index.tsx — TabContentNote handles autoStart flag
• apps/desktop/src/components/event-listeners.tsx — Notification handling, always sets autoStart: true
• apps/desktop/src/components/main/body/index.tsx — Keyboard shortcuts and tab context menu
• plugins/windows/src/tab/state.rs — SessionsState with auto_start field
• plugins/tray/src/menu_items/tray_start.rs — Tray "Start a new recording"
• plugins/tray/src/menu_items/app_new.rs — Menu "New Note" (no auto-record)
• apps/desktop/src/store/tinybase/store/settings.ts — Settings schema
• apps/desktop/src/config/registry.ts — Config registry for settings