Files
Assistant/docs/superpowers/specs/2026-06-12-test-4a-openai-realtime-design.md
T
tes dea126f994 Test 4a: spec — OpenAI Realtime API one-shot voice round-trip
Boot → beep → user speaks → server VAD ends turn → assistant audio
plays back → exit 0. No wakeword, no loop, no state machine.

Splits Test 4 into 4a (this spec) and 4b (wakeword + loop + 16↔24 kHz
coexistence, future). 4a debugs the OpenAI Realtime surface — auth, WS
handshake, session.update payload, server VAD, base64 audio, streaming-
length output-stream cleanup — in isolation from 4b's harder concurrency.
2026-06-12 16:59:10 +00:00

475 lines
36 KiB
Markdown
Raw Blame History

This file contains ambiguous Unicode characters
This file contains Unicode characters that might be confused with other characters. If you think that this is intentional, you can safely ignore this warning. Use the Escape button to reveal them.
# Test 4a — OpenAI Realtime API one-shot voice round-trip (C#)
A throwaway C# probe that has a single round-trip spoken conversation with the OpenAI Realtime API:
> Boot → beep → user speaks one sentence → server VAD ends the turn → assistant audio reply plays back through the same USB Speaker Phone → exit 0.
No wakeword. No loop. No state machine. One process, runs once, dies.
Test 4a's job is to debug the OpenAI Realtime API surface (auth, WS handshake, `session.update` payload, event JSON shapes, base64 audio decode, server VAD endpointing, streaming-length output-stream cleanup) **in isolation** from the harder concurrency story of Test 4b (wakeword + loop + 16↔24 kHz coexistence).
Read `findings.md` (§ "C# probe outcome", § "C# wakeword probe outcome", § "C# full-cycle outcome") before reading this. Everything below assumes those outcomes as ground truth. The patterns lifted directly from Test 3 are: `Libc.setenv`, the `using Stream = PortAudioSharp.Stream;` import disambiguation, `<AllowUnsafeBlocks>true</AllowUnsafeBlocks>`, the fire-and-forget output stream lifetime (Start under try/catch BEFORE the cleanup task launches), `FindUsbDevice`, the `MakeBeep` helper, `bin/probe-cs-3`'s wipe-and-replace publish shape with `ssh -t`.
## Goal
A single-binary C# probe that:
1. Reads the OpenAI API key from `~/.openai_key` on the Pi (mode 600).
2. Connects to `wss://api.openai.com/v1/realtime?model=gpt-realtime` over a WebSocket with `Authorization: Bearer …` + `OpenAI-Beta: realtime=v1` headers.
3. Sends one `session.update` event pinning audio formats, voice, instructions, and `turn_detection: server_vad`.
4. Plays a startup beep through the USB Speaker Phone.
5. Opens a 24 kHz mono Int16 input stream on the same device; streams mic audio to OpenAI as `input_audio_buffer.append` events.
6. Waits for the server VAD to fire `input_audio_buffer.speech_stopped` (server then auto-commits the buffer and creates the response).
7. Stops sending mic audio at that point. Receives `response.audio.delta` chunks, base64-decodes them, plays them through a 24 kHz output stream on the same device.
8. On `response.done` AND the output buffer drained, closes the WebSocket cleanly, terminates PortAudio, exits 0.
9. Exits cleanly on Ctrl-C from the workstation (SIGINT propagated via `ssh -t`) at any stage.
## Non-goals
- **No wakeword.** No `WakewordModel.cs`. No 16 kHz audio path anywhere in 4a. (Test 4b layers that on top of this proven base.)
- **No state machine, no loop.** Probe runs once and exits.
- **No barge-in.** Once `speech_stopped` fires, mic frames are dropped on the floor. The user cannot interrupt the assistant in 4a.
- **No client-side resampling.** Mic = 24 kHz, output = 24 kHz, OpenAI = 24 kHz pcm16. PortAudio plug-resamples 48↔24 at ALSA on the USB device.
- **No WAV capture.** Logging is stdout/stderr only.
- **No retry on WS errors, no reconnect, no health check.** Fail loud, exit non-zero, log enough to diagnose.
- **No automated tests.** Hardware verification only.
## Architecture
```
┌──────────────────────────────────────┐
│ ClientWebSocket │
│ wss://api.openai.com/v1/realtime? │
│ model=gpt-realtime │
│ Headers: Authorization: Bearer … │
│ OpenAI-Beta: realtime=v1 │
└────┬──────────────────────────┬──────┘
│ SendAsync │ ReceiveAsync
▼ ▼
┌──────────────────────────┐ ┌──────────────────────────────┐
│ UpstreamSendLoop │ │ ReceiveLoop (Task.Run) │
│ (Task.Run) │ │ while (!cts.Cancel) { │
│ drain upstreamChannel: │ │ msg = ReceiveAsync(…) │
│ pull short[1920] │ │ doc = JsonDocument.Parse │
│ → base64 │ │ switch (doc["type"]) │
│ → input_audio_ │ │ session.created → log │
│ buffer.append │ │ session.updated → log │
│ → ws.SendAsync │ │ speech_started → log │
│ exits when │ │ speech_stopped → │
│ _stopSending && empty│ │ _stopSending = true │
└──────────┬───────────────┘ │ response.audio.delta: │
│ (FullMode.Wait) │ base64 → short[] │
│ │ → downstreamChannel │
▲ │ .Writer.WriteAsync │
│ short[1920] │ audio_transcript.delta:│
│ (40 ms @ 24 kHz) │ append to log buf │
┌──────────┴───────────────┐ │ response.done → │
│ PortAudio input stream │ │ _noMoreDeltas = true │
│ 24 kHz mono Int16, │ │ downstreamChannel │
│ 1920 frames/cb │ │ .Writer.Complete │
│ callback: │ │ error → log + Cancel │
│ if !_micArmed: discard│ └────────────┬─────────────────┘
│ elif _stopSending: │ │
│ discard │ ▼
│ else: │ ┌──────────────────────────────┐
│ copy → short[] │ │ Channel<short[]> │
│ TryWrite to │ │ (bounded cap 64, │
│ upstreamChannel │ │ FullMode.Wait) │
└──────────────────────────┘ └────────────┬─────────────────┘
┌──────────────────────────────────┐
│ PortAudio output stream │
│ 24 kHz mono Int16, │
│ 1024 frames/cb │
│ callback: │
│ fill = 0 │
│ while fill < frameCount: │
│ if currentChunk == null: │
│ try pull short[] or break │
│ take = min(remaining, slack)│
│ memcpy chunk → output │
│ zero-fill remaining │
│ if currentChunk == null │
│ && Reader.Count == 0 │
│ && Completion.IsCompleted: │
│ doneFlag.Set() │
│ return Complete │
│ return Continue │
└────────────┬─────────────────────┘
main thread: doneFlag.Wait
→ ws.CloseAsync(NormalClosure)
→ input/output stream.Stop
→ PortAudio.Terminate
→ exit 0
```
One process. Three managed threads (main + UpstreamSendLoop + ReceiveLoop) plus PortAudio's input and output audio threads (managed by the library).
**Shared mutable state — the full list, small on purpose:**
- `Channel<short[]> upstreamChannel`, bounded 64, `FullMode.Wait`, single-writer (mic callback), single-reader (UpstreamSendLoop). Holds mic frames waiting to be base64'd and sent.
- `Channel<short[]> downstreamChannel`, bounded 64, `FullMode.Wait`, **multi-writer** (main thread writes the startup beep; ReceiveLoop writes response audio chunks; temporally separated but Channel<T>'s `SingleWriter` flag is a contract not a runtime check, so keep it `false`), single-reader (output callback). Holds decoded audio chunks waiting to be played. Its `Writer.Complete()` (called by ReceiveLoop on `response.done`) is the WS-stream-end signal for the output callback.
- `volatile bool _micArmed`: starts `false`; set `true` after the startup beep has been queued and drained. Mic frames before this point are discarded so the beep doesn't get captured and shipped to OpenAI.
- `volatile bool _stopSending`: set by ReceiveLoop on `input_audio_buffer.speech_stopped`. Read by both the mic callback (which then discards) and UpstreamSendLoop (which then drains its queue and exits).
- `volatile bool _noMoreDeltas`: set by ReceiveLoop on `response.done`. Not strictly required because `downstreamChannel.Writer.Complete()` carries the same signal — but kept as a redundant fast path that the output callback can check without touching the channel.
- `ManualResetEventSlim doneFlag`: set by the output callback when it has drained the channel after completion. Awaited by main.
- `CancellationTokenSource cts`: wired to `Console.CancelKeyPress` + any WS error. Cancels both Task.Run loops; main's `doneFlag.Wait(cts.Token)` honours it.
No locks. No `Interlocked`. The bounded `Channel<T>` handles all the cross-thread audio handoff with the right backpressure semantics.
## WebSocket lifecycle
Six discrete phases, all in `Program.cs` top-level statements + the two `Task.Run` loops:
1. **Load API key.** `LoadApiKey()` helper reads `~/.openai_key`, trims whitespace. Mode 600 verified — non-fatal warning if looser. Fatal error (exit 2) if the file is missing, empty, or doesn't start with `sk-`.
2. **Construct `ClientWebSocket`** with two request headers: `Authorization: Bearer <key>` and `OpenAI-Beta: realtime=v1`. `ConnectAsync` to `wss://api.openai.com/v1/realtime?model=gpt-realtime` with `cts.Token`. On failure (DNS, TLS, 401, 403, 429, 5xx), log the exception message + any HTTP status carried on `WebSocketException.WebSocketErrorCode` / inner `HttpRequestException.StatusCode`; exit 3.
3. **Launch ReceiveLoop** (`Task.Run`) before sending anything, so we don't miss `session.created`.
4. **Send `session.update`.** First client message; pins the session config (see "Client → server events" below). Don't strictly block on `session.updated` — the receive loop logs it asynchronously — but the spec expects it within ~200 ms.
5. **Open + start PortAudio streams.** Input stream first (24 kHz mono Int16, 1920 frames/cb), then output stream (24 kHz mono Int16, 1024 frames/cb). Both opened on `FindUsbDevice()`. Launch UpstreamSendLoop (`Task.Run`).
6. **Startup beep + arm mic.** Queue a 200 ms 880 Hz beep (`MakeBeep` lifted from Test 3, regenerated at 24 kHz) onto `downstreamChannel`. Sleep ~300 ms (beep + drain margin). Set `_micArmed = true`. Print `Speak now.` to stdout.
7. **Wait for `doneFlag`** on the main thread (with `cts.Token` for Ctrl-C). On wake-up: `ws.CloseAsync(WebSocketCloseStatus.NormalClosure, "done", …)` with a 2 s timeout token. Stop input stream, stop output stream, terminate PortAudio, exit 0.
## Client → server event payloads
Three send-once messages on the main thread, plus a stream of `input_audio_buffer.append` from UpstreamSendLoop. All written with `JsonSerializer.Serialize` over `Dictionary<string, object?>` (lightest thing that doesn't require typed records for a probe).
```json
// (1) Pinned session config — first thing sent after WS connect.
{
"type": "session.update",
"session": {
"modalities": ["audio", "text"],
"instructions": "Reply in one short sentence.",
"voice": "alloy",
"input_audio_format": "pcm16",
"output_audio_format": "pcm16",
"turn_detection": {
"type": "server_vad",
"threshold": 0.5,
"prefix_padding_ms": 300,
"silence_duration_ms": 500,
"create_response": true
}
}
}
// (2) Per mic frame (~40 ms cadence), from UpstreamSendLoop:
{ "type": "input_audio_buffer.append", "audio": "<base64-pcm16-24k>" }
```
No `conversation.item.create` and no `response.create` from the client — server VAD's `create_response: true` makes the server commit and create the response automatically on `speech_stopped`.
`instructions: "Reply in one short sentence."` keeps the response audio bounded (~2-4 s of speech) so a probe run is fast to verify by ear and cheap on quota.
`voice: "alloy"` is the long-standing default voice and is documented as universally available for raw WS sessions.
## Server → client event handlers
ReceiveLoop uses a 4 KB receive buffer + standard `ReceiveAsync` loop with `EndOfMessage` accumulation into a `MemoryStream`. On message end, `JsonDocument.Parse`. Switch on the top-level `type` property's string value:
| `type` | Action |
|-|-|
| `session.created` | log `[ws] session.created <session_id>` |
| `session.updated` | log `[ws] session.updated — session pinned` |
| `input_audio_buffer.speech_started` | log `[vad] speech started` |
| `input_audio_buffer.speech_stopped` | log `[vad] speech stopped`; set `_stopSending = true` |
| `input_audio_buffer.committed` | log only — server confirms it sealed the buffer |
| `response.created` | log only |
| `response.audio_transcript.delta` | append `delta` to an accumulating `StringBuilder` |
| `response.audio.delta` | base64-decode `delta` → bytes → reinterpret as `short[]``await downstreamChannel.Writer.WriteAsync(samples, cts.Token)`. The `await` is the backpressure path: if the channel is full, this blocks the receive loop, which blocks the WS receive buffer — correct behavior for a slow speaker. |
| `response.audio.done` | log only |
| `response.done` | set `_noMoreDeltas = true`; `downstreamChannel.Writer.Complete()`; print the accumulated transcript |
| `error` | log the full event JSON; `cts.Cancel()` |
| anything else | log `[ws] ignored type=<…>` once (or at debug verbosity), continue |
## Audio buffering — input
- Mic callback runs every 40 ms (1920 samples @ 24 kHz mono Int16, matches `framesPerBuffer = 1920`).
- Callback allocates `short[1920]`, `Buffer.MemoryCopy`s the input pointer, `upstreamChannel.Writer.TryWrite(frame)`.
- On TryWrite failure (channel full = UpstreamSendLoop is behind): log `[status] upstream behind, dropping mic frame`, continue.
- Discard frames when `_micArmed == false` (during startup beep) or `_stopSending == true` (after `speech_stopped`).
- On the `InputOverflow` status flag from PortAudio: log `[status] input overflow`, continue.
UpstreamSendLoop pseudocode:
```
await ReceiveLoop signals session.updated (or just optimistically loop from start)
while (!cts.IsCancellationRequested):
if _stopSending && upstreamChannel.Reader.Count == 0: break
frame = await upstreamChannel.Reader.ReadAsync(cts.Token)
if _stopSending: continue // drop frames captured after server VAD cutoff
bytes = MemoryMarshal.AsBytes(frame.AsSpan())
base64 = Convert.ToBase64String(bytes)
json = JsonSerializer.SerializeToUtf8Bytes(new {
type = "input_audio_buffer.append",
audio = base64
})
await ws.SendAsync(json, WebSocketMessageType.Text, endOfMessage: true, cts.Token)
```
## Audio buffering — output
`downstreamChannel = Channel.CreateBounded<short[]>(new BoundedChannelOptions(64) { FullMode = BoundedChannelFullMode.Wait, SingleWriter = false, SingleReader = true })`. `SingleWriter = false` because the main thread queues the startup beep AND ReceiveLoop queues response audio chunks (temporally separated, but the flag is a hard contract).
Capacity rationale: 64 chunks × ~40-80 ms per `response.audio.delta` ≈ 2.5-5 s of buffered audio. Comfortable headroom against network jitter without holding silly amounts of memory.
ReceiveLoop writes `short[]` chunks of varying length (one per `response.audio.delta` event). On `response.done`, calls `downstreamChannel.Writer.Complete()`.
Output callback's job is to fill `frameCount` shorts every callback (1024 frames = ~43 ms @ 24 kHz). It maintains a `short[]? _currentChunk` + `int _chunkOffset` across calls. Pseudocode:
```
int fill = 0;
while (fill < frameCount) {
if (_currentChunk == null) {
if (!downstreamChannel.Reader.TryRead(out _currentChunk)) break; // drained
_chunkOffset = 0;
}
int slack = frameCount - fill;
int remaining = _currentChunk.Length - _chunkOffset;
int take = Math.Min(remaining, slack);
unsafe {
fixed (short* src = &_currentChunk[_chunkOffset])
Buffer.MemoryCopy(src, output + fill, take * 2, take * 2);
}
_chunkOffset += take;
fill += take;
if (_chunkOffset >= _currentChunk.Length) _currentChunk = null;
}
// Zero-fill the unfilled tail (underrun mid-response, or post-completion drain).
for (int i = fill; i < frameCount; i++) output[i] = 0;
// Completion check: drained AND writer completed AND no working chunk left.
if (_currentChunk == null
&& downstreamChannel.Reader.Count == 0
&& downstreamChannel.Reader.Completion.IsCompleted)
{
doneFlag.Set();
return StreamCallbackResult.Complete;
}
return StreamCallbackResult.Continue;
```
**Underrun behavior: zero-fill, return Continue.** If `response.done` hasn't arrived yet and the next `response.audio.delta` is just in flight, we play silence for one callback (~43 ms) instead of starving — the stream stays armed, no click on resume.
**This is the streaming-length cleanup discipline** that replaces Test 3's "scale `done.Wait` timeout to the buffer length" trick. Test 3 knew the playback wall-clock up front (`recordBuf.Length / SampleRate`); Test 4a does not, because the assistant audio length is unknown a priori. So the signaling moves from "wait this many seconds" to "wait until (writer-completed AND channel-empty AND working-chunk-empty)." The output callback is the single oracle for this triple condition.
**Startup beep wrinkle:** the beep is queued onto `downstreamChannel` BEFORE the receive loop starts producing. The output callback drains it just like any other audio. The completion check is safe because `Writer.Complete()` is only ever called on `response.done` — the beep getting drained does NOT cause an early completion firing.
## Components and files
```
tests/04a-realtime-oneshot-cs/
├── Probe.csproj
│ <TargetFramework>net9.0</TargetFramework>
│ <RuntimeIdentifier>linux-arm64</RuntimeIdentifier>
│ <SelfContained>true</SelfContained>
│ <PublishSingleFile>false</PublishSingleFile>
│ <AllowUnsafeBlocks>true</AllowUnsafeBlocks>
│ <InvariantGlobalization>true</InvariantGlobalization>
│ <Nullable>enable</Nullable>
│ <ImplicitUsings>enable</ImplicitUsings>
│ RootNamespace=RealtimeOneShotProbe, AssemblyName=Probe
│ PackageReference PortAudioSharp2 Version="1.0.6"
│ (no Microsoft.ML.OnnxRuntime — no wakeword in 4a)
│ System.Net.WebSockets + System.Text.Json come from the BCL; no package.
├── Program.cs ~300 lines, top-level statements:
│ 1. Libc.setenv("PA_ALSA_PLUGHW", "1", 1) + Environment mirror
│ (no ORT env vars — no onnxruntime in 4a)
│ 2. PortAudio.Initialize
│ 3. apiKey = LoadApiKey()
│ 4. var cts = new CancellationTokenSource();
│ Console.CancelKeyPress += (_, e) => { e.Cancel = true; cts.Cancel(); };
│ 5. var ws = new ClientWebSocket();
│ ws.Options.SetRequestHeader("Authorization", $"Bearer {apiKey}");
│ ws.Options.SetRequestHeader("OpenAI-Beta", "realtime=v1");
│ await ws.ConnectAsync(uri, cts.Token);
│ 6. Channel<short[]> upstreamChannel, downstreamChannel (both bounded 64)
│ ManualResetEventSlim doneFlag = new(false);
│ 7. Task receiveTask = Task.Run(() => ReceiveLoop(ws, downstreamChannel,
│ cts, _stopSending, _noMoreDeltas, transcriptBuilder));
│ 8. Send session.update (JsonSerializer.SerializeToUtf8Bytes over a dict)
│ 9. int device = FindUsbDevice();
│ 10. Open + start input stream (24 kHz, 1920 frames/cb)
│ 11. Open + start output stream (24 kHz, 1024 frames/cb)
│ 12. Task sendTask = Task.Run(() => UpstreamSendLoop(ws, upstreamChannel,
│ cts, _stopSending));
│ 13. Queue MakeBeep(880, 0.2, 24000) onto downstreamChannel; sleep 300 ms;
│ _micArmed = true; Console.WriteLine("Speak now.");
│ 14. try { doneFlag.Wait(cts.Token); }
│ catch (OperationCanceledException) { /* Ctrl-C path */ }
│ 15. finally:
│ ws.CloseAsync(NormalClosure, "done", linkedCtsWith2sTimeout.Token)
│ inputStream.Stop; outputStream.Stop;
│ inputStream.Dispose; outputStream.Dispose;
│ PortAudio.Terminate;
│ Helpers (all in Program.cs):
│ - LoadApiKey() — reads ~/.openai_key, perms-warns, sanity
│ - MicCallback — discards unless _micArmed && !_stopSending
│ - OutputCallback — drain-or-zero-fill loop above
│ - MakeBeep(hz, sec, rate) — sin wave Int16 (lifted from Test 3, retuned 24 kHz)
│ - UpstreamSendLoop(...)
│ - ReceiveLoop(...) — JsonDocument switch on "type"
│ - FindUsbDevice() — lifted from Test 3 verbatim
│ - static class Libc { setenv }
└── (no models/ dir, no WakewordModel.cs)
bin/probe-cs-4a Copy of bin/probe-cs-3 with substitutions:
tests/03-full-cycle-cs → tests/04a-realtime-oneshot-cs
~/probe-cs-3 → ~/probe-cs-4a
PUBLISH_DIR /tmp/probe-cs-3-out → /tmp/probe-cs-4a-out
ssh -t retained (Ctrl-C propagation).
Wipe-and-replace publish dir retained (partial-deploy
footgun from Test 3).
Adds ONE new precondition step before publishing:
sshpass -p "$PI_PASS" ssh "$PI_USER@$PI_HOST" \
'test -f ~/.openai_key && test -r ~/.openai_key' \
|| { echo "Create ~/.openai_key on the Pi (chmod 600),
paste your sk-... key into it, then re-run."; \
exit 1; }
This catches the silent "key missing" failure mode at
the deploy step rather than 30 s into the publish + scp.
```
## Concurrency model
Five concurrent threads of execution in steady state:
1. **Main thread.** Setup, session.update send, beep + arm, `doneFlag.Wait`, teardown via `finally`.
2. **ReceiveLoop** (`Task.Run`). Pulls WS messages, dispatches on `type`. Single writer of `downstreamChannel`, `_stopSending`, `_noMoreDeltas`, transcript builder. Calls `cts.Cancel()` on error.
3. **UpstreamSendLoop** (`Task.Run`). Pulls mic frames from `upstreamChannel`, JSON-serializes `input_audio_buffer.append`, calls `ws.SendAsync`. Single writer of the WS send stream.
4. **PortAudio input audio thread** (managed by the library). Runs the mic callback every 40 ms. Allocates `short[1920]`, memcpy's the input, `upstreamChannel.Writer.TryWrite(frame)`. Never blocks.
5. **PortAudio output audio thread** (managed by the library). Runs the output callback every 43 ms. Drains `downstreamChannel` into the output buffer; zero-fills underruns; sets `doneFlag` on completion. Never blocks.
Note that `ws.SendAsync` and `ws.ReceiveAsync` can both be active concurrently — `ClientWebSocket` supports one concurrent send + one concurrent receive (but NOT multiple concurrent sends or multiple concurrent receives). Our design uses exactly one of each, so this is safe.
## Error handling
| Failure mode | Behavior | Exit |
|-|-|-|
| `~/.openai_key` missing on Pi | `bin/probe-cs-4a` precondition check exits before publishing. | 1 |
| `~/.openai_key` exists but empty / not `sk-`-shaped | `LoadApiKey()` logs `[error] API key file empty` / `[error] API key doesn't start with sk-`, exits. | 2 |
| `ws.ConnectAsync` throws (DNS, TLS, 401, 403, 429, 500, network down) | Log `[error] WS connect failed: {ex.Message}` plus inner `HttpRequestException.StatusCode` if present. | 3 |
| Server `error` event mid-session | ReceiveLoop logs the full event JSON, `cts.Cancel()`. Main wakes from `doneFlag.Wait(cts.Token)` with `OperationCanceledException`; `finally` runs CloseAsync (no-throw with timeout) + stream.Stop + PortAudio.Terminate. | 4 |
| WS drops mid-conversation (`WebSocketException` in ReceiveLoop) | Same as above — log + cancel + cleanup-via-finally. | 4 |
| PortAudio input stream `Start()` throws | Log + Dispose stream + cts.Cancel. | 5 |
| PortAudio output stream `Start()` throws | Log + Dispose stream + cts.Cancel. | 6 |
| Server takes forever and never sends `response.done` | No timeout in 4a. User's recourse is Ctrl-C. (If verification surfaces this, add a configurable timeout in 4b — out of scope for 4a.) | 0 (via Ctrl-C) |
| Mic callback can't `TryWrite` to `upstreamChannel` (UpstreamSendLoop falling behind) | Log `[status] upstream behind, dropping mic frame`, continue. (Same shape as Test 3's "consumer behind" log.) | 0 |
| Workstation Ctrl-C | `Console.CancelKeyPress``e.Cancel = true; cts.Cancel()`. Main wakes from `doneFlag.Wait(cts.Token)` with `OperationCanceledException`. `finally` runs full cleanup path. | 0 |
The `finally` block at the bottom of `Program.cs`'s outer `try` runs **once** and is the single point where WS is closed, streams are stopped, and PortAudio is terminated. Cleanup is idempotent (`stream.Stop` is a no-op if already stopped; `PortAudio.Terminate` is fine to call once even if some path didn't run).
## Gotchas carried forward (from findings.md)
1. **`Libc.setenv("PA_ALSA_PLUGHW", "1", 1)`** before any PortAudio init. `Environment.SetEnvironmentVariable` alone does NOT propagate to libc on Linux. Apply alongside the managed call.
2. **No OrtEnv work in 4a** — no `Microsoft.ML.OnnxRuntime` dependency. (4b reintroduces it.)
3. **`using Stream = PortAudioSharp.Stream;`** at the top of `Program.cs` to disambiguate from `System.IO.Stream` that `ImplicitUsings` pulls in.
4. **`<AllowUnsafeBlocks>true</AllowUnsafeBlocks>`** in `Probe.csproj` for the input/output callbacks' `Buffer.MemoryCopy` over `short*`.
5. **Fire-and-forget output stream lifetime.** `stream.Start()` runs synchronously under try/catch BEFORE any auxiliary cleanup task launches; on `Start()` failure, dispose + rethrow without ever leaking the stream. Test 4a uses a *persistent* output stream (opened once, drained for both the beep and the response audio, stopped on shutdown), so there's no per-cycle cleanup task — the `Start()` failure path is the only one that matters.
6. **Streaming-length cleanup discipline.** Test 3's "scale `done.Wait(timeout)` to recordBuf length" trick does NOT apply because the assistant audio length is unknown a priori. Replaced by the output callback's `_currentChunk == null && Reader.Count == 0 && Reader.Completion.IsCompleted` triple check. The `ManualResetEventSlim doneFlag` carries the signal to the main thread.
7. **`ssh -t` in `bin/probe-cs-4a`** for Ctrl-C propagation from workstation SIGINT.
8. **Always wipe-and-replace the whole publish directory.** A partial `scp Probe` after a rebuild leaves the old `.dll` on the target, which the new launcher loads. `bin/probe-cs-4a` does `ssh "rm -rf ~/probe-cs-4a && mkdir ~/probe-cs-4a"` BEFORE the `scp -r` (Test 3 pattern).
9. **Startup beep must not be captured by the mic and shipped to OpenAI.** The `_micArmed` flag stays `false` until ~300 ms after the beep is queued to `downstreamChannel` (200 ms beep + 100 ms drain margin). The mic callback discards frames while `!_micArmed`.
New for 4a (none carried forward from prior tests — these are surfaced here for the first time):
10. **`ClientWebSocket` concurrency rule:** one concurrent Send + one concurrent Receive is supported; multiple concurrent Sends (or Receives) is not. Our design has exactly one SendLoop and one ReceiveLoop, so this is safe by construction — but if a future change adds a second sender (e.g. a ping task), it must serialize with the existing one.
11. **Channel completion semantics:** `Writer.Complete()` makes `Reader.Completion.IsCompleted` true ONLY after all written items are consumed. The output callback's triple check accounts for this correctly. Don't change to a different completion sentinel without re-verifying the corner case.
12. **API key file ownership:** the precondition check in `bin/probe-cs-4a` verifies *presence* and *readability* by `pi`, not strict mode 600. The probe itself logs a non-fatal warning if the mode is looser than 600; this lets a slightly looser local setup proceed.
## Verification (hardware only, no automated tests)
One-time setup on the Pi (workstation tells you to do this; `bin/probe-cs-4a` precondition-checks it before publishing):
```sh
sshpass -p 'assistant' ssh pi@192.168.50.115 \
'umask 077 && printf "%s\n" "sk-PASTE-YOUR-KEY-HERE" > ~/.openai_key'
```
Run from workstation:
```sh
./bin/probe-cs-4a
```
Expected console flow (abridged):
```
>> precondition: ~/.openai_key present on Pi. OK.
>> dotnet publish (linux-arm64, self-contained)
>> scp to pi@192.168.50.115:~/probe-cs-4a/ (wipe-and-replace)
>> ssh + run on Pi (Ctrl-C from this terminal stops the probe)
[ws] connecting to wss://api.openai.com/v1/realtime?model=gpt-realtime
[ws] connected
[ws] session.created sess_xxxxxxxxxxxx
[ws] session.updated — session pinned
Using device 3 ('USB Speaker Phone (LISTENAI ...)')
[beep]
Speak now.
[vad] speech started
[vad] speech stopped
[ws] response.created
[audio] first delta received (t = … s since speech_stopped)
[audio] playback drained
[transcript] Hello! How can I help you today?
[ws] closing
bye
```
### Pass criteria
All must hold during a single run on the Pi:
1. **End-to-end round-trip works once.** Probe boots, beeps, you speak a short sentence, the assistant's spoken reply plays back recognisably through the same USB Speaker Phone, the probe exits 0.
2. **Response is intelligible.** The assistant's audio is clear speech, no clipping, no dropouts longer than a single 43 ms callback (one zero-fill is fine and expected on the first chunk arrival).
3. **Round-trip latency.** Time from `[vad] speech stopped` log to `[audio] first delta received` log (i.e. first response audio byte *arriving* at the probe — actual speaker emission adds a fixed ~43 ms output-callback period on top) is **under ~2 s**. Slower is acceptable if explicitly logged; **over ~5 s is a fail.**
4. **No `[status] upstream behind` warnings** during normal operation.
5. **No `[error] WS …` events** during normal operation.
6. **No PortAudio `InputOverflow` status flags** during normal operation.
7. **Workstation Ctrl-C** at any point produces a clean exit: WS closes with normal closure, no stack trace, terminal returns to prompt. Process exit code 0 on Ctrl-C during steady listen; non-zero on Ctrl-C during a failure path is fine.
8. **`response.done`-followed-cleanup signaling works.** Probe exits within ~500 ms of the last audio sample being heard. No long hang.
### What success teaches us for 4b
- Auth + WS handshake + headers + URL are correct.
- `session.update` with `server_vad` works; the server fires `speech_started` / `speech_stopped` correctly on real Pi mic input.
- Base64 decode of `response.audio.delta` produces playable PCM16 at 24 kHz on the USB Speaker Phone (PortAudio plug-resamples 48↔24 at ALSA without trouble).
- The streaming-length cleanup discipline (`_noMoreDeltas` + `Channel.Completion.IsCompleted` + working-chunk check) is correct.
- The `Channel<short[]>` upstream/downstream pattern handles backpressure cleanly.
- `bin/probe-cs-4a`'s `~/.openai_key` precondition pattern is the right key-management story (it'll lift verbatim into 4b and the main assistant).
### What failure would tell us
- **401 / 403 on connect:** API key is wrong or the file's been mangled.
- **WS connects but `session.updated` never arrives:** the session config is malformed for the current Realtime API surface — `modalities`, `turn_detection`, or `voice` is using an outdated field name or value.
- **No `speech_stopped` event ever fires:** `turn_detection` config is wrong for the current API (field renamed?), or the mic is silent (gain too low, wrong device, ALSA plug-rate-conversion broken at 24 kHz). Cross-check by adding a periodic RMS log in the mic callback.
- **`[status] upstream behind` repeats:** UpstreamSendLoop is slower than the mic callback. Most likely `ws.SendAsync` is blocking on TCP. Cheap remediation: bump channel capacity. Real remediation: investigate the WS backpressure.
- **First delta takes >5 s:** server-side issue OR our `instructions` is producing a long thinking pause. Tighten instructions or report and move on.
- **Garbled / chipmunk-speed playback:** sample-rate mismatch. Verify the output stream actually opened at 24 kHz (PortAudio might have silently substituted a default).
- **Click at the start of playback:** zero-fill underrun ran before the first delta. Acceptable for a probe; if it bothers you, add a small pre-roll buffer.
- **Probe hangs on exit:** `Writer.Complete()` was never called (receive loop missed `response.done`), or the output callback's triple check is wrong. Investigate via logging.
## Reference paths
- Spec (this doc): `docs/superpowers/specs/2026-06-12-test-4a-openai-realtime-design.md`
- Plan (next, to write): `docs/superpowers/plans/2026-06-12-test-4a-openai-realtime.md`
- Code (to be written): `tests/04a-realtime-oneshot-cs/`
- Deploy (to be written): `bin/probe-cs-4a`
- Test 3 reference: `tests/03-full-cycle-cs/Program.cs`, `bin/probe-cs-3`, `docs/superpowers/specs/2026-06-12-test-3-full-cycle-csharp-design.md`
- Pi access: `pi@192.168.50.115`, password `assistant` (see `CLAUDE.md`)
- API key file location: `/home/pi/.openai_key` on the Pi, mode 600, single line of `sk-…`
- Canonical findings: `findings.md` § "C# probe outcome" through § "C# full-cycle outcome"
- OpenAI Realtime API surface as of this brainstorm:
- WebSocket URL: `wss://api.openai.com/v1/realtime?model=gpt-realtime`
- Headers: `Authorization: Bearer <key>`, `OpenAI-Beta: realtime=v1`
- Audio formats: `pcm16` (default 24 kHz Int16), `g711_ulaw`, `g711_alaw`
- Session config keys used: `modalities`, `instructions`, `voice`, `input_audio_format`, `output_audio_format`, `turn_detection`
- `turn_detection.server_vad` subkeys used: `threshold`, `prefix_padding_ms`, `silence_duration_ms`, `create_response`
- Server events consumed: `session.created`, `session.updated`, `input_audio_buffer.speech_started`, `input_audio_buffer.speech_stopped`, `input_audio_buffer.committed`, `response.created`, `response.audio_transcript.delta`, `response.audio.delta`, `response.audio.done`, `response.done`, `error`