Install once.
Dictate anywhere.

Debian 12 · Ubuntu 24.04 · Kubuntu

Install the .deb package.

1. Download viska_0.5.67_amd64.deb.
2. Verify the SHA256 checksum. It must equal b8207cf054f00d6100d2e6aff90178c0b8118cb5d45c516e346f2fb0bc223302.
3. Install with apt. Do not use dpkg -i alone; apt resolves the declared system dependencies.

cd ~/Downloads
sha256sum viska_0.5.67_amd64.deb
sudo apt install ./viska_0.5.67_amd64.deb

On a first installation, the package creates a private environment under /opt/viska and downloads Qt/Python dependencies from PyPI. This can take several minutes and a few hundred MB. Upgrades reuse that environment when compatible. The release already carries the matching Vulkan whisper.cpp wheels, so the target computer does not compile them.

Arch Linux · Omarchy

Install the native Arch package.

1. Use the Download Arch package button on the download page. The site restores the byte-identical package from four edge-safe parts.
2. Verify the SHA256 checksum. It must equal e8487023caf6a4bd311d3de4a1fb39022697f99b51efbc5d6f98d452d0faa74a.
3. Install with pacman -U. Pacman resolves normal Arch system libraries; Viska's Python, Qt and CPU whisper.cpp runtime are already inside the package.

cd ~/Downloads
sha256sum viska-0.5.67-1-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst
sudo pacman -U ./viska-0.5.67-1-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst

This package is built against Arch's current Python 3.14 ABI. It must be rebuilt when Arch moves to Python 3.15; do not bypass pacman's Python-version constraint. Version 0.5.67 uses a portable CPU whisper.cpp runtime on Arch. CUDA and Vulkan acceleration are not claimed for this first Arch package.

Wayland desktop integration

Enable shortcuts, clipboard and insertion.

KDE Plasma

Modern Plasma exposes the XDG GlobalShortcuts portal used by Viska. Keep xdg-desktop-portal and the KDE portal backend installed. wl-clipboard gives Viska a verifiable Wayland clipboard path; terminal applications normally paste with Ctrl + Shift + V.

Omarchy / Hyprland

Omarchy is Arch-based and uses Hyprland. Install the Hyprland portal plus the preferred clipboard and text-input helpers:

sudo pacman -S xdg-desktop-portal xdg-desktop-portal-hyprland \
  wl-clipboard wtype

Log out and back in after changing portal backends. Viska uses XDG GlobalShortcuts when the compositor exposes it, prefers wtype where Hyprland permits synthetic input, and retains the verified clipboard plus a notification when direct insertion is unavailable. ydotool is an additional optional fallback and may require its system service.

Optional performance

Know which accelerator your package supports.

• Debian/Ubuntu + AMD: the .deb carries a Vulkan-enabled GGML runtime for compatible Radeon and integrated Ryzen graphics. Mesa/RADV must expose a working Vulkan compute device. Hardware detection alone is not shown as active acceleration.
• Debian/Ubuntu + NVIDIA: install a distribution-supported NVIDIA driver first, then run sudo viska-gpu-setup install and viska-gpu-setup status. Viska installs its optional CUDA Python components, never the graphics driver.
• Arch/Omarchy 0.5.67: CPU whisper.cpp is the supported runtime. GPU acceleration will be added only after a separate native Arch build is verified.

In Menu → Models, green means the matching native backend is both verified and active. A detected GPU with a CPU fallback must not appear as GPU-active.

First run

Download a model and test another application.

1. Start Viska from the application menu. Open Menu → Models, download a model and select it for your language.
2. Open Menu → Settings → System-wide dictation. Enable automatic paste after background dictation and check the shortcut/clipboard diagnostics.
3. Switch to a plain text field in another application. Start recording with your configured global shortcut, speak one sentence and stop without changing focus.
4. The final text should be copied to the system clipboard and inserted once. Repeat with a second sentence. Viska's editor should remain unchanged during background delivery.

If the target is a terminal, automatic Ctrl + V may be rejected even though the clipboard is correct. Use the terminal's normal Ctrl + Shift + V. Recent segments keeps a session-only recovery copy when enabled.