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Mario Lavoie d5371cfe75 Add KB Capture v2 - clip-based recording system

New features:
- Clip-based workflow: record short clips, keep or delete
- Toggle recording with Ctrl+Shift+R
- Session management (start, clips, end)
- Modern CustomTkinter GUI with dark theme
- Global hotkeys for hands-free control
- Whisper transcription (local, no API)
- FFmpeg screen + audio capture
- Export to clawdbot_export/ for Mario processing

Files added:
- recorder.py: FFmpeg screen recording
- session.py: Session/clip management
- hotkeys.py: Global hotkey registration
- kb_capture.py: Main application logic
- gui_capture.py: Modern GUI
- export.py: Merge clips, transcribe, export

Docs:
- docs/KB-CAPTURE.md: Full documentation

Entry point: uv run kb-capture

2026-02-09 12:50:22 +00:00

6.5 KiB

Raw Blame History

KB Capture v2

Clip-based recording for engineering knowledge capture.

Overview

KB Capture is a lightweight recording tool that captures your CAD/FEM work as short clips, not one long video. Record what matters, delete mistakes, keep the good stuff.

Quick Start

# Install
cd CAD-Documenter
uv sync
uv pip install customtkinter keyboard

# Launch
uv run kb-capture

Workflow

1. Start Session

Open KB Capture (system tray or GUI)
Enter project name (e.g., "P04-GigaBIT-M1")
Enter session description (e.g., "Vertical support refinement")
Select type: Design (CAD) or Analysis (FEA)
Click Start Session

2. Record Clips

While working in NX/CAD:

Press Ctrl+Shift+R to start recording
Narrate what you're doing
Say "screenshot" when you want a frame captured
Press Ctrl+Shift+R again to stop

3. Review Clips

After each clip:

Keep (K): Keep the clip
Delete (D): Discard the clip (bad take)
Or just start recording again (auto-keeps previous)

4. End Session

Press Ctrl+Shift+E or click End Session
Clips are merged and transcribed
Exported to clawdbot_export/ for Mario processing

Keyboard Shortcuts

Action	Shortcut
Start/Stop Recording	Ctrl+Shift+R
Keep Last Clip	Ctrl+Shift+K
Delete Last Clip	Ctrl+Shift+D
End Session	Ctrl+Shift+E

Session Types

Type	Updates	Use For
Design	KB/Design/	CAD work, component design, assembly
Analysis	KB/Analysis/	FEA setup, mesh, BCs, results

Output

After ending a session:

sessions/<session-id>/
├── clips/
│   ├── clip-001.mp4
│   ├── clip-002.mp4
│   └── ...
├── session.json
└── clawdbot_export/
    ├── merged.mp4         # All clips merged
    ├── transcript.json    # Whisper transcription
    ├── frames/            # Extracted at "screenshot" triggers
    │   ├── 01_00-30.png
    │   └── ...
    └── metadata.json      # Session info for Clawdbot

What Happens Next

Syncthing syncs clawdbot_export/ to Clawdbot
Mario detects new session
Vision analysis categorizes frames
KB updated with new information
Slack notification when complete

Tips

Recording

Narrate naturally — explain what you're doing
Say "screenshot" before important views
Keep clips short (30s - 2min)
It's okay to delete bad takes

Organization

One session per work block (30-60 min)
Use descriptive session names
Match project name to your PKM folder

Quality

Close unnecessary windows before recording
Undock NX 3D viewport for clean captures
Speak clearly for better transcription

Troubleshooting

Hotkeys not working

Run as Administrator (Windows)
Check for conflicts with other apps
Try restarting KB Capture

Recording fails

Ensure FFmpeg is installed: choco install ffmpeg
Check disk space
Check microphone permissions

No transcription

Whisper needs ~2GB RAM for 'base' model
Try 'tiny' model: --whisper-model tiny
Check CUDA/GPU drivers for faster processing

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│           KB Capture (Windows)          │
├─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  ┌───────────┐  ┌──────────────────┐   │
│  │  Hotkeys  │  │  GUI (optional)  │   │
│  └─────┬─────┘  └────────┬─────────┘   │
│        │                 │              │
│        ▼                 ▼              │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────────┐   │
│  │       Session Manager           │   │
│  │  (clips, keep/delete, merge)    │   │
│  └─────────────┬───────────────────┘   │
│                │                        │
│  ┌─────────────┼───────────────────┐   │
│  │             ▼                   │   │
│  │  ┌─────────────────────────┐   │   │
│  │  │     Screen Recorder     │   │   │
│  │  │     (FFmpeg gdigrab)    │   │   │
│  │  └─────────────────────────┘   │   │
│  │                                 │   │
│  │  ┌─────────────────────────┐   │   │
│  │  │   Whisper Transcriber   │   │   │
│  │  │      (local GPU)        │   │   │
│  │  └─────────────────────────┘   │   │
│  └─────────────────────────────────┘   │
│                │                        │
│                ▼                        │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────────┐   │
│  │      clawdbot_export/           │   │
│  │  merged.mp4 + transcript.json   │   │
│  └─────────────┬───────────────────┘   │
└────────────────┼────────────────────────┘
                 │ Syncthing
                 ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│            Clawdbot (Mario)             │
│  Vision analysis → KB update → Notify   │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘

Requirements

Windows 10/11
Python 3.12+
FFmpeg (choco install ffmpeg)
CUDA GPU (recommended for Whisper)
~4GB RAM (for Whisper 'base' model)

CAD-Documenter README — Original project overview
Knowledge Base Skill — How Mario processes sessions

6.5 KiB Raw Blame History