Veno

Speak it. We'll write it down, summarize it, and pull out your tasks.

Veno is a premium, local-first AI voice-notes app. Record audio on-device, transcribe it locally with Whisper, run an LLM pass for summary and task extraction, and keep everything in a biometrically locked local vault. Pro users can encrypt and back up their vault to iCloud (iOS) or Google Drive (Android), keyed by their RevenueCat App User ID, so notes survive an app reinstall from the store. Transcription never leaves the device. The only server-side code is a thin set of stateless Expo Router API routes that proxy AI provider calls so internal endpoints and secret keys never ship in the JS bundle.

For the full product spec, data model, and staged build plan, see SPEC.md.

Features

• Biometric unlock — Face ID, Touch ID, or device PIN/pattern via expo-local-authentication
• Record — Native audio capture with expo-audio
• Transcribe — On-device speech-to-text via whisper.rn with automatic language detection
• Analyze — OpenAI via the Vercel AI SDK (gpt-4o-mini), proxied through /api/summarize
• Local storage — Notes, audio, and tasks live in SQLite (Drizzle ORM) and the app sandbox
• Cloud backup (Pro) — Encrypted vault snapshots to iCloud or Google Drive, restored via RevenueCat App User ID after reinstall
• Premium gating — Free tier limits (3 min/day recording, 1 summary/day); Pro via RevenueCat
• Observability — Errors and slow transcriptions reported to Sentry

Out of scope

Real-time multi-device sync, custom user accounts, collaboration, and a web client.

Tech stack

Layer	Choice
App framework	Expo SDK 56 + Expo Router
Language	TypeScript, React 19, React Native 0.85
Local security	expo-local-authentication
Audio	expo-audio
Server proxy	Expo Router API routes + EAS Hosting
Transcription	whisper.rn (on-device Whisper, multilingual + auto language detection)
LLM	OpenAI via Vercel AI SDK → /api/summarize
Local DB	expo-sqlite + Drizzle ORM
Object storage	expo-file-system
Paywall	RevenueCat (react-native-purchases) — App User ID anchors backup identity
Cloud backup	iCloud (iOS) / Google Drive app data (Android) — encrypted, Pro-only
Observability	Sentry (@sentry/react-native)
Styling / state	StyleSheet, Zustand, React Query

Getting started

Prerequisites

• Node.js and npm
• Expo dev client or a native build (expo run:ios / expo run:android)
• iOS Simulator, Android emulator, or a physical device

Install

npm install

Environment variables

Copy the example file and fill in your keys:

cp .env.example .env

Variable	Used by	Where it runs
EXPO_PUBLIC_REVENUECAT_IOS_KEY / _ANDROID_KEY	RevenueCat	Client
EXPO_PUBLIC_SENTRY_DSN	Sentry	Client
EXPO_PUBLIC_API_BASE_URL	Client → API routes	Client (EAS Hosting URL)
EXPO_PUBLIC_APP_API_KEY	Client → API routes	Client
API_GATEWAY_KEY	Proxy authentication	Server only (must match EXPO_PUBLIC_APP_API_KEY)
OPENAI_API_KEY	OpenAI	Server only (/api/summarize)
SENTRY_AUTH_TOKEN	Source-map upload	Build-time only

Public keys (EXPO_PUBLIC_*) are inlined into the JS bundle at build time. Private keys (no prefix) are read only by Expo Router API routes via process.env at request time and never reach the device.

API proxy traffic is protected by a static header check (EXPO_PUBLIC_APP_API_KEY vs API_GATEWAY_KEY) to prevent unauthorized requests from burning OpenAI compute.

Run

npm start

Platform shortcuts:

npm run ios
npm run android
npm run web

Database migrations

npm run db:generate

Repository layout

src/
  app/                       # Expo Router
    (lock)/                  # Biometric entry
    (app)/                   # Secure tabs (notes, record, settings, note detail)
    api/                     # Server-only API routes
  components/
    ui/                      # Button, Card, Sheet, etc.
    record/                  # Waveform, mic button, timer
    notes/                   # NoteCard, playback, swipe actions
  features/
    security/                # Biometric auth state and hooks
    audio/                   # Recording and playback
    notes/                   # DB queries and repository
    transcription/           # whisper.rn context init, transcribe hook, model management
    summarize/               # Client wrapper for /api/summarize
    entitlements/            # RevenueCat and usage limits
    backup/                  # Cloud backup/restore, encryption, sync scheduler
    telemetry/               # Sentry configuration
  db/
    schema.ts                # Drizzle schema
    client.ts                # SQLite + Drizzle connector
    migrations/              # Packed migration files
  constants/
    theme.ts                 # Color, typography, and spacing tokens

Scripts

Command	Description
npm start	Start the Expo dev server
npm run ios / npm run android	Run a native development build
npm run web	Start with web output
npm run lint	Run ESLint
npm run db:generate	Generate Drizzle migrations
npm run build:android:apk	Build a release APK
npm run build:ios	Build for iOS simulator

Construction stages

Development follows a staged plan documented in SPEC.md:

0. Baseline and housekeeping
1. Navigation shell and design system
2. Biometric vault lock
3. Local DB and notes CRUD
4. Audio recording
5. On-device transcription with whisper.rn
6. AI summary and task extraction
7. Paywall with RevenueCat
8. Observability with Sentry
9. Polish, export, and share
10. Cloud backup and restore (iCloud / Google Drive)

Learn more

• Expo documentation (SDK 56)
• Expo Router
• Drizzle ORM
• Vercel AI SDK
• whisper.rn (on-device Whisper for React Native)