fix(voice): relax backend timeout and surface timeout errors

Bumps the proxy timeout to 5 minutes (VOICE_TIMEOUT_MS) since local TTS can
synthesize long messages at roughly real-time, and returns a clear timed-out
message (504) instead of failing silently. The read-aloud button now shows
backend errors.

server/voice-proxy.js

@@ -33,7 +33,8 @@ function resolveConfig(req) {
 
 const router = express.Router();
 
-const VOICE_TIMEOUT_MS = Number(process.env.VOICE_TIMEOUT_MS || 60000);
+// Generous by default — local TTS can synthesize long messages at ~real-time on CPU.
+const VOICE_TIMEOUT_MS = Number(process.env.VOICE_TIMEOUT_MS || 300000);
 async function fetchWithTimeout(url, options = {}) {
   const controller = new AbortController();
   const timer = setTimeout(() => controller.abort(), VOICE_TIMEOUT_MS);
@@ -44,6 +45,16 @@ async function fetchWithTimeout(url, options = {}) {
   }
 }
 
+// Turn backend failures into a clear, actionable message for the client.
+function backendError(res, e) {
+  if (e && e.name === 'AbortError') {
+    return res.status(504).json({
+      error: `Voice backend timed out after ${Math.round(VOICE_TIMEOUT_MS / 1000)}s. Check your sidecar or API.`,
+    });
+  }
+  return res.status(502).json({ error: `Voice backend unreachable: ${e.message}` });
+}
+
 let _upload = null;
 async function getUpload() {
   if (!_upload) {
@@ -89,7 +100,7 @@ router.post('/transcribe', async (req, res) => {
       try { data = JSON.parse(text); } catch { data = { text }; }
       res.json({ text: data.text ?? '' });
     } catch (e) {
-      res.status(502).json({ error: `voice backend unreachable: ${e.message}` });
+      backendError(res, e);
     }
   });
 });
@@ -119,7 +130,7 @@ router.post('/tts', async (req, res) => {
     res.setHeader('Cache-Control', 'no-store');
     res.send(Buffer.from(await r.arrayBuffer()));
   } catch (e) {
-    res.status(502).json({ error: `voice backend unreachable: ${e.message}` });
+    backendError(res, e);
   }
 });
 

src/components/chat/hooks/useTts.ts

@@ -8,14 +8,16 @@ let stopActive: (() => void) | null = null;
 export type TtsState = 'idle' | 'loading' | 'playing';
 
 /**
- * Tap-to-speak for a single message. Sends raw markdown to /api/voice/tts
- * (Kokoro sidecar via the Express proxy; cleaning happens server-side),
- * plays the returned audio. Manual-gesture only (v1) to satisfy iOS autoplay.
+ * Tap-to-speak for a single message. Sends raw markdown to /api/voice/tts and plays
+ * the returned audio. Manual-gesture only (v1) to satisfy iOS autoplay. Exposes the
+ * last error (e.g. a backend timeout) so the control can surface it.
  */
 export function useTts(getText: () => string) {
   const [state, setState] = useState<TtsState>('idle');
+  const [error, setError] = useState<string | null>(null);
   const audioRef = useRef<HTMLAudioElement | null>(null);
   const urlRef = useRef<string | null>(null);
+  const errorTimer = useRef<ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | null>(null);
 
   const reset = useCallback(() => {
     if (audioRef.current) {
@@ -37,10 +39,17 @@ export function useTts(getText: () => string) {
     if (stopActive) stopActive = null;
   }, [reset]);
 
+  const showError = useCallback((msg: string) => {
+    setError(msg);
+    if (errorTimer.current) clearTimeout(errorTimer.current);
+    errorTimer.current = setTimeout(() => setError(null), 6000);
+  }, []);
+
   // Cleanup on unmount: drop the global stop handler if it points at us, then reset.
   useEffect(
     () => () => {
       if (stopActive === stop) stopActive = null;
+      if (errorTimer.current) clearTimeout(errorTimer.current);
       reset();
     },
     [reset, stop],
@@ -50,6 +59,7 @@ export function useTts(getText: () => string) {
     if (stopActive) stopActive();
     const text = getText();
     if (!text || !text.trim()) return;
+    setError(null);
 
     // Create + "unlock" the audio element synchronously inside the click gesture,
     // so iOS Safari lets us play it after the async fetch resolves.
@@ -72,7 +82,16 @@ export function useTts(getText: () => string) {
         body: JSON.stringify({ text }),
         headers: voiceConfigHeaders(),
       });
-      if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`tts ${res.status}`);
+      if (!res.ok) {
+        let msg = `Read-aloud failed (${res.status})`;
+        try {
+          const j = await res.json();
+          if (j?.error) msg = String(j.error);
+        } catch {
+          /* non-JSON error body */
+        }
+        throw new Error(msg);
+      }
       const blob = await res.blob();
       const url = URL.createObjectURL(blob);
       if (audioRef.current !== audio) {
@@ -84,16 +103,17 @@ export function useTts(getText: () => string) {
       audio.load();
       await audio.play();
       setState('playing');
-    } catch {
+    } catch (e) {
       reset();
       setState('idle');
+      showError(e instanceof Error ? e.message : 'Read-aloud failed');
     }
-  }, [getText, reset, stop]);
+  }, [getText, reset, stop, showError]);
 
   const toggle = useCallback(() => {
     if (state === 'playing' || state === 'loading') stop();
     else play();
   }, [state, play, stop]);
 
-  return { state, toggle };
+  return { state, toggle, error };
 }

src/components/chat/view/subcomponents/MessageSpeakControl.tsx

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ import { useVoiceAvailable } from '../../hooks/useVoiceAvailable';
 const MessageSpeakControl = ({ content }: { content: string }) => {
   const { t } = useTranslation('chat');
   const available = useVoiceAvailable();
-  const { state, toggle } = useTts(() => content);
+  const { state, toggle, error } = useTts(() => content);
 
   if (!available) return null;
 
@@ -16,21 +16,28 @@ const MessageSpeakControl = ({ content }: { content: string }) => {
     state === 'playing' ? t('voice.stopSpeaking') : state === 'loading' ? t('voice.loading') : t('voice.speak');
 
   return (
-    <button
-      type="button"
-      onClick={toggle}
-      title={title}
-      aria-label={title}
-      className="inline-flex items-center gap-1 rounded px-1 py-0.5 text-gray-400 transition-colors hover:text-gray-600 dark:text-gray-500 dark:hover:text-gray-300"
-    >
-      {state === 'playing' ? (
-        <Square className="h-3.5 w-3.5" />
-      ) : state === 'loading' ? (
-        <Loader2 className="h-3.5 w-3.5 animate-spin" />
-      ) : (
-        <Volume2 className="h-3.5 w-3.5" />
+    <span className="relative inline-flex">
+      {error && (
+        <span className="absolute bottom-full left-1/2 z-10 mb-1 max-w-[240px] -translate-x-1/2 whitespace-normal rounded bg-red-600 px-2 py-1 text-center text-xs text-white shadow-lg">
+          {error}
+        </span>
       )}
-    </button>
+      <button
+        type="button"
+        onClick={toggle}
+        title={title}
+        aria-label={title}
+        className="inline-flex items-center gap-1 rounded px-1 py-0.5 text-gray-400 transition-colors hover:text-gray-600 dark:text-gray-500 dark:hover:text-gray-300"
+      >
+        {state === 'playing' ? (
+          <Square className="h-3.5 w-3.5" />
+        ) : state === 'loading' ? (
+          <Loader2 className="h-3.5 w-3.5 animate-spin" />
+        ) : (
+          <Volume2 className="h-3.5 w-3.5" />
+        )}
+      </button>
+    </span>
   );
 };