smoothed readme and startup

.vscode/launch.json

@@ -8,14 +8,10 @@
             "module": "debugpy",
             "args": [
                 "-m",
-                "uvicorn",
+                "transcription",
-                "transcription.app:create_app",
+                "--host", "127.0.0.1",
-                "--factory",
+                "--port", "9999",
-                "--host",
+                "--database.driver", "sqlite"
-                // "127.0.0.1",
-                "0.0.0.0",
-                "--port",
-                "8080"
             ],
             "justMyCode": true,
             "console": "integratedTerminal",

README.md

@@ -22,18 +22,80 @@ uv sync
 
 ### 2) Configure environment
 
-Create a `.env` file in the project root (minimum required setting shown):
+Create a `.env` file in the project root with the required OpenRouter API key:
 
 ```env
 OPENROUTER_API_KEY=your_openrouter_api_key
 ```
 
-Optional settings (defaults shown):
+Settings are read from CLI arguments first, then environment variables, then `.env`, then the defaults below.
+
+### Configuration Source Precedence
+
+When the same setting is provided in multiple places, the value is chosen in this order (highest priority first):
+
+1. CLI arguments (for example `--port 9999`)
+2. Settings constructor arguments (used mainly in tests)
+3. Environment variables
+4. `.env` file values
+5. Model defaults in code
+
+Practical examples:
+
+- `--port 9999` overrides both `PORT=8000` in the shell and `PORT=7000` in `.env`.
+- `DATABASE__PATH=prod.db` in the shell overrides `DATABASE__PATH=dev.db` in `.env`.
+
+#### Server and runtime
+
+| Environment variable | Default | Description |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| `HOST` | `0.0.0.0` | Address on which the server listens. |
+| `PORT` | `8000` | Server port. |
+| `LOG_LEVEL` | `info` | Uvicorn and application log level. |
+| `RELOAD` | `false` | Restart the development server when source files change. |
+| `ENVIRONMENT` | `development` | Runtime environment: `development`, `test`, or `production`. |
+
+#### Provider
+
+| Environment variable | Default | Description |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| `PROVIDER` | `openrouter` | Transcription provider. |
+| `OPENROUTER_API_KEY` | Required | OpenRouter API key. |
+| `PROVIDER_MODEL` | Provider default | Optional model override. |
+| `OPENROUTER_HTTP_REFERER` | Unset | Optional OpenRouter attribution URL. |
+| `OPENROUTER_APP_TITLE` | Unset | Optional OpenRouter attribution title. |
+
+#### Database and files
+
+Use nested env vars for database settings (recommended):
 
 ```env
-DATABASE_URL=sqlite:///./transcription.db
+DATABASE__DRIVER=sqlite
+DATABASE__PATH=app.db
+# BOOTSTRAP_SCHEMA_ON_STARTUP=true
+SQLITE_CHECK_SAME_THREAD=false
 UPLOAD_DIR=./uploads
 PROMPT_DIR=./prompts
+```
+
+For PostgreSQL:
+
+```env
+DATABASE__DRIVER=postgres
+DATABASE__HOST=localhost
+DATABASE__PORT=5432
+DATABASE__DATABASE=transcription
+DATABASE__USER=postgres
+DATABASE__PASSWORD=change-me
+```
+
+This uses Pydantic nested settings (`env_nested_delimiter='__'`) and avoids JSON blobs in `.env`. A top-level `DATABASE={...}` JSON value is still supported as a fallback, and nested keys such as `DATABASE__PATH` take precedence over conflicting JSON keys.
+
+`BOOTSTRAP_SCHEMA_ON_STARTUP` creates missing tables when the app starts. When unset, it is enabled in `development` and `test`, and disabled in `production`; set it explicitly to override that policy. `SQLITE_CHECK_SAME_THREAD` defaults to `false`.
+
+#### Worker
+
+```env
 WORKER_MAX_RETRIES=0
 WORKER_RETRY_BACKOFF_SECONDS=0
 WORKER_PROVIDER_TIMEOUT_SECONDS=20
@@ -45,13 +107,17 @@ WORKER_FAIL_ON_FINISH_REASON_LENGTH=false
 ### 3) Run the app
 
 ```bash
-uv run uvicorn transcription.app:create_app --factory --reload
+uv run python -m transcription --port 9999 --reload --database.driver sqlite --bootstrap-schema-on-startup
 ```
 
+This starts the development server with SQLite, creates missing tables, and enables automatic reload. Run `uv run python -m transcription --help` for all CLI options; CLI names use kebab case and nested database options use dot notation, such as `--database.path ./data/transcription.db`.
+
 ### 4) Open in browser
 
-- GUI: [http://[IP_ADDRESS]:8000/ui](http://[IP_ADDRESS]:8000/ui)
+- GUI: [http://localhost:9999/ui](http://localhost:9999/ui)
-- Health check: [http://[IP_ADDRESS]:8000/healthz](http://[IP_ADDRESS]:8000/healthz)
+- Health check: [http://localhost:9999/healthz](http://localhost:9999/healthz)
+
+Replace `localhost` with the server's hostname or IP address when connecting from another machine.
 
 ## How to navigate the GUI
 

src/transcription/config.py

@@ -52,6 +52,7 @@ class Settings(BaseSettings):
         env_file=".env",
         env_file_encoding="utf-8",
         extra="ignore",
+        env_nested_delimiter="__",
         cli_implicit_flags=True,
         cli_kebab_case=True,
     )
@@ -74,7 +75,6 @@ class Settings(BaseSettings):
 
     # --- persistence ---
     database: DatabaseSettings = Field(default_factory=SqliteSettings)
-    database_url: str = "sqlite:///./transcription.db"
     bootstrap_schema_on_startup: bool = False
     sqlite_check_same_thread: bool = False
 
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@ class Settings(BaseSettings):
     @property
     def should_bootstrap_schema(self) -> bool:
         """Return whether startup should auto-create schema for this environment."""
-        if self.bootstrap_schema_on_startup is not None:
+        if "bootstrap_schema_on_startup" in self.model_fields_set:
             return self.bootstrap_schema_on_startup
         return self.environment in {"development", "test"}
 
@@ -101,13 +101,13 @@ class Settings(BaseSettings):
 @cache
 def get_settings(**kwargs: Any) -> Settings:
     """Load cached settings without reading process CLI arguments."""
-    return Settings(_cli_parse_args=False, **kwargs)
+    return Settings(_cli_parse_args=False, **kwargs)  # pyright: ignore[reportCallIssue]
 
 
 def parse_cli_settings(args: Sequence[str] | None = None) -> Settings:
     """Load settings with CLI arguments at the executable boundary."""
     cli_args = True if args is None else list(args)
-    return Settings(_cli_parse_args=cli_args)
+    return Settings(_cli_parse_args=cli_args)  # pyright: ignore[reportCallIssue]
 
 
 LOGGING_CONFIG: dict[str, Any] = {

src/transcription/db/session.py

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import AsyncSessionTransaction
 from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import async_sessionmaker
 from sqlmodel.ext.asyncio.session import AsyncSession
 
+from ..config import Settings
 from ..config import get_settings
 from .engine import dispose_engine
 from .engine import get_database_url
@@ -25,8 +26,14 @@ def get_session_factory(database_url: str) -> SessionFactory:
     )
 
 
-def resolve_session_factory(database_url: str | None = None) -> SessionFactory:
+def resolve_session_factory(
-    return get_session_factory(database_url or get_database_url(get_settings()))
+    database_url: str | None = None,
+    *,
+    settings: Settings | None = None,
+) -> SessionFactory:
+    if database_url is not None:
+        return get_session_factory(database_url)
+    return get_session_factory(get_database_url(settings or get_settings()))
 
 
 type SessionFactoryDep = Annotated[SessionFactory, Depends(resolve_session_factory)]
@@ -40,15 +47,20 @@ async def dispose_session_factory(database_url: str) -> None:
 @asynccontextmanager
 async def session_scope(
     *,
+    settings: Settings | None = None,
     database_url: str | None = None,
+    session_factory: SessionFactory | None = None,
     session: AsyncSession | None = None,
 ) -> AsyncGenerator[AsyncSession]:
     if session is not None:
         yield session
         return
 
-    session_factory = resolve_session_factory(database_url)
+    active_session_factory = session_factory or resolve_session_factory(
-    async with session_factory() as owned_session:
+        database_url,
+        settings=settings,
+    )
+    async with active_session_factory() as owned_session:
         yield owned_session
 
 
@@ -58,9 +70,11 @@ type SessionScopeDep = Annotated[AsyncSession, Depends(session_scope)]
 @asynccontextmanager
 async def transaction_scope(
     *,
+    settings: Settings | None = None,
     database_url: str | None = None,
-    session: AsyncSessionTransaction | None = None,
+    session_factory: SessionFactory | None = None,
-) -> AsyncGenerator[AsyncSessionTransaction]:
+    session: AsyncSession | AsyncSessionTransaction | None = None,
+) -> AsyncGenerator[AsyncSession | AsyncSessionTransaction]:
     match session:
         case AsyncSession() as async_session:
             if not async_session.in_transaction():
@@ -71,9 +85,15 @@ async def transaction_scope(
             yield async_transaction
             return
 
-    session_factory = resolve_session_factory(database_url)
+    active_session_factory = session_factory or resolve_session_factory(
-    async with session_factory().begin() as owned_session:
+        database_url,
+        settings=settings,
+    )
+    async with active_session_factory.begin() as owned_session:
         yield owned_session
 
 
-type TransactionScopeDep = Annotated[AsyncSessionTransaction, Depends(transaction_scope)]
+type TransactionScopeDep = Annotated[
+    AsyncSession | AsyncSessionTransaction,
+    Depends(transaction_scope),
+]

src/transcription/services/base.py

@@ -31,7 +31,10 @@ class ServiceBase(ABC):
     @asynccontextmanager
     async def _session_scope(self, session: AsyncSession | None = None):
         """Provide a transactional scope around a series of operations."""
-        async with session_scope(session=session) as active_session:
+        async with session_scope(
+            session_factory=self.session_factory,
+            session=session,
+        ) as active_session:
             yield active_session
 
     async def _finalize(