MyButtermilk · MyButtermilk · Sep 28, 2026 · Sep 28, 2026 · Sep 28, 2026 · Sep 28, 2026
diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
@@ -1503,6 +1503,20 @@ Packaging and scripts:
   OpenRouter `error.metadata.raw` upstream errors without retaining free-form
   provider messages. Keep these fields in the debug-console allowlist; never
   restore raw response bodies to exceptions, logs, or support bundles.
+  Retry confirmed HTTP 429 responses at most twice, within a five-second
+  retry-admission window and the original overall request deadline. Respect
+  `Retry-After` seconds and HTTP dates; do not shorten a server wait to fit that
+  window. Without a valid hint, use bounded exponential backoff with jitter.
+  Retain the original audio and rebuild each JSON body because aiohttp closes
+  uploaded streams. Non-seekable audio, explicit credit/spending failures,
+  other HTTP errors, ambiguous response timeouts, and cancellation must never
+  trigger an automatic replay. HTTP 429 alone does not establish missing
+  OpenRouter credit; keep its temporary rate-limit message distinct from 402.
+- Failed Live Mic records persist their safe provider message in `step`, with
+  only recognized speech in transcript content. Preserve partial speech and
+  empty failed history entries. Transcript Detail shows the failure separately
+  and excludes legacy error-only content from word counts and copy/export
+  actions; never add an error string as a transcript segment.
 - Meta language-model choices are `muse-spark-1.3` and
   `muse-spark-1.3-contributor`; exact persisted 1.2 built-in selections migrate
   to their matching 1.3 tier without rewriting custom model codes. This also

diff --git a/Frontend/client/src/i18n/translations/de/transcription.ts b/Frontend/client/src/i18n/translations/de/transcription.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,13 @@
 import type { TranslationCatalog } from "@/i18n/types";
 
 export const transcriptionTranslations = {
+  "Waiting before retrying transcription...": "Kurze Wartezeit vor dem nächsten Transkriptionsversuch…",
+  "Microsoft MAI Transcribe via OpenRouter is temporarily rate limited (HTTP 429). Wait briefly or switch transcription provider.":
+    "Microsoft MAI Transcribe über OpenRouter ist vorübergehend ausgelastet oder durch ein Ratenlimit begrenzt (HTTP 429). Warte kurz oder wechsle den Transkriptionsanbieter.",
+  "Microsoft MAI Transcribe via OpenRouter reports insufficient credits or a spending limit (HTTP 402). Check the provider billing limits.":
+    "Microsoft MAI Transcribe über OpenRouter meldet fehlendes Guthaben oder ein Ausgabenlimit (HTTP 402). Prüfe die Abrechnungslimits beim Anbieter.",
+  "Microsoft MAI Transcribe via OpenRouter reports insufficient credits or a spending limit (HTTP 429). Check the provider billing limits.":
+    "Microsoft MAI Transcribe über OpenRouter meldet fehlendes Guthaben oder ein Ausgabenlimit (HTTP 429). Prüfe die Abrechnungslimits beim Anbieter.",
   "Preparing next recording": "Nächste Aufnahme wird vorbereitet",
   "Starts as soon as the microphone is ready": "Startet, sobald das Mikrofon bereit ist",
   "You can start your next recording now": "Du kannst jetzt die nächste Aufnahme starten",

diff --git a/Frontend/client/src/lib/request-errors.ts b/Frontend/client/src/lib/request-errors.ts
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ const TIMEOUT_ERROR_TOKENS = ["timeout", "timed out", "aborted", "aborterror"];
 const CORS_ERROR_TOKENS = ["cors", "cross-origin"];
 const INVALID_ARGUMENT_TOKENS = ["errno 22", "invalid argument"];
 
-const PREFIX_PATTERN = /^\[(error|timeout|download error)\]\s*/i;
+const PREFIX_PATTERN = /^\[(error|timeout|download error|storage error)\]\s*/i;
 const STATUS_PREFIX_PATTERN = /^\d{3}:\s*/;
 
 function stripLowLevelPrefixes(rawMessage: string): string {
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ export async function responseErrorMessage(res: Response): Promise<string> {
 export function extractFailureMessage(content: string, step: string): string {
   const rawContent = (content || "").trim();
   if (rawContent) {
-    const matches = Array.from(rawContent.matchAll(/\[(error|timeout|download error)\]\s*([^\n]+)/gi));
+    const matches = Array.from(rawContent.matchAll(/\[(error|timeout|download error|storage error)\]\s*([^\n]+)/gi));
     if (matches.length > 0) {
       const last = matches[matches.length - 1];
       const reason = (last?.[2] || "").trim();

diff --git a/Frontend/client/src/pages/TranscriptDetail.test.tsx b/Frontend/client/src/pages/TranscriptDetail.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+import { QueryClient, QueryClientProvider } from "@tanstack/react-query";
+import { render, screen } from "@testing-library/react";
+import userEvent from "@testing-library/user-event";
+import { beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+import { Route, Router } from "wouter";
+import { memoryLocation } from "wouter/memory-location";
+import { LANGUAGE_STORAGE_KEY, LocaleProvider } from "@/i18n";
+import type { TranscriptDetailResponse } from "@/lib/api-types";
+import TranscriptDetail from "./TranscriptDetail";
+import { AppScrollContainerContext } from "@/contexts/AppScrollContainerContext";
+
+vi.mock("@/hooks/use-transcript-auto-refresh", () => ({ useTranscriptAutoRefresh: () => ({ isWsConnected: true }) }));
+vi.mock("@/hooks/use-mobile", () => ({ useIsMobile: () => false }));
+
+const rateLimitMessage =
+  "Microsoft MAI Transcribe via OpenRouter is temporarily rate limited (HTTP 429). Wait briefly or switch transcription provider.";
+
+function mount(content = "", step = rateLimitMessage, summary = "", type: TranscriptDetailResponse["type"] = "mic") {
+  const record: TranscriptDetailResponse = {
+    id: "failed-mic",
+    title: "Live Mic",
+    date: "Today",
+    duration: "00:03",
+    type,
+    status: "failed",
+    content,
+    step,
+    summary,
+  };
+  const client = new QueryClient({ defaultOptions: { queries: { retry: false, queryFn: async () => record } } });
+  const location = memoryLocation({ path: "/transcript/failed-mic" });
+  return render(
+    <QueryClientProvider client={client}>
+      <LocaleProvider>
+        <Router hook={location.hook}>
+          <AppScrollContainerContext.Provider value={{ current: null }}>
+            <Route path="/transcript/:id">
+              <TranscriptDetail />
+            </Route>
+          </AppScrollContainerContext.Provider>
+        </Router>
+      </LocaleProvider>
+    </QueryClientProvider>,
+  );
+}
+
+describe("failed transcript", () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    window.localStorage.setItem(LANGUAGE_STORAGE_KEY, "en");
+  });
+
+  it("shows the persisted failure separately from transcript text and actions", async () => {
+    mount();
+    expect(await screen.findByRole("alert")).toHaveTextContent(rateLimitMessage);
+    expect(screen.getByText("No transcript text captured.")).toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(screen.queryByRole("button", { name: "Copy transcript" })).toBeNull();
+    expect(screen.getByRole("button", { name: "Export" })).toBeDisabled();
+    expect(screen.queryByText(/\d+ words/)).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it("copies and counts only retained speech when a recording fails", async () => {
+    const user = userEvent.setup();
+    mount("Retained speech.");
+    expect(await screen.findByRole("alert")).toHaveTextContent(rateLimitMessage);
+    expect(screen.getByText("2 words")).toBeInTheDocument();
+    await user.click(screen.getByRole("button", { name: "Copy transcript" }));
+    expect(await navigator.clipboard.readText()).toBe("Retained speech.");
+    expect(screen.getByRole("button", { name: "Export" })).toBeEnabled();
+  });
+
+  it.each([
+    ["Error", "mic"],
+    ["Timeout", "mic"],
+    ["Download error", "youtube"],
+    ["Storage error", "file"],
+    ["Storage error", "youtube"],
+  ] as const)("excludes legacy %s content from a %s transcript", async (prefix, type) => {
+    mount(`[${prefix}] ${rateLimitMessage}`, "Transcribing...", "Earlier summary", type);
+    const alert = await screen.findByRole("alert");
+    expect(alert).toHaveTextContent(rateLimitMessage);
+    expect(alert).not.toHaveTextContent(`[${prefix}]`);
+    expect(screen.queryByText(/\d+ words/)).toBeNull();
+    expect(screen.queryByRole("button", { name: "Copy transcript" })).toBeNull();
+    expect(screen.getByText("No transcript text captured.")).toBeInTheDocument();
+    expect(screen.getByRole("button", { name: "Export" })).toBeDisabled();
+  });
+});
diff --git a/Frontend/client/src/pages/TranscriptDetail.tsx b/Frontend/client/src/pages/TranscriptDetail.tsx
@@ -437,13 +437,15 @@ export default function TranscriptDetail() {
   const summaryMarkdown = useMemo(() => normalizeSummaryMarkdown(summarySource), [summarySource]);
   const summaryCopyText = summaryFormat === "html" ? preparedSummaryHtml.plainText : summaryMarkdown;
   const hasSummary = summarySource.length > 0;
+  const isFailedTranscript = transcript.status === "failed";
+  const failedContentLooksLikeErrorOnly =
+    isFailedTranscript &&
+    /^\[(error|timeout|download error|storage error)\]/i.test(String(transcript.content || "").trim());
+  const transcriptContent = failedContentLooksLikeErrorOnly ? "" : String(transcript.content || "");
+  const hasExportableContent = !failedContentLooksLikeErrorOnly && Boolean(transcriptContent.trim() || hasSummary);
   const transcriptWordCount = useMemo(
-    () =>
-      String(transcript.content || "")
-        .trim()
-        .split(/\s+/)
-        .filter(Boolean).length,
-    [transcript.content],
+    () => transcriptContent.trim().split(/\s+/).filter(Boolean).length,
+    [transcriptContent],
   );
   const summaryStatus = String(transcript?.summaryStatus || (hasSummary ? "completed" : "idle")).toLowerCase();
   const summaryStepLower = String(transcript?.step || "").toLowerCase();
@@ -462,24 +464,22 @@ export default function TranscriptDetail() {
     transcript.status === "completed" && !hasSummary && !isSummaryInProgress && !isSummaryFailed;
   const isFailedYoutubeTranscript = transcript?.status === "failed" && transcript?.type === "youtube";
   const rawFailureMessage = useMemo(
-    () => extractFailureMessage(String(transcript?.content || ""), String(transcript?.step || "")),
-    [transcript?.content, transcript?.step],
+    () =>
+      transcript.type === "mic" && !failedContentLooksLikeErrorOnly
+        ? String(transcript.step || "")
+        : extractFailureMessage(String(transcript.content || ""), String(transcript.step || "")),
+    [failedContentLooksLikeErrorOnly, transcript.content, transcript.step, transcript.type],
   );
   const failedMessage = useMemo(
-    () => (isFailedYoutubeTranscript ? t(friendlyRequestMessage(rawFailureMessage, t("Transcription failed."))) : ""),
-    [isFailedYoutubeTranscript, rawFailureMessage, t],
+    () => (isFailedTranscript ? t(friendlyRequestMessage(rawFailureMessage, t("Transcription failed."))) : ""),
+    [isFailedTranscript, rawFailureMessage, t],
   );
   const technicalFailureMessage = useMemo(() => {
     if (!isFailedYoutubeTranscript) return "";
     const technical = (rawFailureMessage || "").trim();
     if (!technical || technical === failedMessage) return "";
     return technical;
   }, [failedMessage, isFailedYoutubeTranscript, rawFailureMessage]);
-  const failedContentLooksLikeErrorOnly = useMemo(() => {
-    if (!isFailedYoutubeTranscript) return false;
-    const content = String(transcript?.content || "").trim();
-    return /^\[(error|timeout|download error)\]/i.test(content);
-  }, [isFailedYoutubeTranscript, transcript?.content]);
 
   const retryYoutubeTranscription = useCallback(async () => {
     if (!id || isRetryingYoutube) return;
@@ -568,7 +568,7 @@ export default function TranscriptDetail() {
       if (!navigator.clipboard?.writeText) {
         throw new Error(t("Clipboard API unavailable"));
       }
-      await navigator.clipboard.writeText(transcript?.content || "");
+      await navigator.clipboard.writeText(transcriptContent);
       setCopied(true);
       if (copyResetTimerRef.current !== null) {
         window.clearTimeout(copyResetTimerRef.current);
@@ -587,7 +587,7 @@ export default function TranscriptDetail() {
         variant: "destructive",
       });
     }
-  }, [t, toast, transcript?.content]);
+  }, [t, toast, transcriptContent]);
 
   const handleCopySummary = useCallback(async () => {
     try {
@@ -617,7 +617,7 @@ export default function TranscriptDetail() {
 
   const handleExport = useCallback(
     async (format: "pdf" | "docx") => {
-      if (!id || isExporting) return;
+      if (!id || isExporting || !hasExportableContent) return;
       setIsExporting(true);
       try {
         const result = await saveTranscriptExport(
@@ -642,7 +642,7 @@ export default function TranscriptDetail() {
         setIsExporting(false);
       }
     },
-    [id, isExporting, t, toast, transcript?.title],
+    [hasExportableContent, id, isExporting, t, toast, transcript?.title],
   );
 
   const getBackLink = () => {
@@ -720,7 +720,7 @@ export default function TranscriptDetail() {
                 </a>
               </Button>
             )}
-            {transcript.content && (
+            {transcriptContent && (
               <Button
                 variant="default"
                 size="sm"
@@ -751,21 +751,28 @@ export default function TranscriptDetail() {
                   size="sm"
                   className="hidden md:flex data-[state=open]:bg-accent"
                   style={{ transform: "none" }}
+                  disabled={!hasExportableContent}
                   type="button"
                 >
                   <Download className="w-4 h-4 mr-2" /> {t("Export")}
                 </Button>
               </DropdownMenuTrigger>
               <DropdownMenuContent align="end">
-                <DropdownMenuItem disabled={isExporting} onSelect={() => void handleExport("pdf")}>
+                <DropdownMenuItem
+                  disabled={isExporting || !hasExportableContent}
+                  onSelect={() => void handleExport("pdf")}
+                >
                   {isExporting ? (
                     <WavePhysicsLoader className="mr-2" size="inline" />
                   ) : (
                     <FileText className="w-4 h-4 mr-2" />
                   )}{" "}
                   {t("Export as PDF")}
                 </DropdownMenuItem>
-                <DropdownMenuItem disabled={isExporting} onSelect={() => void handleExport("docx")}>
+                <DropdownMenuItem
+                  disabled={isExporting || !hasExportableContent}
+                  onSelect={() => void handleExport("docx")}
+                >
                   {isExporting ? (
                     <WavePhysicsLoader className="mr-2" size="inline" />
                   ) : (
@@ -807,7 +814,7 @@ export default function TranscriptDetail() {
                     </a>
                   </DropdownMenuItem>
                 )}
-                {transcript.content && (
+                {transcriptContent && (
                   <DropdownMenuItem onClick={handleCopyTranscript}>
                     <Copy className="w-4 h-4 mr-2" /> {t("Copy transcript")}
                   </DropdownMenuItem>
@@ -817,15 +824,21 @@ export default function TranscriptDetail() {
                     <Copy className="w-4 h-4 mr-2" /> {t("Copy summary")}
                   </DropdownMenuItem>
                 )}
-                <DropdownMenuItem disabled={isExporting} onSelect={() => void handleExport("pdf")}>
+                <DropdownMenuItem
+                  disabled={isExporting || !hasExportableContent}
+                  onSelect={() => void handleExport("pdf")}
+                >
                   {isExporting ? (
                     <WavePhysicsLoader className="mr-2" size="inline" />
                   ) : (
                     <FileText className="w-4 h-4 mr-2" />
                   )}{" "}
                   {t("Export as PDF")}
                 </DropdownMenuItem>
-                <DropdownMenuItem disabled={isExporting} onSelect={() => void handleExport("docx")}>
+                <DropdownMenuItem
+                  disabled={isExporting || !hasExportableContent}
+                  onSelect={() => void handleExport("docx")}
+                >
                   {isExporting ? (
                     <WavePhysicsLoader className="mr-2" size="inline" />
                   ) : (
@@ -896,14 +909,19 @@ export default function TranscriptDetail() {
             </div>
           )}
 
-          {isFailedYoutubeTranscript && (
+          {isFailedTranscript && (
             <div className="space-y-2">
               <QueryErrorState
-                title={t("YouTube transcription failed")}
+                title={t(isFailedYoutubeTranscript ? "YouTube transcription failed" : "Transcription failed")}
+                className="text-foreground [&>svg]:text-red-500 dark:[&>svg]:text-red-400"
                 description={failedMessage || t("The transcription failed. Please try again.")}
-                onRetry={() => {
-                  void retryYoutubeTranscription();
-                }}
+                onRetry={
+                  isFailedYoutubeTranscript
+                    ? () => {
+                        void retryYoutubeTranscription();
+                      }
+                    : undefined
+                }
               />
               {technicalFailureMessage && (
                 <p className="text-xs text-muted-foreground px-1">
@@ -1007,12 +1025,8 @@ export default function TranscriptDetail() {
                       t("Loading…")
                     ) : transcript.status === "processing" ? (
                       <span className="text-muted-foreground italic"></span>
-                    ) : isFailedYoutubeTranscript && failedContentLooksLikeErrorOnly ? (
-                      <span className="text-muted-foreground italic">
-                        {failedMessage || t("No transcript text captured.")}
-                      </span>
-                    ) : transcript.content ? (
-                      <SpeakerFormattedText content={transcript.content} />
+                    ) : transcriptContent ? (
+                      <SpeakerFormattedText content={transcriptContent} />
                     ) : (
                       t("No transcript text captured.")
                     )}

diff --git a/Frontend/package-lock.json b/Frontend/package-lock.json
diff --git a/Frontend/package.json b/Frontend/package.json
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "scriber",
-  "version": "0.5.127",
+  "version": "0.5.128",
   "type": "module",
   "license": "MIT",
   "engines": {