diff --git a/Commands/DiscardCommand.cs b/Commands/DiscardCommand.cs
index da6d181..5fbe0bd 100644
--- a/Commands/DiscardCommand.cs
+++ b/Commands/DiscardCommand.cs
@@ -1,9 +1,8 @@
-using System.IO;
+using System;
+using System.Net.Sockets;
 using System.Threading.Tasks;
 using Spectre.Console;
-using Toak.Audio;
 using Toak.Core;
-using Toak.IO;
 
 namespace Toak.Commands;
 
@@ -13,23 +12,34 @@ public static class DiscardCommand
     {
         Logger.Verbose = verbose;
         
-        if (StateTracker.IsRecording())
+        var socketPath = DaemonService.GetSocketPath();
+        
+        try
         {
-            AudioRecorder.StopRecording();
-            var wavPath = AudioRecorder.GetWavPath();
-            if (File.Exists(wavPath)) File.Delete(wavPath);
-            Notifications.Notify("Toak", "Recording discarded");
-            if (!pipeToStdout) 
+            using var socket = new Socket(AddressFamily.Unix, SocketType.Stream, ProtocolType.Unspecified);
+            var endPoint = new UnixDomainSocketEndPoint(socketPath);
+            await socket.ConnectAsync(endPoint);
+            
+            // Send ABORT (cmd == 3)
+            await socket.SendAsync(new byte[] { 3 }, SocketFlags.None);
+            
+            if (verbose)
             {
-                AnsiConsole.MarkupLine("[yellow]Recording discarded.[/]");
+                Console.WriteLine("Sent ABORT command to daemon.");
             }
         }
-        else
+        catch (SocketException)
         {
-            if (!pipeToStdout) 
+            if (!pipeToStdout)
             {
-                AnsiConsole.MarkupLine("[grey]No active recording to discard.[/]");
+                AnsiConsole.MarkupLine("[red]Failed to connect to Toak daemon.[/]");
+                AnsiConsole.MarkupLine("Please ensure the daemon is running in the background:");
+                AnsiConsole.MarkupLine("  [dim]toak daemon[/]");
             }
         }
+        catch (Exception ex)
+        {
+            if (!pipeToStdout) AnsiConsole.MarkupLine($"[red]Error:[/] {ex.Message}");
+        }
     }
 }
diff --git a/Commands/ToggleCommand.cs b/Commands/ToggleCommand.cs
index 886c701..c5060fb 100644
--- a/Commands/ToggleCommand.cs
+++ b/Commands/ToggleCommand.cs
@@ -1,13 +1,8 @@
 using System;
-using System.Diagnostics;
-using System.IO;
+using System.Net.Sockets;
 using System.Threading.Tasks;
 using Spectre.Console;
-using Toak.Audio;
-using Toak.Configuration;
-using Toak.Api;
 using Toak.Core;
-using Toak.IO;
 
 namespace Toak.Commands;
 
@@ -17,143 +12,31 @@ public static class ToggleCommand
     {
         Logger.Verbose = verbose;
         
-        if (StateTracker.IsRecording())
+        var socketPath = DaemonService.GetSocketPath();
+        
+        try
         {
-            var config = ConfigManager.LoadConfig();
-            Notifications.PlaySound(config.StopSoundPath);
+            using var socket = new Socket(AddressFamily.Unix, SocketType.Stream, ProtocolType.Unspecified);
+            var endPoint = new UnixDomainSocketEndPoint(socketPath);
+            await socket.ConnectAsync(endPoint);
             
-            if (!pipeToStdout) AnsiConsole.MarkupLine("[yellow]Stopping recording and transcribing...[/]");
-            if (!pipeToStdout) Notifications.Notify("Toak", "Transcribing...");
+            // Send TOGGLE (cmd == 4)
+            await socket.SendAsync(new byte[] { 4 }, SocketFlags.None);
             
-            AudioRecorder.StopRecording();
-
-            Logger.LogDebug($"Loaded configuration: LLM={config.LlmModel}, Whisper={config.WhisperModel}, Typing={config.TypingBackend}");
-
-            if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(config.GroqApiKey))
+            if (verbose)
             {
-                Notifications.Notify("Toak Error", "Groq API Key is not configured. Run 'toak onboard'.");
-                AnsiConsole.MarkupLine("[red]Groq API Key is not configured.[/] Run 'toak onboard'.");
-                return;
-            }
-
-            var groq = new GroqApiClient(config.GroqApiKey);
-            var wavPath = AudioRecorder.GetWavPath();
-
-            if (!File.Exists(wavPath) || new FileInfo(wavPath).Length == 0)
-            {
-                if (!pipeToStdout) Notifications.Notify("Toak", "No audio recorded.");
-                return;
-            }
-
-            try
-            {
-                var stopWatch = Stopwatch.StartNew();
-
-                // 1. STT
-                Logger.LogDebug($"Starting STT transcription via Whisper for {wavPath}...");
-                
-                string transcript = string.Empty;
-                
-                if (!pipeToStdout)
-                {
-                    await AnsiConsole.Status().StartAsync("Transcribing...", async ctx => {
-                        transcript = await groq.TranscribeAsync(wavPath, config.WhisperLanguage, config.WhisperModel);
-                    });
-                }
-                else
-                {
-                     transcript = await groq.TranscribeAsync(wavPath, config.WhisperLanguage, config.WhisperModel);
-                }
-
-                Logger.LogDebug($"Raw transcript received: '{transcript}'");
-                
-                if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(transcript))
-                {
-                    if (!pipeToStdout) Notifications.Notify("Toak", "No speech detected.");
-                    return;
-                }
-
-                // 2. LLM Refinement
-                var detectedSkill = Toak.Core.Skills.SkillRegistry.DetectSkill(transcript, config.ActiveSkills);
-                string systemPrompt;
-                if (detectedSkill != null)
-                {
-                    Logger.LogDebug($"Skill detected: {detectedSkill.Name}");
-                    if (!pipeToStdout) Notifications.Notify("Toak Skill Detected", detectedSkill.Name);
-                    systemPrompt = detectedSkill.GetSystemPrompt(transcript);
-                }
-                else
-                {
-                    systemPrompt = PromptBuilder.BuildPrompt(config);
-                }
-
-                bool isExecutionSkill = detectedSkill != null && detectedSkill.HandlesExecution;
-
-                // 3. Output
-                if (isExecutionSkill || pipeToStdout || copyToClipboard)
-                {
-                    Logger.LogDebug("Starting LLM text refinement (synchronous)...");
-                    
-                    string finalText = string.Empty;
-                    if (!pipeToStdout) {
-                        await AnsiConsole.Status().StartAsync("Refining text...", async ctx => {
-                            finalText = await groq.RefineTextAsync(transcript, systemPrompt, config.LlmModel);
-                        });
-                    } else {
-                        finalText = await groq.RefineTextAsync(transcript, systemPrompt, config.LlmModel);
-                    }
-
-                    Logger.LogDebug($"Refined text received: '{finalText}'");
-                    if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(finalText))
-                    {
-                        if (!pipeToStdout) Notifications.Notify("Toak", "Dropped short or empty audio.");
-                        return;
-                    }
-                    
-                    if (isExecutionSkill)
-                    {
-                        detectedSkill!.Execute(finalText);
-                        stopWatch.Stop();
-                        Notifications.Notify("Toak", $"Skill executed in {stopWatch.ElapsedMilliseconds}ms");
-                    }
-                    else if (pipeToStdout)
-                    {
-                        Console.WriteLine(finalText);
-                    }
-                    else
-                    {
-                        ClipboardManager.Copy(finalText);
-                        stopWatch.Stop();
-                        Notifications.Notify("Toak", $"Copied to clipboard in {stopWatch.ElapsedMilliseconds}ms");
-                    }
-                }
-                else
-                {
-                    Logger.LogDebug("Starting LLM text refinement (streaming)...");
-                    var tokenStream = groq.RefineTextStreamAsync(transcript, systemPrompt, config.LlmModel);
-                    Logger.LogDebug("Starting to inject text...");
-                    await TextInjector.InjectStreamAsync(tokenStream, config.TypingBackend);
-                    stopWatch.Stop();
-                    Notifications.Notify("Toak", $"Done in {stopWatch.ElapsedMilliseconds}ms");
-                }
-            }
-            catch (Exception ex)
-            {
-                if (!pipeToStdout) Notifications.Notify("Toak Error", ex.Message);
-                if (!pipeToStdout) AnsiConsole.MarkupLine($"[red]Error:[/] {ex.Message}");
-            }
-            finally
-            {
-                if (File.Exists(wavPath)) File.Delete(wavPath);
+                Console.WriteLine("Sent TOGGLE command to daemon.");
             }
         }
-        else
+        catch (SocketException)
         {
-            // Start recording
-            if (!pipeToStdout) AnsiConsole.MarkupLine("[green]Starting recording...[/]");
-            var config = ConfigManager.LoadConfig();
-            Notifications.PlaySound(config.StartSoundPath);
-            AudioRecorder.StartRecording();
+            AnsiConsole.MarkupLine("[red]Failed to connect to Toak daemon.[/]");
+            AnsiConsole.MarkupLine("Please ensure the daemon is running in the background:");
+            AnsiConsole.MarkupLine("  [dim]toak daemon[/]");
+        }
+        catch (Exception ex)
+        {
+            AnsiConsole.MarkupLine($"[red]Error:[/] {ex.Message}");
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/Core/DaemonService.cs b/Core/DaemonService.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2c3c4bc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Core/DaemonService.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,200 @@
+using System;
+using System.Diagnostics;
+using System.IO;
+using System.Net.Sockets;
+using System.Threading;
+using System.Threading.Tasks;
+using Toak.Audio;
+using Toak.Configuration;
+using Toak.Api;
+using Toak.IO;
+
+namespace Toak.Core;
+
+public static class DaemonService
+{
+    private static GroqApiClient? _groqClient;
+
+    public static string GetSocketPath()
+    {
+        var runtimeDir = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("XDG_RUNTIME_DIR");
+        if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(runtimeDir))
+        {
+            runtimeDir = Path.GetTempPath();
+        }
+        return Path.Combine(runtimeDir, "toak.sock");
+    }
+
+    public static async Task StartAsync(bool verbose)
+    {
+        Logger.Verbose = verbose;
+        var socketPath = GetSocketPath();
+
+        if (File.Exists(socketPath))
+        {
+            try { File.Delete(socketPath); } catch { }
+        }
+
+        var config = ConfigManager.LoadConfig();
+        if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(config.GroqApiKey))
+        {
+            Console.WriteLine("Groq API Key is not configured. Run 'toak onboard'.");
+            return;
+        }
+
+        _groqClient = new GroqApiClient(config.GroqApiKey);
+
+        using var socket = new Socket(AddressFamily.Unix, SocketType.Stream, ProtocolType.Unspecified);
+        var endPoint = new UnixDomainSocketEndPoint(socketPath);
+        
+        try
+        {
+            socket.Bind(endPoint);
+            socket.Listen(10);
+            Logger.LogDebug($"Daemon listening on {socketPath}");
+            Console.WriteLine($"Toak daemon started, listening on {socketPath}");
+
+            while (true)
+            {
+                var client = await socket.AcceptAsync();
+                _ = Task.Run(() => HandleClientAsync(client));
+            }
+        }
+        catch (Exception ex)
+        {
+            Logger.LogDebug($"Daemon error: {ex.Message}");
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            if (File.Exists(socketPath))
+            {
+                File.Delete(socketPath);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    private static async Task HandleClientAsync(Socket client)
+    {
+        try
+        {
+            var buffer = new byte[1];
+            int bytesRead = await client.ReceiveAsync(buffer, SocketFlags.None);
+            if (bytesRead > 0)
+            {
+                byte cmd = buffer[0];
+                if (cmd == 1) // START
+                {
+                    await ProcessStartRecordingAsync();
+                }
+                else if (cmd == 2) // STOP
+                {
+                    await ProcessStopRecordingAsync();
+                }
+                else if (cmd == 3) // ABORT
+                {
+                    ProcessAbortAsync();
+                }
+                else if (cmd == 4) // TOGGLE
+                {
+                    if (StateTracker.IsRecording())
+                        await ProcessStopRecordingAsync();
+                    else
+                        await ProcessStartRecordingAsync();
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        catch (Exception ex)
+        {
+            Logger.LogDebug($"HandleClient error: {ex.Message}");
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            client.Close();
+        }
+    }
+
+    private static async Task ProcessStartRecordingAsync()
+    {
+        if (StateTracker.IsRecording()) return;
+
+        Logger.LogDebug("Received START command");
+        var config = ConfigManager.LoadConfig();
+        Notifications.PlaySound(config.StartSoundPath);
+        AudioRecorder.StartRecording();
+    }
+
+    private static async Task ProcessStopRecordingAsync()
+    {
+        if (!StateTracker.IsRecording()) return;
+
+        Logger.LogDebug("Received STOP command");
+        var config = ConfigManager.LoadConfig();
+        Notifications.PlaySound(config.StopSoundPath);
+        Notifications.Notify("Toak", "Transcribing...");
+        
+        AudioRecorder.StopRecording();
+
+        var wavPath = AudioRecorder.GetWavPath();
+        if (!File.Exists(wavPath) || new FileInfo(wavPath).Length == 0)
+        {
+            Notifications.Notify("Toak", "No audio recorded.");
+            return;
+        }
+
+        try
+        {
+            var stopWatch = Stopwatch.StartNew();
+            
+            Logger.LogDebug($"Starting STT via Whisper for {wavPath}...");
+            var transcript = await _groqClient!.TranscribeAsync(wavPath, config.WhisperLanguage, config.WhisperModel);
+            
+            if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(transcript))
+            {
+                Notifications.Notify("Toak", "No speech detected.");
+                return;
+            }
+
+            // LLM Refinement
+            var detectedSkill = Toak.Core.Skills.SkillRegistry.DetectSkill(transcript, config.ActiveSkills);
+            string systemPrompt = detectedSkill != null ? detectedSkill.GetSystemPrompt(transcript) : PromptBuilder.BuildPrompt(config);
+            bool isExecutionSkill = detectedSkill != null && detectedSkill.HandlesExecution;
+
+            if (isExecutionSkill)
+            {
+                var finalText = await _groqClient.RefineTextAsync(transcript, systemPrompt, config.LlmModel);
+                if (!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(finalText))
+                {
+                    detectedSkill!.Execute(finalText);
+                    stopWatch.Stop();
+                    Notifications.Notify("Toak", $"Skill executed in {stopWatch.ElapsedMilliseconds}ms");
+                }
+            }
+            else
+            {
+                Logger.LogDebug("Starting LLM text refinement (streaming)...");
+                var tokenStream = _groqClient.RefineTextStreamAsync(transcript, systemPrompt, config.LlmModel);
+                await TextInjector.InjectStreamAsync(tokenStream, config.TypingBackend);
+                stopWatch.Stop();
+                Notifications.Notify("Toak", $"Done in {stopWatch.ElapsedMilliseconds}ms");
+            }
+        }
+        catch (Exception ex)
+        {
+            Notifications.Notify("Toak Error", ex.Message);
+            Logger.LogDebug($"Error during processing: {ex.Message}");
+        }
+        finally
+        {
+            if (File.Exists(wavPath)) File.Delete(wavPath);
+        }
+    }
+
+    private static void ProcessAbortAsync()
+    {
+        Logger.LogDebug("Received ABORT command");
+        AudioRecorder.StopRecording();
+        var wavPath = AudioRecorder.GetWavPath();
+        if (File.Exists(wavPath)) File.Delete(wavPath);
+        Notifications.Notify("Toak", "Recording Aborted.");
+    }
+}
diff --git a/DAEMON_PLAN.md b/DAEMON_PLAN.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d0913a2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/DAEMON_PLAN.md
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+# Toak: Client-Server & PipeWire Architecture Specification
+
+This document outlines the transition of Toak from a monolithic, ephemeral CLI application to a persistent, low-latency background daemon utilizing Linux Inter-Process Communication (IPC) and PipeWire.
+
+## 1. System Architecture Overview
+
+The system is divided into two distinct binaries to separate the heavy runtime environment from the instant-trigger mechanism.
+
+* **Toak Daemon (`toakd`):** A persistent C# background service. It holds the API connections, memory buffers, and audio routing open.
+* **Toak Client (`toak`):** A lightweight, ephemeral trigger executed by the window manager that simply sends signals to the daemon.
+
+## 2. The Toak Daemon (Server)
+
+Built as a C# `.NET Hosted Service`, this component runs continuously in the background and manages three primary responsibilities:
+
+### A. Unix Domain Socket Listener
+
+* Listens on a secure, user-space socket (e.g., `/run/user/1000/toak.sock`).
+* Awaits basic byte-sized instructions from the client (e.g., `START_RECORDING`, `STOP_RECORDING`, `ABORT`).
+* Ensures single-instance execution and rejects unauthorized cross-user connections.
+
+### B. PipeWire Audio Node
+
+* Connects to the PipeWire graph as a native audio sink.
+* Dynamically links to the default system microphone *only* upon receiving the `START_RECORDING` signal.
+* Reads the audio stream directly into a pre-allocated C# `MemoryStream` via memory-mapped buffers (zero-copy), requesting the exact format required by the Groq Whisper API (e.g., 16kHz, mono).
+* Unlinks from the microphone instantly upon receiving the `STOP_RECORDING` signal, freeing the hardware device.
+
+### C. State & API Management
+
+* Maintains a persistent `HttpClient` connection pool to Groq, eliminating TLS handshake overhead for each dictation.
+* Triggers the Wayland (`wtype`) or X11 (`xdotool`) typing backend as a child process once the refined transcription is returned.
+
+## 3. The Toak Client (Trigger)
+
+A minimal executable designed to be fired by global window manager hotkeys (e.g., Sway, Hyprland, KDE).
+
+* **Stateless:** Contains no audio logic, API keys, or large library dependencies.
+* **Execution:** Connects to the daemon's Unix socket, writes a specific control byte, and exits immediately.
+* **Latency:** Execution time is measured in microseconds, preventing any blocking of the desktop compositor's input thread.
+
+## 4. Deployment & Lifecycle Management
+
+The daemon is managed by the host's native init system to ensure uptime and clean restarts.
+
+* **Systemd User Service:** Installed as `~/.config/systemd/user/toak.service`.
+* **Lifecycle:** Starts automatically on user login (`default.target`), restarts automatically on failure, and manages its own logging via `journalctl`.
+* **Environment:** Inherits the active Wayland/X11 display variables necessary for the typing backends to inject keystrokes into the active window.
+
+## 5. Execution Flow (The PTT Lifecycle)
+
+1. **Init:** User logs in. Systemd starts `toakd`. It allocates memory, opens API connections, and begins listening on the Unix socket.
+2. **KeyDown:** User holds the Push-to-Talk hotkey. Window manager executes `toak --start`.
+3. **Link:** `toakd` receives the signal over the socket and tells PipeWire to link the microphone to its internal buffer.
+4. **Dictation:** User speaks. Audio fills the C# `MemoryStream`.
+5. **KeyUp:** User releases the hotkey. Window manager executes `toak --stop`.
+6. **Unlink & Send:** `toakd` unlinks the microphone, flushes the memory buffer directly to the Groq API, receives the transcription, and executes the typing backend.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/IO/Notifications.cs b/IO/Notifications.cs
index f7113ba..32f0573 100644
--- a/IO/Notifications.cs
+++ b/IO/Notifications.cs
@@ -4,8 +4,12 @@ namespace Toak.IO;
 
 public static class Notifications
 {
+    private static bool _notifySendAvailable = true;
+
     public static void Notify(string summary, string body = "")
     {
+        if (!_notifySendAvailable) return;
+
         try
         {
             var pInfo = new ProcessStartInfo
@@ -17,15 +21,22 @@ public static class Notifications
             };
             Process.Start(pInfo);
         }
+        catch (System.ComponentModel.Win32Exception)
+        {
+            Console.WriteLine("[Notifications] 'notify-send' executable not found. Notifications will be disabled.");
+            _notifySendAvailable = false;
+        }
         catch (Exception ex)
         {
             Console.WriteLine($"[Notifications] Failed to send notification: {ex.Message}");
         }
     }
 
+    private static bool _paplayAvailable = true;
+
     public static void PlaySound(string soundPath)
     {
-        if (string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(soundPath)) return;
+        if (!_paplayAvailable || string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(soundPath)) return;
         try
         {
             var absolutePath = soundPath;
@@ -60,6 +71,11 @@ public static class Notifications
             };
             Process.Start(pInfo);
         }
+        catch (System.ComponentModel.Win32Exception)
+        {
+            Console.WriteLine("[Notifications] 'paplay' executable not found. Sound effects will be disabled.");
+            _paplayAvailable = false;
+        }
         catch (Exception ex)
         {
             Console.WriteLine($"[Notifications] Failed to play sound: {ex.Message}");
diff --git a/Program.cs b/Program.cs
index 64bff35..31cf216 100644
--- a/Program.cs
+++ b/Program.cs
@@ -23,6 +23,11 @@ public class Program
         toggleCmd.SetHandler(ToggleCommand.ExecuteAsync, pipeOption, copyOption, verboseOption);
         rootCommand.AddCommand(toggleCmd);
 
+        // Daemon Command
+        var daemonCmd = new Command("daemon", "Starts the background background service");
+        daemonCmd.SetHandler(Toak.Core.DaemonService.StartAsync, verboseOption);
+        rootCommand.AddCommand(daemonCmd);
+
         // Discard Command
         var discardCmd = new Command("discard", "Abort current recording without transcribing");
         discardCmd.AddOption(pipeOption);
diff --git a/_toak b/_toak
index 20fa6de..b4963f8 100644
--- a/_toak
+++ b/_toak
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ _toak() {
 
     commands=(
         'toggle:Starts or stops the recording'
+        'daemon:Starts the background background service'
         'discard:Abort current recording without transcribing'
         'onboard:Configure the application'
         'latency-test:Benchmark full pipeline without recording'