diff --git a/src/hooks/useAudioPipeline.ts b/src/hooks/useAudioPipeline.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3fd64d0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/hooks/useAudioPipeline.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+import { useEffect } from 'react';
+import { useAudioPipelineStore } from '../stores/audioPipelineStore';
+
+/**
+ * Binds a component to the audio pipeline. Stops the pipeline on unmount
+ * only when the component was the one that started it.
+ */
+export function useAudioPipeline() {
+  const state = useAudioPipelineStore();
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    return () => {
+      if (state.status !== 'offline') {
+        state.stop();
+      }
+    };
+    // stop is stable; status changes should not re-run the cleanup
+    // eslint-disable-next-line react-hooks/exhaustive-deps
+  }, []);
+
+  return state;
+}
diff --git a/src/hooks/useSocket.ts b/src/hooks/useSocket.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1c3fce4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/hooks/useSocket.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+import { useSocketStore } from '../stores/socketStore';
+
+export function useSocket() {
+  return useSocketStore((s) => s.socket);
+}
diff --git a/src/services/api.ts b/src/services/api.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0edcf81
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/services/api.ts
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+export { api, setApiToken } from '../lib/api';
diff --git a/src/services/audio/AudioPipelineService.ts b/src/services/audio/AudioPipelineService.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..af65f71
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/services/audio/AudioPipelineService.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,274 @@
+export type PipelineStatus = 'offline' | 'connecting' | 'active' | 'calibrating' | 'error';
+
+export interface PipelineState {
+  status: PipelineStatus;
+  statusText: string;
+  gateOpen: boolean;
+  gateThresholdDb: number;
+  isCalibrated: boolean;
+  errorMessage: string | null;
+}
+
+export type PipelineStateListener = (state: PipelineState) => void;
+
+/**
+ * Web Audio noise gate pipeline.
+ * Signal chain: mic → 80 Hz HP filter → hard-knee compressor gate → output.
+ * Used as a pre-processing stage before VCS voice sample capture.
+ */
+export class AudioPipelineService {
+  private ctx: AudioContext | null = null;
+  private stream: MediaStream | null = null;
+  private sourceNode: MediaStreamAudioSourceNode | null = null;
+  private hpFilterNode: BiquadFilterNode | null = null;
+  private gateCompressorNode: DynamicsCompressorNode | null = null;
+  private outputGainNode: GainNode | null = null;
+
+  private animationFrameId: number | null = null;
+  private calibrationCleanup: (() => void) | null = null;
+
+  private gateThresholdDb = -45;
+  private isActive = false;
+  private isCalibrating = false;
+  private isCalibrated = false;
+
+  private readonly listeners = new Set<PipelineStateListener>();
+  private currentState: PipelineState = {
+    status: 'offline',
+    statusText: 'Audio pipeline offline',
+    gateOpen: false,
+    gateThresholdDb: -45,
+    isCalibrated: false,
+    errorMessage: null,
+  };
+
+  subscribe(listener: PipelineStateListener): () => void {
+    this.listeners.add(listener);
+    listener(this.currentState);
+    return () => this.listeners.delete(listener);
+  }
+
+  private emit(patch: Partial<PipelineState>): void {
+    this.currentState = { ...this.currentState, ...patch };
+    this.listeners.forEach((l) => l(this.currentState));
+  }
+
+  async engage(): Promise<void> {
+    if (this.isActive) {
+      this.stop();
+      return;
+    }
+
+    this.emit({ status: 'connecting', statusText: 'Connecting to microphone...', errorMessage: null });
+
+    try {
+      if (!this.ctx) {
+        const Ctor =
+          (window as Window & { webkitAudioContext?: typeof AudioContext }).webkitAudioContext ??
+          window.AudioContext;
+        this.ctx = new Ctor({ latencyHint: 'interactive', sampleRate: 44100 });
+      }
+
+      if (this.ctx.state === 'suspended') {
+        await this.ctx.resume();
+      }
+
+      this.stream = await navigator.mediaDevices.getUserMedia({
+        audio: {
+          echoCancellation: false,
+          noiseSuppression: false,
+          autoGainControl: false,
+          channelCount: 1,
+        },
+      });
+
+      this.sourceNode = this.ctx.createMediaStreamSource(this.stream);
+
+      // 80 Hz high-pass removes sub-bass rumble that skews VCS pitch analysis
+      this.hpFilterNode = this.ctx.createBiquadFilter();
+      this.hpFilterNode.type = 'highpass';
+      this.hpFilterNode.frequency.setValueAtTime(80, this.ctx.currentTime);
+
+      // 20:1 ratio + knee 0 → hard-knee compressor behaves as a noise gate
+      this.gateCompressorNode = this.ctx.createDynamicsCompressor();
+      this.gateCompressorNode.threshold.setValueAtTime(this.gateThresholdDb, this.ctx.currentTime);
+      this.gateCompressorNode.knee.setValueAtTime(0, this.ctx.currentTime);
+      this.gateCompressorNode.ratio.setValueAtTime(20, this.ctx.currentTime);
+      this.gateCompressorNode.attack.setValueAtTime(0.005, this.ctx.currentTime);
+      this.gateCompressorNode.release.setValueAtTime(0.1, this.ctx.currentTime);
+
+      this.outputGainNode = this.ctx.createGain();
+      this.outputGainNode.gain.setValueAtTime(1.0, this.ctx.currentTime);
+
+      this.sourceNode.connect(this.hpFilterNode);
+      this.hpFilterNode.connect(this.gateCompressorNode);
+      this.gateCompressorNode.connect(this.outputGainNode);
+      this.outputGainNode.connect(this.ctx.destination);
+
+      this.isActive = true;
+      this.emit({ status: 'active', statusText: 'Audio pipeline active' });
+
+      this.startVisualizationLoop();
+
+      if (!this.isCalibrated) {
+        this.calibrate();
+      }
+    } catch (err) {
+      const message = err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err);
+      this.stop();
+      this.emit({ status: 'error', statusText: 'Pipeline failed to start', errorMessage: message });
+    }
+  }
+
+  async calibrate(): Promise<void> {
+    if (
+      !this.isActive ||
+      this.isCalibrating ||
+      !this.ctx ||
+      !this.hpFilterNode ||
+      !this.gateCompressorNode
+    ) {
+      return;
+    }
+
+    this.isCalibrating = true;
+    this.isCalibrated = false;
+    this.emit({
+      status: 'calibrating',
+      statusText: 'Calibrating noise floor — keep silent...',
+      isCalibrated: false,
+    });
+
+    // Drop threshold to -100 dB so the compressor passes all signal during measurement
+    this.gateCompressorNode.threshold.setValueAtTime(-100, this.ctx.currentTime);
+
+    const analyser = this.ctx.createAnalyser();
+    analyser.fftSize = 256;
+    this.hpFilterNode.connect(analyser);
+
+    const dataArray = new Float32Array(analyser.frequencyBinCount);
+    let totalDb = 0;
+    let iterations = 0;
+    const maxIterations = 30; // 1500 ms at 50 ms intervals
+
+    const finish = () => {
+      analyser.disconnect();
+      this.calibrationCleanup = null;
+      this.isCalibrating = false;
+    };
+
+    const id = setInterval(() => {
+      if (!this.isActive) {
+        clearInterval(id);
+        finish();
+        return;
+      }
+
+      analyser.getFloatFrequencyData(dataArray);
+
+      let peak = -Infinity;
+      for (let i = 0; i < dataArray.length; i++) {
+        if (dataArray[i] > peak) peak = dataArray[i];
+      }
+
+      if (peak !== -Infinity) {
+        totalDb += peak;
+        iterations++;
+      }
+
+      if (iterations >= maxIterations) {
+        clearInterval(id);
+
+        // +12 dB safety margin above measured floor, clamped to [-70, -20]
+        this.gateThresholdDb = Math.min(Math.max((totalDb / iterations) + 12, -70), -20);
+
+        if (this.gateCompressorNode) {
+          this.gateCompressorNode.threshold.setValueAtTime(
+            this.gateThresholdDb,
+            this.ctx!.currentTime,
+          );
+        }
+
+        finish();
+        this.isCalibrated = true;
+        this.emit({
+          status: 'active',
+          statusText: 'Audio pipeline active',
+          gateThresholdDb: this.gateThresholdDb,
+          isCalibrated: true,
+        });
+      }
+    }, 50);
+
+    this.calibrationCleanup = () => {
+      clearInterval(id);
+      finish();
+    };
+  }
+
+  private startVisualizationLoop(): void {
+    if (this.animationFrameId != null) cancelAnimationFrame(this.animationFrameId);
+    if (!this.ctx || !this.outputGainNode) return;
+
+    const analyser = this.ctx.createAnalyser();
+    analyser.fftSize = 32;
+    const dataArray = new Uint8Array(analyser.frequencyBinCount);
+    // Tap post-gate output so gateOpen only fires on signal that passed through
+    this.outputGainNode.connect(analyser);
+
+    const tick = () => {
+      if (!this.isActive) return;
+      analyser.getByteFrequencyData(dataArray);
+      let sum = 0;
+      for (let i = 0; i < dataArray.length; i++) sum += dataArray[i];
+      this.emit({ gateOpen: sum / dataArray.length > 2 });
+      this.animationFrameId = requestAnimationFrame(tick);
+    };
+
+    tick();
+  }
+
+  stop(): void {
+    this.isActive = false;
+    this.isCalibrating = false;
+
+    this.calibrationCleanup?.();
+
+    if (this.animationFrameId != null) {
+      cancelAnimationFrame(this.animationFrameId);
+      this.animationFrameId = null;
+    }
+
+    this.stream?.getTracks().forEach((t) => t.stop());
+    this.stream = null;
+
+    this.sourceNode?.disconnect();        this.sourceNode = null;
+    this.hpFilterNode?.disconnect();      this.hpFilterNode = null;
+    this.gateCompressorNode?.disconnect(); this.gateCompressorNode = null;
+    this.outputGainNode?.disconnect();    this.outputGainNode = null;
+
+    this.isCalibrated = false;
+    this.emit({
+      status: 'offline',
+      statusText: 'Audio pipeline offline',
+      gateOpen: false,
+      isCalibrated: false,
+      errorMessage: null,
+    });
+  }
+
+  getState(): PipelineState {
+    return this.currentState;
+  }
+
+  get active(): boolean {
+    return this.isActive;
+  }
+
+  /** Returns the AudioContext's destination — pass to MediaRecorder or VCS capture. */
+  getOutputNode(): GainNode | null {
+    return this.outputGainNode;
+  }
+}
+
+export const audioPipeline = new AudioPipelineService();
diff --git a/src/stores/audioPipelineStore.ts b/src/stores/audioPipelineStore.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8038e96
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/stores/audioPipelineStore.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+import { create } from 'zustand';
+import { audioPipeline, type PipelineState } from '../services/audio/AudioPipelineService';
+
+type AudioPipelineStore = PipelineState & {
+  engage: () => Promise<void>;
+  calibrate: () => Promise<void>;
+  stop: () => void;
+};
+
+export const useAudioPipelineStore = create<AudioPipelineStore>((set) => {
+  audioPipeline.subscribe((state) => set(state));
+
+  return {
+    ...audioPipeline.getState(),
+    engage: () => audioPipeline.engage(),
+    calibrate: () => audioPipeline.calibrate(),
+    stop: () => audioPipeline.stop(),
+  };
+});