diff --git a/.gitmodules b/.gitmodules
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..06c7d7f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitmodules
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+[submodule "external/whisper.cpp"]
+	path = external/whisper.cpp
+	url = https://github.com/ggerganov/whisper.cpp
diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 9875850..e79c3a0 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -137,6 +137,31 @@ else()
     message(STATUS "Vosk not found - STT will use fallback engines only")
 endif()
 
+# Optional: Link PocketSphinx if available (Phase 7 STT)
+find_library(POCKETSPHINX_LIBRARY pocketsphinx)
+find_library(SPHINXBASE_LIBRARY sphinxbase)
+if(POCKETSPHINX_LIBRARY AND SPHINXBASE_LIBRARY)
+    message(STATUS "PocketSphinx found: ${POCKETSPHINX_LIBRARY}")
+    target_link_libraries(AissiaAudio PUBLIC ${POCKETSPHINX_LIBRARY} ${SPHINXBASE_LIBRARY})
+    target_compile_definitions(AissiaAudio PRIVATE HAVE_POCKETSPHINX)
+    target_include_directories(AissiaAudio PRIVATE /usr/include/pocketsphinx /usr/include/sphinxbase)
+else()
+    message(STATUS "PocketSphinx not found - keyword spotting unavailable")
+endif()
+
+# Optional: Link Whisper.cpp if available (Phase 7 STT)
+find_library(WHISPER_LIBRARY whisper PATHS ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/external/whisper.cpp/build/src)
+if(WHISPER_LIBRARY)
+    message(STATUS "Whisper.cpp found: ${WHISPER_LIBRARY}")
+    target_link_libraries(AissiaAudio PUBLIC ${WHISPER_LIBRARY})
+    target_compile_definitions(AissiaAudio PRIVATE HAVE_WHISPER_CPP)
+    target_include_directories(AissiaAudio PRIVATE
+        ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/external/whisper.cpp/include
+        ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/external/whisper.cpp/ggml/include)
+else()
+    message(STATUS "Whisper.cpp not found - high-quality local STT unavailable")
+endif()
+
 # ============================================================================
 # Infrastructure Services Library (linked into main)
 # ============================================================================
@@ -333,3 +358,12 @@ option(BUILD_TESTING "Build integration tests" OFF)
 if(BUILD_TESTING)
     add_subdirectory(tests)
 endif()
+
+# Manual STT test executable
+add_executable(test_stt_engines
+    tests/manual/test_stt_engines.cpp
+)
+target_link_libraries(test_stt_engines
+    AissiaAudio
+    spdlog::spdlog
+)
diff --git a/external/whisper.cpp b/external/whisper.cpp
new file mode 160000
index 0000000..19ceec8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/external/whisper.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Subproject commit 19ceec8eac980403b714d603e5ca31653cd42a3f
diff --git a/tests/manual/test_stt_engines.cpp b/tests/manual/test_stt_engines.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f68cc02
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/manual/test_stt_engines.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,182 @@
+/**
+ * @file test_stt_engines.cpp
+ * @brief Manual test program for all 4 STT engines
+ *
+ * Tests each STT engine with the same audio file and compares results.
+ *
+ * Usage: ./test_stt_engines <audio_file.mp3>
+ */
+
+#include "../../src/shared/audio/ISTTEngine.hpp"
+#include "../../src/shared/audio/PocketSphinxEngine.hpp"
+#include "../../src/shared/audio/VoskSTTEngine.hpp"
+#include "../../src/shared/audio/WhisperCppEngine.hpp"
+#include "../../src/shared/audio/WhisperAPIEngine.hpp"
+#include <spdlog/spdlog.h>
+#include <spdlog/sinks/stdout_color_sinks.h>
+#include <iostream>
+#include <chrono>
+#include <cstdlib>
+
+using namespace aissia;
+
+struct TestResult {
+    std::string engineName;
+    bool available;
+    std::string transcription;
+    double durationMs;
+    std::string error;
+};
+
+TestResult testEngine(ISTTEngine* engine, const std::string& audioFile) {
+    TestResult result;
+    result.engineName = engine->getEngineName();
+    result.available = engine->isAvailable();
+
+    if (!result.available) {
+        result.error = "Engine not available";
+        return result;
+    }
+
+    auto start = std::chrono::high_resolution_clock::now();
+
+    try {
+        result.transcription = engine->transcribeFile(audioFile);
+
+        auto end = std::chrono::high_resolution_clock::now();
+        result.durationMs = std::chrono::duration<double, std::milli>(end - start).count();
+
+        if (result.transcription.empty()) {
+            result.error = "Empty transcription (file format not supported or processing failed)";
+        }
+    } catch (const std::exception& e) {
+        result.error = std::string("Exception: ") + e.what();
+    }
+
+    return result;
+}
+
+void printResult(const TestResult& result) {
+    std::cout << "\n";
+    std::cout << "┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────\n";
+    std::cout << "│ Engine: " << result.engineName << "\n";
+    std::cout << "├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────\n";
+
+    if (!result.available) {
+        std::cout << "│ Status: ❌ NOT AVAILABLE\n";
+        std::cout << "│ Reason: " << result.error << "\n";
+    } else if (!result.error.empty()) {
+        std::cout << "│ Status: ⚠️  ERROR\n";
+        std::cout << "│ Error: " << result.error << "\n";
+    } else {
+        std::cout << "│ Status: ✅ SUCCESS\n";
+        std::cout << "│ Duration: " << result.durationMs << " ms\n";
+        std::cout << "│ Transcription: \"" << result.transcription << "\"\n";
+    }
+
+    std::cout << "└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────\n";
+}
+
+int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
+    // Setup logging
+    auto logger = spdlog::stdout_color_mt("test");
+    spdlog::set_level(spdlog::level::info);
+
+    // Check arguments
+    if (argc < 2) {
+        std::cerr << "Usage: " << argv[0] << " <audio_file>\n";
+        std::cerr << "Example: " << argv[0] << " test_audio.mp3\n";
+        return 1;
+    }
+
+    std::string audioFile = argv[1];
+
+    std::cout << "\n";
+    std::cout << "╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗\n";
+    std::cout << "║          STT ENGINES TEST - AISSIA Phase 7                ║\n";
+    std::cout << "╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝\n";
+    std::cout << "\n";
+    std::cout << "Audio file: " << audioFile << "\n";
+    std::cout << "\n";
+    std::cout << "Testing 4 STT engines...\n";
+
+    // Prepare engines
+    std::vector<std::pair<std::string, std::unique_ptr<ISTTEngine>>> engines;
+
+    // 1. PocketSphinx
+    std::cout << "\n[1/4] Initializing PocketSphinx...\n";
+    engines.push_back({
+        "PocketSphinx",
+        std::make_unique<PocketSphinxEngine>("/usr/share/pocketsphinx/model/en-us")
+    });
+
+    // 2. Vosk
+    std::cout << "[2/4] Initializing Vosk...\n";
+    engines.push_back({
+        "Vosk",
+        std::make_unique<VoskSTTEngine>("./models/vosk-model-small-fr-0.22")
+    });
+
+    // 3. Whisper.cpp
+    std::cout << "[3/4] Initializing Whisper.cpp...\n";
+    engines.push_back({
+        "Whisper.cpp",
+        std::make_unique<WhisperCppEngine>("./models/ggml-base.bin")
+    });
+
+    // 4. Whisper API
+    std::cout << "[4/4] Initializing Whisper API...\n";
+    const char* apiKey = std::getenv("OPENAI_API_KEY");
+    engines.push_back({
+        "Whisper API",
+        std::make_unique<WhisperAPIEngine>(apiKey ? apiKey : "")
+    });
+
+    // Test each engine
+    std::vector<TestResult> results;
+    for (auto& [name, engine] : engines) {
+        std::cout << "\n▶ Testing " << name << "...\n";
+        results.push_back(testEngine(engine.get(), audioFile));
+    }
+
+    // Print results
+    std::cout << "\n\n";
+    std::cout << "╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗\n";
+    std::cout << "║                      RESULTS                              ║\n";
+    std::cout << "╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝\n";
+
+    for (const auto& result : results) {
+        printResult(result);
+    }
+
+    // Summary
+    std::cout << "\n\n";
+    std::cout << "╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗\n";
+    std::cout << "║                      SUMMARY                              ║\n";
+    std::cout << "╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝\n";
+    std::cout << "\n";
+
+    int available = 0;
+    int successful = 0;
+
+    for (const auto& result : results) {
+        if (result.available) available++;
+        if (result.available && result.error.empty()) successful++;
+    }
+
+    std::cout << "Total engines tested: " << results.size() << "\n";
+    std::cout << "Engines available: " << available << "/" << results.size() << "\n";
+    std::cout << "Successful transcriptions: " << successful << "/" << available << "\n";
+    std::cout << "\n";
+
+    if (successful > 0) {
+        std::cout << "✅ STT system is working!\n";
+        return 0;
+    } else if (available > 0) {
+        std::cout << "⚠️  Some engines available but all failed (check audio file format)\n";
+        return 1;
+    } else {
+        std::cout << "❌ No STT engines available (install models/libraries)\n";
+        return 1;
+    }
+}