diff --git a/clients/macos/vellum-assistant/Features/Voice/WakeWord/PorcupineWakeWordEngine.swift b/clients/macos/vellum-assistant/Features/Voice/WakeWord/PorcupineWakeWordEngine.swift
index 74652a1f0cc..50eeeefb3a8 100644
--- a/clients/macos/vellum-assistant/Features/Voice/WakeWord/PorcupineWakeWordEngine.swift
+++ b/clients/macos/vellum-assistant/Features/Voice/WakeWord/PorcupineWakeWordEngine.swift
@@ -3,12 +3,12 @@ import os
 
 private let log = Logger(subsystem: "com.vellum.vellum-assistant", category: "PorcupineWakeWordEngine")
 
-/// Placeholder wake word engine backed by Porcupine.
+/// Wake word engine backed by Porcupine's C SDK via `PorcupineBinding`.
 ///
-/// Currently a stub that conforms to `WakeWordEngine` so that
-/// `AlwaysOnAudioMonitor` and `WakeWordCoordinator` can be wired
-/// end-to-end. Swap in real Porcupine SDK calls when the dependency
-/// is integrated.
+/// Loads `libpv_porcupine.dylib` at runtime, resolves model and keyword
+/// files from the app bundle, and processes 16 kHz Int16 PCM audio in
+/// 512-sample frames. Thread-safe: `start()` and `stop()` are called from
+/// the main thread; `processAudioFrame(_:)` runs on the audio thread.
 final class PorcupineWakeWordEngine: WakeWordEngine {
 
     var onWakeWordDetected: ((Float) -> Void)?
@@ -18,24 +18,149 @@ final class PorcupineWakeWordEngine: WakeWordEngine {
     /// Detection sensitivity (0.0 = least sensitive, 1.0 = most sensitive).
     let sensitivity: Float
 
-    init(sensitivity: Float = 0.5) {
+    /// Built-in keyword name (e.g. "computer") or absolute path to a custom .ppn file.
+    let keyword: String
+
+    private var binding: PorcupineBinding?
+    private var frameBuffer: [Int16] = []
+    private let frameLength: Int = 512
+
+    /// Guards `binding` and `frameBuffer` for thread safety between
+    /// the main thread (`start`/`stop`) and the audio thread (`processAudioFrame`).
+    private var lock = os_unfair_lock()
+
+    /// Whether an error has already been logged during `processAudioFrame` to
+    /// avoid flooding the log on every frame.
+    private var hasLoggedProcessError = false
+
+    init(sensitivity: Float = 0.5, keyword: String = "computer") {
         self.sensitivity = sensitivity
+        self.keyword = keyword
     }
 
+    // MARK: - WakeWordEngine
+
     func start() throws {
         guard !isRunning else { return }
+
+        // 1. Access key
+        guard let accessKey = APIKeyManager.shared.getAPIKey(provider: "picovoice") else {
+            log.warning("Picovoice access key not found in keychain — wake word detection disabled")
+            return
+        }
+
+        // 2. Dylib path
+        guard let frameworksPath = Bundle.main.privateFrameworksPath else {
+            log.warning("Bundle.main.privateFrameworksPath is nil — wake word detection disabled")
+            return
+        }
+        let dylibPath = (frameworksPath as NSString).appendingPathComponent("libpv_porcupine.dylib")
+        guard FileManager.default.fileExists(atPath: dylibPath) else {
+            log.warning("libpv_porcupine.dylib not found at \(dylibPath) — wake word detection disabled")
+            return
+        }
+
+        // 3. Create binding (loads dylib, resolves symbols)
+        let newBinding: PorcupineBinding
+        do {
+            newBinding = try PorcupineBinding(dylibPath: dylibPath)
+        } catch {
+            log.error("Failed to load PorcupineBinding: \(error)")
+            return
+        }
+
+        // 4. Model path
+        guard let resourceURL = Bundle.main.resourceURL else {
+            log.error("Bundle.main.resourceURL is nil — cannot locate Porcupine model")
+            return
+        }
+        let modelPath = resourceURL.appendingPathComponent("porcupine_params.pv").path
+        guard FileManager.default.fileExists(atPath: modelPath) else {
+            log.error("Porcupine model not found at \(modelPath)")
+            return
+        }
+
+        // 5. Keyword path
+        let keywordPath: String
+        let keywordDir = resourceURL.appendingPathComponent("porcupine-keywords")
+        let builtinPath = keywordDir.appendingPathComponent(keyword.lowercased() + "_mac.ppn").path
+        if FileManager.default.fileExists(atPath: builtinPath) {
+            keywordPath = builtinPath
+        } else if keyword.hasPrefix("/") && FileManager.default.fileExists(atPath: keyword) {
+            // Treat keyword as an absolute path to a custom .ppn file
+            keywordPath = keyword
+        } else {
+            log.error("Keyword file not found: tried \(builtinPath) and absolute path \(keyword)")
+            return
+        }
+
+        // 6. Initialize Porcupine engine
+        do {
+            try newBinding.initialize(
+                accessKey: accessKey,
+                modelPath: modelPath,
+                keywordPaths: [keywordPath],
+                sensitivities: [sensitivity]
+            )
+        } catch {
+            log.error("Failed to initialize Porcupine engine: \(error)")
+            return
+        }
+
+        // 7. Commit state
+        withLock {
+            self.binding = newBinding
+            self.frameBuffer = []
+            self.hasLoggedProcessError = false
+        }
         isRunning = true
-        log.info("PorcupineWakeWordEngine started (sensitivity: \(self.sensitivity))")
+        log.info("PorcupineWakeWordEngine started (keyword: \(self.keyword), sensitivity: \(self.sensitivity), version: \(newBinding.version))")
     }
 
     func stop() {
         guard isRunning else { return }
+        withLock {
+            binding?.delete()
+            binding = nil
+            frameBuffer = []
+        }
         isRunning = false
         log.info("PorcupineWakeWordEngine stopped")
     }
 
-    /// Feed a buffer of 16-bit PCM audio samples for wake word detection.
+    // MARK: - Audio processing (audio thread)
+
     func processAudioFrame(_ frame: [Int16]) {
-        // Stub — real implementation will call Porcupine's process() here
+        withLock {
+            guard binding != nil else { return }
+            frameBuffer.append(contentsOf: frame)
+
+            while frameBuffer.count >= frameLength {
+                let chunk = Array(frameBuffer.prefix(frameLength))
+                frameBuffer.removeFirst(frameLength)
+
+                do {
+                    let keywordIndex = try binding!.process(pcm: chunk)
+                    if keywordIndex >= 0 {
+                        onWakeWordDetected?(1.0)
+                    }
+                } catch {
+                    if !hasLoggedProcessError {
+                        hasLoggedProcessError = true
+                        log.error("Porcupine process error (further errors suppressed): \(error)")
+                    }
+                    // Stop processing further frames this call
+                    return
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    // MARK: - Lock helpers
+
+    private func withLock<T>(_ body: () -> T) -> T {
+        os_unfair_lock_lock(&lock)
+        defer { os_unfair_lock_unlock(&lock) }
+        return body()
     }
 }