Transcription API

Local Transcription (Whisper)

window.electronAPI.transcribeLocalWhisper()

Transcribe audio using a locally-installed Whisper model.

audioBlob

ArrayBuffer

required

Audio data as an ArrayBuffer. Typically obtained from a Blob:

const arrayBuffer = await audioBlob.arrayBuffer();

options

object

Show options

model

string

default:"base"

Whisper model to use: tiny, base, small, medium, large, turbo

language

string

Language code (e.g., en, es, fr). If omitted, auto-detects language.

initialPrompt

string

Prompt to guide transcription. Useful for custom vocabulary (names, technical terms).

success

boolean

Whether transcription succeeded

text

string

Transcribed text

error

string

Error message if success is false

message

string

Additional info (e.g., “No audio detected”)

Example

const audioBlob = await recorder.stop(); // From MediaRecorder
const arrayBuffer = await audioBlob.arrayBuffer();

const result = await window.electronAPI.transcribeLocalWhisper(arrayBuffer, {
  model: "base",
  language: "en"
});

if (result.success) {
  console.log("Transcription:", result.text);
} else {
  console.error("Error:", result.error);
}

No Audio Detected: If the audio is too short or silent, the API returns success: false with message: "No audio detected". Listen for the onNoAudioDetected event to handle this in the UI.

Local Transcription (Parakeet)

window.electronAPI.transcribeLocalParakeet()

Transcribe audio using NVIDIA’s Parakeet model via sherpa-onnx.

audioBlob

ArrayBuffer

required

Audio data as an ArrayBuffer

options

object

Show options

model

string

default:"parakeet-tdt-0.6b-v3"

Parakeet model identifier

language

string

Language code. Parakeet supports 25 languages.

success

boolean

Whether transcription succeeded

text

string

Transcribed text

error

string

Error message if failed

Example

const result = await window.electronAPI.transcribeLocalParakeet(arrayBuffer, {
  model: "parakeet-tdt-0.6b-v3",
  language: "en"
});

if (result.success) {
  console.log("Parakeet transcription:", result.text);
}

Cloud Transcription

window.electronAPI.cloudTranscribe()

Transcribe audio using the OpenWhispr Cloud API (requires authentication).

audioBuffer

ArrayBuffer

required

Audio data as an ArrayBuffer

opts

object

Show opts

language

string

Language code for transcription

prompt

string

Custom vocabulary prompt for better accuracy

sendLogs

string

Whether to send logs to cloud (“true” or “false”)

success

boolean

Whether transcription succeeded

text

string

Transcribed text

error

string

Error message if failed

code

string

Error code (e.g., “AUTH_EXPIRED”, “OFFLINE”)

limitReached

boolean

Whether usage limit was reached

wordsUsed

number

Total words used in current period

wordsRemaining

number

Words remaining in current period

Example

const result = await window.electronAPI.cloudTranscribe(arrayBuffer, {
  language: "en",
  prompt: "OpenWhispr, API, transcription"
});

if (result.success) {
  console.log("Transcription:", result.text);
  console.log("Words remaining:", result.wordsRemaining);
} else if (result.code === "AUTH_EXPIRED") {
  // Redirect to login
}

Audio File Transcription

window.electronAPI.transcribeAudioFile()

Transcribe an audio file from disk using local models.

filePath

string

required

Absolute path to the audio file

options

object

Show options

provider

string

Transcription provider: "whisper" or "nvidia" (Parakeet)

model

string

Model name (depends on provider)

language

string

Language code for transcription

success

boolean

Whether transcription succeeded

text

string

Transcribed text

error

string

Error message if failed

Example

const { filePath } = await window.electronAPI.selectAudioFile();

if (!filePath) return; // User cancelled

const result = await window.electronAPI.transcribeAudioFile(filePath, {
  provider: "whisper",
  model: "base",
  language: "en"
});

if (result.success) {
  console.log("File transcription:", result.text);
}

Audio File Selection

window.electronAPI.selectAudioFile()

Open a file picker to select an audio file.

canceled

boolean

Whether the user cancelled the dialog

filePath

string

Path to the selected audio file (if not cancelled)

Supported Formats

MP3 (.mp3)
WAV (.wav)
M4A (.m4a)
WebM (.webm)
OGG (.ogg)
FLAC (.flac)
AAC (.aac)

Example

const { canceled, filePath } = await window.electronAPI.selectAudioFile();

if (!canceled) {
  const size = await window.electronAPI.getFileSize(filePath);
  console.log(`Selected file: ${filePath} (${size} bytes)`);
}

Transcription Events

window.electronAPI.onNoAudioDetected()

Listen for “no audio detected” events during recording.

const cleanup = window.electronAPI.onNoAudioDetected(() => {
  showToast("No audio detected. Try speaking louder or check your microphone.");
});

// Clean up listener when component unmounts
cleanup();

Installation Checks

window.electronAPI.checkWhisperInstallation()

Check if Whisper binaries are available.

installed

boolean

Whether Whisper is installed

path

string

Path to the Whisper binary

Example

const status = await window.electronAPI.checkWhisperInstallation();

if (!status.installed) {
  console.log("Whisper not found. Please download models.");
}

window.electronAPI.checkParakeetInstallation()

Check if Parakeet (sherpa-onnx) binaries are available.

installed

boolean

Whether Parakeet is installed

path

string

Path to the sherpa-onnx binary

IPC API

Models

Local Transcription (Whisper)

window.electronAPI.transcribeLocalWhisper()

Example

Local Transcription (Parakeet)

window.electronAPI.transcribeLocalParakeet()

Example

Cloud Transcription

window.electronAPI.cloudTranscribe()

Example

Audio File Transcription

window.electronAPI.transcribeAudioFile()

Example

Audio File Selection

window.electronAPI.selectAudioFile()

Supported Formats

Example

Transcription Events

window.electronAPI.onNoAudioDetected()

Installation Checks

window.electronAPI.checkWhisperInstallation()

Example

window.electronAPI.checkParakeetInstallation()

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

IPC API

Models

​Local Transcription (Whisper)

​window.electronAPI.transcribeLocalWhisper()

​Example

​Local Transcription (Parakeet)

​window.electronAPI.transcribeLocalParakeet()

​Example

​Cloud Transcription

​window.electronAPI.cloudTranscribe()

​Example

​Audio File Transcription

​window.electronAPI.transcribeAudioFile()

​Example

​Audio File Selection

​window.electronAPI.selectAudioFile()

​Supported Formats

​Example

​Transcription Events

​window.electronAPI.onNoAudioDetected()

​Installation Checks

​window.electronAPI.checkWhisperInstallation()

​Example

​window.electronAPI.checkParakeetInstallation()

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Local Transcription (Whisper)

window.electronAPI.transcribeLocalWhisper()

Example

Local Transcription (Parakeet)

window.electronAPI.transcribeLocalParakeet()

Example

Cloud Transcription

window.electronAPI.cloudTranscribe()

Example

Audio File Transcription

window.electronAPI.transcribeAudioFile()

Example

Audio File Selection

window.electronAPI.selectAudioFile()

Supported Formats

Example

Transcription Events

window.electronAPI.onNoAudioDetected()

Installation Checks

window.electronAPI.checkWhisperInstallation()

Example

window.electronAPI.checkParakeetInstallation()