Skip to content

Latest commit

 

History

History
150 lines (112 loc) · 3.72 KB

README.md

File metadata and controls

150 lines (112 loc) · 3.72 KB
Raw

Audio Transcriber

A command-line tool that transcribes audio files to text using OpenAI's Whisper model. It supports local files and URLs, shows progress during transcription, and can handle various audio formats.

Features

  • Transcribe audio files from local paths or URLs
  • Support for multiple audio formats: MP3, WAV, M4A, OGG
  • Progress indication during transcription
  • Automatic clipboard copying of transcription
  • Optional saving to a text file
  • Memory-efficient chunked processing for large files

Prerequisites

  • Python 3.7 or higher
  • ffmpeg (required by pydub for audio processing)

Installing ffmpeg

  • Ubuntu/Debian:

    sudo apt update
sudo apt install ffmpeg

  • macOS:

    brew install ffmpeg

  • Windows: Download from ffmpeg.org and add to system PATH

Installation

  1. Clone the repository:

    git clone [your-repo-url]
cd audio-transcriber

  2. Create and activate a virtual environment (recommended):

    • Linux/macOS:

      python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate

    • Windows:

      python -m venv venv
venv\Scripts\activate

  3. Install required Python packages:

    pip install -r requirements.txt

  4. Make the script executable and create a system-wide command:

    • Linux/macOS:

      chmod +x transcribe.py
sudo ln -s "$(pwd)/transcribe.py" /usr/local/bin/transcribe

    • Windows:

      1. Add the script directory to your system PATH
      2. Create a batch file named transcribe.bat in the same directory: 
        @echo off
python "%~dp0transcribe.py" %*

Usage

  • Basic usage:

    transcribe path/to/audio.mp3

  • With output file:

    transcribe path/to/audio.mp3 -o /output/directory

  • From URL:

    transcribe https://example.com/audio.mp3

Command-line Options

  • audio_source: Path or URL to the audio file (required)
  • -o, --output: Directory to save the transcription file (optional)

Supported Audio Formats

  • MP3 (.mp3)
  • WAV (.wav)
  • M4A (.m4a)
  • OGG (.ogg)

How It Works

  1. Validates the input (local file or URL)
  2. Downloads the audio file if it's a URL
  3. Loads the Whisper model (tiny.en)
  4. Splits the audio into 30-second chunks for efficient processing
  5. Transcribes each chunk with progress indication
  6. Combines the transcriptions
  7. Copies the result to the clipboard and optionally saves it to a file
  8. Cleans up temporary files and frees memory

Dependencies

The tool relies on the following Python packages:

  • openai-whisper: Core transcription functionality (includes torch as a dependency)
  • tqdm: Progress bar display
  • requests: URL handling and downloads
  • pyperclip: Clipboard operations
  • pydub: Audio file processing and chunking

System Dependencies

  • ffmpeg: Required by pydub for audio processing

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

  1. ffmpeg not found:

    • Ensure ffmpeg is installed and in your system PATH
    • Try running ffmpeg -version to verify installation

  2. Clipboard access error:

    • On Linux, install xclip: sudo apt-get install xclip
    • On Windows, ensure you have access to the clipboard

  3. Memory issues with large files:

    • The tool automatically processes audio in chunks
    • If still experiencing issues, try closing other applications

Error Messages

  • "File does not exist": Check the file path and permissions
  • "Not a supported audio format": Convert your audio to a supported format
  • "Could not copy to clipboard": Check clipboard access permissions