Local Whisper

Transcribe voice messages for free on Telegram and WhatsApp. No API keys. No costs. Runs on your Mac.

The Problem

Voice transcription APIs cost money:

• OpenAI Whisper: $0.006/minute
• Groq: $0.001/minute
• AssemblyAI: $0.01/minute

If you transcribe a lot of Telegram voice messages, it adds up.

The Solution

This skill runs Whisper locally on your Mac. Same quality, zero cost.

• ✅ Free forever
• ✅ Private (audio never leaves your Mac)
• ✅ Fast (~1 second per message)
• ✅ Works offline

⚠️ Important Notes

• First run downloads ~1.5GB model — be patient, this only happens once
• First transcription is slow — model loads into memory (~10-30 seconds), then it's instant
• Already using OpenAI API for transcription? Replace your existing tools.media.audio config with the one below

Quick Start

1. Install dependencies

pip3 install -r requirements.txt

2. Start the daemon

python3 scripts/daemon.py

First run will download the Whisper model (~1.5GB). Wait for "Ready" message.

3. Add to OpenClaw config

Add this to your ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json:

{
  "tools": {
    "media": {
      "audio": {
        "enabled": true,
        "models": [
          {
            "type": "cli",
            "command": "~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/local-whisper/scripts/transcribe.sh",
            "args": ["{{MediaPath}}"],
            "timeoutSeconds": 60
          }
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

4. Restart gateway

openclaw gateway restart

Now voice messages from Telegram, WhatsApp, etc. will be transcribed locally for free!

Manual test

./scripts/transcribe.sh voice_message.ogg

Use Case: Telegram Voice Messages

Instead of paying for OpenAI API to transcribe incoming voice messages, point OpenClaw to this local daemon. Free transcription forever.

Auto-Start on Login

cp com.local-whisper.plist ~/Library/LaunchAgents/
launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.local-whisper.plist

API

Daemon runs at localhost:8787:

curl -X POST http://localhost:8787/transcribe -F "file=@audio.ogg"
# {"text": "Hello world", "language": "en"}

Translation

Any language → English:

./scripts/transcribe.sh spanish_audio.ogg --translate

Requirements

• macOS with Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4)
• Python 3.9+

License

MIT