use-local-whisper

To transcribe WhatsApp voice notes offline on macOS, you can use whisper.cpp on Apple Silicon. This approach processes audio entirely on-device, eliminating network calls and preserving privacy without needing external API keys.

Yes, whisper.cpp replaces the OpenAI Whisper API for local transcription. By running the whisper-cli binary on your machine, you avoid per-call costs and external network dependencies while processing audio entirely on-device.

Running whisper.cpp for WhatsApp voice transcription requires a whisper-cli binary, ffmpeg, and a GGML model file placed in the data/models directory. You also need to adjust the launchd PATH to include Homebrew binaries for the background service.

The local whisper transcription setup is specifically built for macOS Apple Silicon, such as M1 or M2 devices. Using it on non-Apple Silicon hardware may require different compilation steps or configurations not covered by this integration.

Your launchd service fails to run whisper-cli because the background service PATH likely lacks Homebrew binaries. You must adjust the launchd PATH environment variables so the service can successfully locate and execute the local transcription tools.

This offline transcription setup is specifically built for WhatsApp voice notes using Baileys audio download logic. To transcribe voice messages from other channels, you must write custom audio-download code before applying the whisper.cpp integration.