whisper-key-local 0.6.1

Local faster-whisper speech-to-text app with global hotkeys for Windows

Whisper Key - Local Speech-to-Text

Global hotkeys to record speech and transcribe directly to your cursor.

Now on Windows and macOS! Questions or ideas? Discord

✨ Features

• Global Hotkey: Start recording speech from any app
• Auto-Paste: Transcribe directly to cursor
• Auto-Send: Optionally auto-send your transcription with ENTER
• Offline Capable: No internet required after models downloaded
• Local Processing: Voice data never leaves your computer
• Efficient Models: Choose a small, efficient model for CPU
• CUDA Support: Or leverage your nVidia GPU with bigger models
• Voice activity detection: Auto-cancel after long silences and prevent hallucination
• Cross-platform: Works on Windows and macOS
• Configurable: Customize hotkeys, models, and much more

🚀 Quick Start

From PyPI (Recommended)

Requires Python 3.11-3.13

# With pipx (isolated environment)
pipx install whisper-key-local

# Or with pip (simpler)
pip install whisper-key-local

Then run: whisper-key

Portable App (Windows Only)

1. Download the latest release zip
2. Extract and run whisper-key.exe

From Source

git clone https://github.com/PinW/whisper-key-local.git
cd whisper-key-local
pip install -e .
python whisper-key.py

🎤 Basic Usage

Hotkey	Windows	macOS
Start recording	Ctrl+Win	Fn+Ctrl
Stop & transcribe	Ctrl	Fn
Stop & auto-send	Alt	Option
Cancel recording	Esc	Shift

Open the system tray / menu bar icon to:

• Toggle auto-paste vs clipboard-only
• Change transcription model
• Select audio device

⚙️ Configuration

Local settings at:

• Windows: %APPDATA%\whisperkey\user_settings.yaml
• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/whisperkey/user_settings.yaml

Delete this file and restart app to reset to defaults.

Option	Default	Notes
Whisper
whisper.model	tiny	Any model defined in whisper.models
whisper.device	cpu	cpu or cuda (NVIDIA GPU)
whisper.compute_type	int8	int8/float16/float32
whisper.language	auto	auto or language code (en, es, fr, etc.)
whisper.beam_size	5	Higher = more accurate but slower (1-10)
whisper.models	(see config)	Add custom HuggingFace or local models
Hotkeys
hotkey.recording_hotkey	ctrl+win / fn+ctrl	Windows / macOS
hotkey.stop_with_modifier_enabled	true	Stop with first modifier only
hotkey.auto_enter_enabled	true	Enable auto-send hotkey
hotkey.auto_enter_combination	alt / option	Stop + paste + Enter
hotkey.cancel_combination	esc / shift	Cancel recording
Voice Activity Detection
vad.vad_precheck_enabled	true	Prevent hallucinations on silence
vad.vad_onset_threshold	0.7	Speech detection start (0.0-1.0)
vad.vad_offset_threshold	0.55	Speech detection end (0.0-1.0)
vad.vad_min_speech_duration	0.1	Min speech segment (seconds)
vad.vad_realtime_enabled	true	Auto-stop on silence
vad.vad_silence_timeout_seconds	30.0	Seconds before auto-stop
Audio
audio.host	null	Audio API (WASAPI, Core Audio, etc.)
audio.channels	1	1 = mono, 2 = stereo
audio.dtype	float32	float32/int16/int24/int32
audio.max_duration	900	Max recording seconds (0 = unlimited)
audio.input_device	default	Device ID or "default"
Clipboard
clipboard.auto_paste	true	false = clipboard only
clipboard.paste_hotkey	ctrl+v / cmd+v	Paste key simulation
clipboard.preserve_clipboard	true	Restore clipboard after paste
clipboard.key_simulation_delay	0.05	Delay between keystrokes (seconds)
Logging
logging.level	INFO	DEBUG/INFO/WARNING/ERROR/CRITICAL
logging.file.enabled	true	Write to app.log
logging.console.enabled	true	Print to console
logging.console.level	WARNING	Console verbosity
Audio Feedback
audio_feedback.enabled	true	Play sounds on record/stop
audio_feedback.start_sound	assets/sounds/...	Custom sound file path
audio_feedback.stop_sound	assets/sounds/...	Custom sound file path
audio_feedback.cancel_sound	assets/sounds/...	Custom sound file path
System Tray
system_tray.enabled	true	Show tray icon
system_tray.tooltip	Whisper Key	Hover text
Console
console.start_hidden	false	Start minimized to tray

📁 Model Cache

Default path for transcription models (via HuggingFace):

• Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.cache\huggingface\hub\
• macOS: ~/.cache/huggingface/hub/

📦 Dependencies

Cross-platform: faster-whisper · numpy · sounddevice · soxr · pyperclip · ruamel.yaml · pystray · Pillow · playsound3 · ten-vad · hf-xet

Windows: global-hotkeys · pywin32 · pyautogui

macOS: pyobjc-framework-Quartz · pyobjc-framework-ApplicationServices