local-transcription/INSTALL.md

Installation Guide

Prerequisites

• Python 3.9 or higher
• uv (Python package installer)
• PortAudio (for audio capture - development only)
• CUDA-capable GPU (optional, for GPU acceleration)

Note: FFmpeg is NOT required. RealtimeSTT and faster-whisper do not use FFmpeg.

Installing uv

If you don't have uv installed:

# On macOS and Linux
curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

# On Windows
powershell -c "irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex"

# Or with pip
pip install uv

Installing PortAudio (Development Only)

Note: Only needed for building from source. Built executables bundle PortAudio.

On Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt-get install portaudio19-dev python3-dev

On macOS (with Homebrew):

brew install portaudio

On Windows:

Nothing needed - PyAudio wheels include PortAudio binaries.

Installation Steps

1. Navigate to Project Directory

cd /home/jknapp/code/local-transcription

2. Install Dependencies with uv

# uv will automatically create a virtual environment and install dependencies
uv sync

This single command will:

• Create a virtual environment (.venv/)
• Install all dependencies from pyproject.toml
• Lock dependencies for reproducibility

Note for CUDA users: If you have an NVIDIA GPU, install PyTorch with CUDA support:

# For CUDA 11.8
uv pip install torch --index-url https://download.pytorch.org/whl/cu118

# For CUDA 12.1
uv pip install torch --index-url https://download.pytorch.org/whl/cu121

3. Run the Application

# Option 1: Using uv run (automatically uses the venv)
uv run python main.py

# Option 2: Activate venv manually
source .venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate
python main.py

On first run, the application will:

• Download the Whisper model (this may take a few minutes)
• Create a configuration file at ~/.local-transcription/config.yaml

Quick Start Commands

# Install everything
uv sync

# Run the application
uv run python main.py

# Install with server dependencies (for Phase 2+)
uv sync --extra server

# Update dependencies
uv sync --upgrade

Configuration

Settings can be changed through the GUI (Settings button) or by editing:

~/.local-transcription/config.yaml

Troubleshooting

Audio Device Issues

If no audio devices are detected:

uv run python -c "import sounddevice as sd; print(sd.query_devices())"

GPU Not Detected

Check if CUDA is available:

uv run python -c "import torch; print(f'CUDA available: {torch.cuda.is_available()}')"

Model Download Fails

Models are downloaded to ~/.cache/huggingface/. If download fails:

• Check internet connection
• Ensure sufficient disk space (~1-3 GB depending on model size)

uv Command Not Found

Make sure uv is in your PATH:

# Add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc
export PATH="$HOME/.cargo/bin:$PATH"

Performance Tips

For best real-time performance:

1. Use GPU if available - 5-10x faster than CPU
2. Start with smaller models:
   • tiny: Fastest, ~39M parameters, 1-2s latency
   • base: Good balance, ~74M parameters, 2-3s latency
   • small: Better accuracy, ~244M parameters, 3-5s latency
3. Enable VAD (Voice Activity Detection) to skip silent audio
4. Adjust chunk duration: Smaller = lower latency, larger = better accuracy

System Requirements

Minimum:

• CPU: Dual-core 2GHz+
• RAM: 4GB
• Model: tiny or base

Recommended:

• CPU: Quad-core 3GHz+ or GPU (NVIDIA GTX 1060+)
• RAM: 8GB
• Model: base or small

For Best Performance:

• GPU: NVIDIA RTX 2060 or better
• RAM: 16GB
• Model: small or medium

Development

Install development dependencies:

uv sync --extra dev

Run tests:

uv run pytest

Format code:

uv run black .
uv run ruff check .

Why uv?

uv is significantly faster than pip:

• 10-100x faster dependency resolution
• Automatic virtual environment management
• Reproducible builds with lockfile
• Drop-in replacement for pip commands

Learn more at astral.sh/uv