transcribe-cli

A terminal (CLI) application built with Node.js and TypeScript that records audio from your microphone and transcribes it using the OpenAI Whisper API.

System Requirements

This tool depends on native audio utilities. Install them before running:

Linux (Ubuntu / Debian)

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install sox libsox-fmt-all

macOS

brew install sox

Windows

1. Download the binaries from SoX.
2. Add the SoX folder to your PATH environment variable.

Installation

npm install -g @bryan-gc/transcribe-cli

First Run & Configuration

On the first launch, an interactive prompt will ask you for:

• Your OpenAI API Key
• A base path where audio recordings and glossaries will be stored

Your settings are saved persistently at ~/.transcribe-cli/config.json and reused on every subsequent run.

Usage

The application features two main modes of operation: Auto Record Mode (default) and Manual Menu Mode.

1. Auto Record Mode (Default)

Optimized for quick usage. By default, launching the app instantly starts recording your audio using your saved configuration.

# Start recording instantly
transcribe-cli

• Recording: Starts immediately upon launch.
• Stop & Transcribe: Simply press Enter. The tool will stop recording, run the transcription, copy it to your clipboard (if enabled in your config), and exit automatically.

2. Manual Menu Mode

If you prefer the interactive terminal menu to change settings (Microphone, Language, Glossary, etc.) on the fly before recording, use the --manual flag:

transcribe-cli --manual
# or
transcribe-cli -m

Navigate the interactive menu with:

• Arrow keys — move up/down
• Enter — confirm selection
• Hotkeys — press the letter shown in brackets (e.g., r to record, t to transcribe, q to quit)

Other CLI Options

# Display help and all available commands
transcribe-cli --help
transcribe-cli -h

# Output the current version
transcribe-cli --version
transcribe-cli -v

Development Usage

If you are developing the tool locally and running it via npm run start, you must use a double dash (--) to pass arguments to the script instead of npm itself:

# Auto Record Mode (Default)
npm run start

# Manual Menu Mode
npm run start -- --manual
npm run start -- -m

# View Help
npm run start -- --help

# View Version
npm run start -- --version