Everything you need, nothing you don't
Works on macOS, Windows, and Linux. Desktop only — the recorder and local runner require Electron.
Voice recording
Bind a hotkey under Settings → Hotkeys. Press to start, press again to stop — transcript appears at the cursor.
Right-click transcribe
Right-click any .mp3, .m4a, .mp4, .wav, .webm, .ogg, or .flac file in the vault explorer.
Speaker diarization
When the cloud API returns speaker segments, the transcript auto-formats into Speaker 1: / Speaker 2: blocks.
Timestamped chapters
2-minute segment buckets with ### 00:00 headers — great for long interviews and lectures.
Action-item extraction
Regex pass over the transcript pulls likely action items into a - [ ] checklist. Review before acting.
Local mode
Switch to whisper.cpp and audio never leaves your machine. No API key required, no network, no usage limits.
Cloud speed or local privacy
Switch backends any time from the plugin settings. You can use cloud for quick recordings and local for sensitive interviews.
Whipscribe API
Default. No install beyond the plugin itself. Anonymous free tier works out of the box; an API key raises rate limits.
- Fastest — GPU-backed on our servers
- Speaker diarization included
- 99+ language auto-detection
- Free tier, no credit card required
whisper.cpp
Runs on your machine. Audio stays in your vault. Works offline on a plane. No usage caps once the model is downloaded.
- Fully air-gapped — no network egress
- No per-minute charges ever
- Metal-accelerated on Apple Silicon
- Pick model size: tiny → large-v3
Set up in under 5 minutes
The plugin is not yet in the Obsidian community marketplace — install manually from GitHub for now.
Clone the plugin into your vault
Replace ~/your-vault with your actual vault path:
cd ~/your-vault/.obsidian/plugins
git clone https://github.com/neugence/obsidian-whipscribe whipscribeBuild the plugin
cd whipscribe
npm install
npm run buildThis produces main.js — the file Obsidian loads.
Enable in Obsidian
Open Settings → Community plugins → Reload, then toggle WhipScribe on.
Bind your hotkey (optional)
Go to Settings → Hotkeys, search for "Start or stop recording", and assign a shortcut like Cmd+Shift+W.
Add an API key (optional but recommended)
Anonymous requests work on the free tier. An API key raises rate limits and links transcripts to your account.
Get your API key
Sign in at whipscribe.com/keys and copy your key.
Enter the key in plugin settings
Open Settings → WhipScribe, set backend to WhipScribe (cloud), and paste your key into API Key.
Run whisper.cpp offline
Audio never leaves your machine. Requires a one-time model download (~75 MB to 3 GB depending on your choice).
Install whisper.cpp
macOS (Homebrew):
brew install whisper-cppThis installs /opt/homebrew/bin/whisper-cli. Use Auto-detect in settings to find the binary automatically.
Download a model
| Model | Size | Speed | Quality |
|---|---|---|---|
| ggml-tiny.en.bin | 75 MB | Fastest | English only |
| ggml-base.en.bin | 140 MB | Fast | Recommended |
| ggml-small.en.bin | 465 MB | Medium | Great accuracy |
| ggml-medium.en.bin | 1.5 GB | Slower | Near cloud quality |
| ggml-large-v3.bin | 3 GB | Slowest | Multilingual, best |
mkdir -p ~/Models/whisper && cd ~/Models/whisper
curl -LO https://huggingface.co/ggerganov/whisper.cpp/resolve/main/ggml-base.en.binConfigure the plugin
In Settings → WhipScribe:
• Backend → whisper.cpp (local)
• Binary path → click Auto-detect or paste /opt/homebrew/bin/whisper-cli
• Model path → ~/Models/whisper/ggml-base.en.bin
• Language → auto or an ISO code like en
Four ways to insert transcripts
Choose your format in plugin settings. The setting applies to all new transcriptions.
## Transcription
*From meeting.m4a · 2026-04-24*
The Q3 roadmap review covered three items...**Speaker 1:** Let's start with the numbers.
**Speaker 2:** Sure. Revenue is up 18%...## Action Items
*From meeting.m4a*
- [ ] Send Q3 deck to team by Friday
- [ ] Book follow-up with design lead### 00:00
Intro and context setting...
### 02:00
Deep dive into roadmap priorities...Ready to transcribe in your vault?
Free to install. No account required for cloud. Fully local option available.
Get the plugin on GitHub →