Scriberr: self-hosted, offline audio transcription
Don’t want to install Scriberr? Drop the file here.
The first 20 minutes of any recording are transcribed free: a recording up to 20 minutes transcribes in full, a longer one is previewed, and a pack from $6 (500 minutes) transcribes the rest and opens every export, and credits never expire.
A self-hosted app for people who want their recordings to stay home: local models, speaker detection, chat over transcripts through Ollama, and a folder watcher.
Get Scriberr Official site & pricing
Scriberr is a self-hosted transcriber: Parakeet, Canary or Whisper on your own box, with speaker detection, word timing, a folder watcher and an API. MIT-licensed.
The author built it to avoid a voice recorder's transcription subscription. The trade is a server to run and a GPU to feed; the hosted trade is per-minute pricing with nothing to maintain.
What it is
Scriberr is an MIT-licensed, self-hosted transcription app (Go backend) that runs entirely on your own machine. It can use NVIDIA's Parakeet and Canary models or Whisper, returns word-level timing, detects and labels speakers, and lets you chat with or summarise a transcript through Ollama or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint. A folder watcher picks up new files automatically, there is an API, a built-in recorder and a PWA for phones. Install with Homebrew on macOS or Linux, or with Docker images for CPU and NVIDIA CUDA. The latest release is v1.2.0 (17 December 2025).
Watch out for: One maintainer, who paused development and has written that he is returning to it. Docker setup needs PUID/PGID and secure-cookie settings right; models run on your CPU or an NVIDIA GPU.
When you would rather not run the server
Scriberr suits a home server. If the recordings are on a laptop with no GPU, or there is a backlog to clear once, a hosted pass is faster to start.
- Drop the audio or video file into the box at the top of this page, or paste a link (YouTube, a podcast or RSS feed, Google Drive, Twitch or Kick). Nothing to install and no GPU needed.
- The language is detected automatically and the transcript stays in the language that was spoken (WhipScribe does not translate).
- Speakers are named in WhipScribe's summary, key quotes and chapters, and every transcript line carries its timestamp. Scriberr goes further and attributes the transcript text itself to speakers.
- Read the summary free. A pack from $6 (500 minutes) opens the full transcript and the downloads: TXT, DOCX, SRT, VTT and JSON. Packs are one-time purchases and credits never expire.
- Files can be up to 10 hours or 5 GB per file.
Related: Bulk transcription · Transcribe large files · SRT generator · WhisperX · Pricing
Install / use
brew tap rishikanthc/scriberr && brew install scriberrKey specs
What people actually do with Scriberr-style transcription
The tool is the means. These are the jobs — each one priced at published rates, each one wired up on its own page.
Features
| Speaker diarization | Yes |
| Word-level timestamps | Yes |
| Streaming / real-time | Not stated |
| Languages supported | — |
| HIPAA eligible | No |
Links
- github.com/rishikanthc/Scriberr ↗MIT · Go · v1.2.0 on 2025-12-17
- scriberr.app ↗website, docs and API reference
Scriberr vs Whipscribe
| Feature | Scriberr | Whipscribe |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Open source | Transcription APIs |
| Pricing | free | $6–$24 one-time packs (credits never expire) · first 20 minutes free |
| Speaker identification | Yes | Named in the summary, key quotes and chapters |
| Word timestamps | Yes | Yes |
| Streaming | No | No |
| Languages | — | 99 |
| Platforms | Docker, macOS, Linux | Web, API, MCP |
Alternatives to Scriberr
Frequently asked about Scriberr
Is Scriberr free?
Yes. Scriberr is MIT-licensed and free to self-host. You supply the hardware; an optional OpenAI API key is only needed if you choose OpenAI for chat or summaries.
Which models does Scriberr use?
NVIDIA Parakeet and Canary, or Whisper models, run locally through its managed Python environment. It returns word-level timing and detects speakers.
How do I install Scriberr?
On macOS or Linux: brew tap rishikanthc/scriberr, brew install scriberr, then run scriberr and open localhost:8080. Docker images exist for CPU and for NVIDIA GPUs (CUDA).
Is Scriberr still being developed?
Its maintainer paused work in 2025 and has since written in the README that the project is not abandoned and that development is restarting. The latest release is v1.2.0 from 17 December 2025.
Can Scriberr watch a folder?
Yes. Its Folder Watcher processes new files dropped into a folder, which suits voice recorders that sync to a computer. WhipScribe's equivalent is a pasted Google Drive link or the API.
What is Scriberr?
Scriberr is a self-hosted transcriber: Parakeet, Canary or Whisper on your own box, with speaker detection, word timing, a folder watcher and an API. MIT-licensed.
Does Scriberr work on Mac, Windows and Linux?
Scriberr runs on Docker, macOS and Linux.
Does Scriberr identify different speakers?
Yes — Scriberr has speaker diarization, so a two-person interview comes back with each speaker labelled.
Does Scriberr give word-level timestamps?
Yes — Scriberr produces timing per word, which is what subtitle cues and clip boundaries need.
Is Scriberr HIPAA compliant?
Scriberr does not claim HIPAA compliance. For PHI, run it on infrastructure you control or choose a service that will sign a BAA.
What are the limitations of Scriberr?
One maintainer, who paused development and has written that he is returning to it. Docker setup needs PUID/PGID and secure-cookie settings right; models run on your CPU or an NVIDIA GPU.
Who is Scriberr best for?
Self-hosters with voice-recorder or meeting audio who refuse cloud processing and are happy to run Docker or Homebrew.
What should I know before choosing Scriberr?
The author built it to avoid a voice recorder's transcription subscription. The trade is a server to run and a GPU to feed; the hosted trade is per-minute pricing with nothing to maintain.
Does Scriberr run offline?
Scriberr runs on your own machine — it is open source, so nothing leaves the computer unless you configure it to.
Can I use Scriberr in the browser?
No — Scriberr is a Docker, macOS and Linux application, not a web app. You install it rather than sign in to it.
Whipscribe is a hosted transcription service. If you want transcripts without running infrastructure, paste a URL or drop a file in the form below — you'll have a transcript in seconds.
Transcribe your recordings
Running Scriberr yourself? Send the same file here and compare the transcript. Transcribe any language, any recording · Transcription services from $0.29 an hour · Transcribe from any meeting or recording platform · How to transcribe, step by step
Explore
All transcription tools · By language · By platform · By file format · How-to guides · Transcription services · Transcription API · Pricing
Long recording to get through?
One file up to 10 hours, as an upload or a link: see transcribing a long MP3 or M4A, a podcast episode as text from its link and the SRT generator.
Looking at paid options?
Before you choose a transcription tool or service: see an honest roundup of the best transcription services, cheap transcription services and the real cost per hour and our transcription service with prices and turnaround.