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Is Parakeet Mlx Transcribe free to use?

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ikatkov (@ikatkov) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Parakeet Mlx Transcribe by ikatkov — Agent Skill

Name: Parakeet Mlx Transcribe
Author: ikatkov

Parakeet Mlx Transcribe

Transcribe local audio and video media into text/subtitles using the parakeet-mlx CLI. Use only on macOS hosts where parakeet-mlx is installed and available on PATH. Use when requests mention transcription, subtitles, captions, timestamps, SRT/VTT/JSON output, or converting spoken content from files such as mp3, wav, m4a, mp4, mov, or mkv. Do not use on non-macOS systems or when parakeet-mlx is unavailable.

ikatkov Updated Sep 17, 2026

File contents

Parakeet MLX Transcribe

Overview

Use parakeet-mlx to transcribe media files and generate txt, srt, vtt, or json outputs on macOS systems with parakeet-mlx installed. For video inputs, extract audio with ffmpeg first, then transcribe the extracted audio.

Execution Context

Before using this skill, verify the host is macOS and the CLI is installed:

test "$(uname -s)" = "Darwin"
command -v parakeet-mlx

If either check fails, do not use this skill. Tell the user that parakeet-mlx transcription requires macOS with parakeet-mlx installed.

Run parakeet-mlx in an environment with access to MLX/Metal. Restricted agent sandboxes may block device initialization even when the same command works in a normal terminal session.

Workflow

Confirm input files exist and are readable.
Confirm the host is macOS and parakeet-mlx is installed.
If the input is video, extract audio first with ffmpeg.
Run parakeet-mlx with explicit output format and output directory.
Return output file paths and summarize what was generated.

Quick Start

Transcribe a single audio file:

parakeet-mlx input.wav --output-dir ./transcripts --output-format srt

Transcribe and produce all formats:

parakeet-mlx input.m4a --output-dir ./transcripts --output-format all

Transcribe with word highlighting in subtitles:

parakeet-mlx input.wav --output-dir ./transcripts --output-format srt --highlight-words

Video Input Handling

Extract mono 16k WAV, then transcribe:

ffmpeg -y -i input.mp4 -vn -ac 1 -ar 16000 ./tmp/input.wav
parakeet-mlx ./tmp/input.wav --output-dir ./transcripts --output-format srt

Prefer scripts/transcribe_media.sh for repeatable handling of mixed audio/video inputs.

Decoding and Segmentation

Use decoding options only when needed:

Default: --decoding greedy
Higher quality but slower: --decoding beam --beam-size 5 --patience 3.5
Sentence splitting: --max-words, --silence-gap, --max-duration
Long files: tune --chunk-duration and --overlap-duration

Output and Naming

Set deterministic naming with --output-template:

parakeet-mlx input.wav \
  --output-dir ./transcripts \
  --output-format json \
  --output-template '{filename}_{date}_{index}'

Useful template variables: {filename}, {parent}, {date}, {index}.

Environment Variables

Use env vars for persistent defaults:

PARAKEET_MODEL
PARAKEET_OUTPUT_FORMAT
PARAKEET_OUTPUT_TEMPLATE
PARAKEET_DECODING
PARAKEET_CHUNK_DURATION
PARAKEET_OVERLAP_DURATION
PARAKEET_BEAM_SIZE
PARAKEET_LENGTH_PENALTY
PARAKEET_PATIENCE
PARAKEET_DURATION_REWARD
PARAKEET_MAX_WORDS
PARAKEET_SILENCE_GAP
PARAKEET_MAX_DURATION
PARAKEET_FP32
PARAKEET_LOCAL_ATTENTION
PARAKEET_LOCAL_ATTENTION_CTX
PARAKEET_CACHE_DIR

Troubleshooting

If parakeet-mlx --help crashes with MLX/Metal initialization errors, rerun in a normal macOS terminal session with active GPU access.
If transcription fails for video files, check ffmpeg availability and confirm audio extraction succeeded.
If model download fails, set --cache-dir or PARAKEET_CACHE_DIR to a writable path.

Resources

Use scripts/transcribe_media.sh for one-command transcription of audio/video files.
Read references/cli-options.md for the complete option map used by this skill.

---name: parakeet-mlx-transcribedescription: Transcribe local audio and video media into text/subtitles using the parakeet-mlx CLI. Use only on macOS hosts where parakeet-mlx is installed and available on PATH. Use when requests mention transcription, subtitles, captions, timestamps, SRT/VTT/JSON output, or converting spoken content from files such as mp3, wav, m4a, mp4, mov, or mkv. Do not use on non-macOS systems or when parakeet-mlx is unavailable.---# Parakeet MLX Transcribe## OverviewUse `parakeet-mlx` to transcribe media files and generate `txt`, `srt`, `vtt`, or `json` outputs on macOS systems with `parakeet-mlx` installed. For video inputs, extract audio with `ffmpeg` first, then transcribe the extracted audio.## Execution ContextBefore using this skill, verify the host is macOS and the CLI is installed:```bashtest "$(uname -s)" = "Darwin"command -v parakeet-mlx```If either check fails, do not use this skill. Tell the user that `parakeet-mlx` transcription requires macOS with `parakeet-mlx` installed.Run `parakeet-mlx` in an environment with access to MLX/Metal. Restricted agent sandboxes may block device initialization even when the same command works in a normal terminal session.## Workflow1. Confirm input files exist and are readable.2. Confirm the host is macOS and `parakeet-mlx` is installed.3. If the input is video, extract audio first with `ffmpeg`.4. Run `parakeet-mlx` with explicit output format and output directory.5. Return output file paths and summarize what was generated.## Quick StartTranscribe a single audio file:```bashparakeet-mlx input.wav --output-dir ./transcripts --output-format srt```Transcribe and produce all formats:```bashparakeet-mlx input.m4a --output-dir ./transcripts --output-format all```Transcribe with word highlighting in subtitles:```bashparakeet-mlx input.wav --output-dir ./transcripts --output-format srt --highlight-words```## Video Input HandlingExtract mono 16k WAV, then transcribe:```bashffmpeg -y -i input.mp4 -vn -ac 1 -ar 16000 ./tmp/input.wavparakeet-mlx ./tmp/input.wav --output-dir ./transcripts --output-format srt```Prefer `scripts/transcribe_media.sh` for repeatable handling of mixed audio/video inputs.## Decoding and SegmentationUse decoding options only when needed:- Default: `--decoding greedy`- Higher quality but slower: `--decoding beam --beam-size 5 --patience 3.5`- Sentence splitting: `--max-words`, `--silence-gap`, `--max-duration`- Long files: tune `--chunk-duration` and `--overlap-duration`## Output and NamingSet deterministic naming with `--output-template`:```bashparakeet-mlx input.wav \ --output-dir ./transcripts \ --output-format json \ --output-template '{filename}_{date}_{index}'```Useful template variables: `{filename}`, `{parent}`, `{date}`, `{index}`.## Environment VariablesUse env vars for persistent defaults:- `PARAKEET_MODEL`- `PARAKEET_OUTPUT_FORMAT`- `PARAKEET_OUTPUT_TEMPLATE`- `PARAKEET_DECODING`- `PARAKEET_CHUNK_DURATION`- `PARAKEET_OVERLAP_DURATION`- `PARAKEET_BEAM_SIZE`- `PARAKEET_LENGTH_PENALTY`- `PARAKEET_PATIENCE`- `PARAKEET_DURATION_REWARD`- `PARAKEET_MAX_WORDS`- `PARAKEET_SILENCE_GAP`- `PARAKEET_MAX_DURATION`- `PARAKEET_FP32`- `PARAKEET_LOCAL_ATTENTION`- `PARAKEET_LOCAL_ATTENTION_CTX`- `PARAKEET_CACHE_DIR`## Troubleshooting- If `parakeet-mlx --help` crashes with MLX/Metal initialization errors, rerun in a normal macOS terminal session with active GPU access.- If transcription fails for video files, check `ffmpeg` availability and confirm audio extraction succeeded.- If model download fails, set `--cache-dir` or `PARAKEET_CACHE_DIR` to a writable path.## Resources- Use `scripts/transcribe_media.sh` for one-command transcription of audio/video files.- Read `references/cli-options.md` for the complete option map used by this skill.

Frequently asked questions