modbender Audio Transcriber
Overview
This skill enables fast audio transcription using Groq's Whisper API. Transcription happens in the cloud via Groq's infrastructure, providing significantly faster results than local Whisper models.
Quick Start
When a user sends an audio file or voice message:
- Ensure GROQ_API_KEY is set in environment
- Use the transcribe script:
scripts/transcribe.py /path/to/audio.ogg - Return the transcribed text to the user
Usage
Basic Transcription
export GROQ_API_KEY="your-key-here"
python3 /path/to/audio-transcriber/scripts/transcribe.py /path/to/audio.ogg
The script:
- Accepts any audio format (ogg, mp3, wav, m4a, etc.)
- Automatically converts to WAV (16kHz, mono) using ffmpeg (if available)
- Sends to Groq's Whisper API for transcription
- Outputs plain text to stdout
Supported Audio Formats
- Voice messages: OGG (Telegram, Signal, etc.)
- Common formats: MP3, WAV, M4A, FLAC, AAC
- Container formats: The script handles conversion automatically if ffmpeg is installed
- Without ffmpeg: Only WAV files are supported
Setup Requirements
The skill requires these to be configured:
1. Groq API Key
Get an API key from https://console.groq.com/
Set as environment variable:
export GROQ_API_KEY="your-key-here"
For persistent setting, add to your shell profile (~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc):
echo 'export GROQ_API_KEY="your-key-here"' >> ~/.zshrc
2. ffmpeg (recommended)
brew install ffmpeg
Without ffmpeg, only WAV files will work. ffmpeg is used to convert other formats to WAV before sending to Groq.
Resources
scripts/transcribe.py
Main transcription script that:
- Validates GROQ_API_KEY environment variable
- Checks for ffmpeg (optional but recommended)
- Converts audio to WAV format if needed
- Sends to Groq's Whisper API (whisper-large-v3 model)
- Extracts and outputs plain text
Run directly from command line or via exec tool.
Performance Notes
- Speed: Much faster than local Whisper (typically <1 second for short messages)
- Model: Uses whisper-large-v3 via Groq API (high accuracy)
- Latency: Cloud-based, depends on internet connection
- Cost: Groq offers free tier; check current pricing for usage limits
- Accuracy: Excellent for general speech; handles:
- Multiple accents and dialects
- Multiple speakers (moderately)
- Noisy environments
- Technical jargon
Troubleshooting
"GROQ_API_KEY environment variable not set"
export GROQ_API_KEY="your-key-here"
"ffmpeg not found"
brew install ffmpeg
API errors
- Check your Groq API key is valid
- Verify you have remaining quota on your Groq account
- Check internet connectivity
Security Note
Never commit the GROQ_API_KEY to version control. Use environment variables or a secure secrets manager.