modbender Local STT (Parakeet / Whisper)
Unified local speech-to-text using ONNX Runtime with int8 quantization. Choose your backend:
- Parakeet (default): Best accuracy for English, correctly captures names and filler words
- Whisper: Fastest inference, supports 99 languages
Usage
# Default: Parakeet v2 (best English accuracy)
~/.openclaw/skills/local-stt/scripts/local-stt.py audio.ogg
# Explicit backend selection
~/.openclaw/skills/local-stt/scripts/local-stt.py audio.ogg -b whisper
~/.openclaw/skills/local-stt/scripts/local-stt.py audio.ogg -b parakeet -m v3
# Quiet mode (suppress progress)
~/.openclaw/skills/local-stt/scripts/local-stt.py audio.ogg --quiet
Options
-b/--backend:parakeet(default),whisper-m/--model: Model variant (see below)--no-int8: Disable int8 quantization-q/--quiet: Suppress progress--room-id: Matrix room ID for direct message
Models
Parakeet (default backend)
| Model | Description |
|---|---|
| v2 (default) | English only, best accuracy |
| v3 | Multilingual |
Whisper
| Model | Description |
|---|---|
| tiny | Fastest, lower accuracy |
| base (default) | Good balance |
| small | Better accuracy |
| large-v3-turbo | Best quality, slower |
Benchmark (24s audio)
| Backend/Model | Time | RTF | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whisper Base int8 | 0.43s | 0.018x | Fastest |
| Parakeet v2 int8 | 0.60s | 0.025x | Best accuracy |
| Parakeet v3 int8 | 0.63s | 0.026x | Multilingual |
openclaw.json
{
"tools": {
"media": {
"audio": {
"enabled": true,
"models": [
{
"type": "cli",
"command": "~/.openclaw/skills/local-stt/scripts/local-stt.py",
"args": ["--quiet", "{{MediaPath}}"],
"timeoutSeconds": 30
}
]
}
}
}
}