How do I install the Whisper Local API skill?

Run npx skillmds add modbender/whisper-local-api in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Whisper Local API safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. Capability flags: executes scripts, makes network calls. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Whisper Local API?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Whisper Local API free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Whisper Local API?

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

Whisper Local API by modbender — Agent Skill

Name: Whisper Local API
Rating: 4.666666666666667 (3 reviews)
Author: modbender

Whisper Local API

Secure, offline, OpenAI-compatible local Whisper ASR endpoint for OpenClaw. Features faster-whisper (large-v3-turbo), built-in privacy with no cloud telemetry, low-RAM usage footprint, and high-accuracy speech-to-text transcription. Perfect for safe and private AI agent voice commands.

modbender ba9195c 5 files · 4.7 KB Updated Sep 9, 2026 12 repo stars

File contents

Whisper Local API - Secure & Private ASR

Deploy a privacy-first, 100% local speech-to-text service in a deterministic way. This allows OpenClaw to process audio transcriptions safely on your own hardware without ever contacting third-party cloud APIs.

Key SEO & Security Features

100% Offline & Private: Your voice data, commands, and transcriptions never leave your host system. Zero cloud dependencies.
Highly Accurate: Uses the large-v3-turbo model via faster-whisper, achieving state-of-the-art accuracy even with accents or background noise.
Memory Safe: Operates around ~400-500MB of RAM, making it extremely lightweight for VPS or low-resource edge servers.
OpenAI API Compatible: Exposes a strict /v1/audio/transcriptions endpoint mimicking OpenAI's JSON format. Compatible natively with any software that supports OpenAI's Whisper API.

Standard Workflow

Install/update runtime:
```
bash scripts/bootstrap.sh
```
Start service:
```
bash scripts/start.sh
```
Validate service health:
```
bash scripts/healthcheck.sh
```
(Optional) Run a smoke transcription test with a local audio file:
```
bash scripts/smoke-test.sh /path/to/test-speech.mp3
```

Repo Location

Default install/update path used by scripts:

~/whisper-local-api

Override with env var before running scripts:

WHISPER_DIR=/custom/path bash scripts/bootstrap.sh

OpenClaw Integration Notes

After the healthcheck passes, use the secure local endpoint:

URL: http://localhost:9000
Endpoint: /v1/audio/transcriptions

No authentication tokens are passed over the network.

Safety Rules

Ask before any package-manager operations.
The API securely binds locally to 0.0.0.0. If exposing to the public internet, deploy behind a secure reverse proxy (like Nginx) and enforce HTTPS + Basic Auth.
This service will safely auto-fallback memory allocation modes (float16 -> int8) to prevent CPU crashes.

---name: whisper-local-apidescription: Secure, offline, OpenAI-compatible local Whisper ASR endpoint for OpenClaw. Features faster-whisper (large-v3-turbo), built-in privacy with no cloud telemetry, low-RAM usage footprint, and high-accuracy speech-to-text transcription. Perfect for safe and private AI agent voice commands.--- # Whisper Local API - Secure & Private ASR Deploy a privacy-first, 100% local speech-to-text service in a deterministic way. This allows OpenClaw to process audio transcriptions safely on your own hardware without ever contacting third-party cloud APIs. ## Key SEO & Security Features * **100% Offline & Private:** Your voice data, commands, and transcriptions never leave your host system. Zero cloud dependencies. * **Highly Accurate:** Uses the `large-v3-turbo` model via `faster-whisper`, achieving state-of-the-art accuracy even with accents or background noise. * **Memory Safe:** Operates around ~400-500MB of RAM, making it extremely lightweight for VPS or low-resource edge servers. * **OpenAI API Compatible:** Exposes a strict `/v1/audio/transcriptions` endpoint mimicking OpenAI's JSON format. Compatible natively with any software that supports OpenAI's Whisper API. ## Standard Workflow 1. Install/update runtime: ```bash bash scripts/bootstrap.sh ``` 2. Start service: ```bash bash scripts/start.sh ``` 3. Validate service health: ```bash bash scripts/healthcheck.sh ``` 4. (Optional) Run a smoke transcription test with a local audio file: ```bash bash scripts/smoke-test.sh /path/to/test-speech.mp3 ``` ## Repo Location Default install/update path used by scripts: * `~/whisper-local-api` Override with env var before running scripts: ```bash WHISPER_DIR=/custom/path bash scripts/bootstrap.sh ``` ## OpenClaw Integration Notes After the healthcheck passes, use the secure local endpoint: * URL: `http://localhost:9000` * Endpoint: `/v1/audio/transcriptions` No authentication tokens are passed over the network. ## Safety Rules * Ask before any package-manager operations. * The API securely binds locally to `0.0.0.0`. If exposing to the public internet, deploy behind a secure reverse proxy (like Nginx) and enforce HTTPS + Basic Auth. * This service will safely auto-fallback memory allocation modes (`float16` -> `int8`) to prevent CPU crashes.

Frequently asked questions