whisper-windows-mcp

whisper-windows-mcp

A Windows-native MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that lets Claude Desktop transcribe audio files locally using whisper.cpp — no internet connection required, no data sent to the cloud.

Why does this exist?The popular whisper-mcp package was built for macOS and assumes a Unix environment. It does not work on Windows. This package was written specifically for Windows users who want the same local transcription functionality in Claude Desktop.

What you can do with it

Once installed, you can say things like this directly in Claude Desktop:

• "Transcribe C:\Users\Me\Downloads\meeting.mp3"
• "Transcribe this recording and summarise the key points"
• "Transcribe with timestamps so I can find specific moments"

Everything runs on your own machine. No audio ever leaves your computer.

Requirements

You need the following installed before proceeding. Each one is free.

Step 1 — Install whisper.cpp

1. Go to the whisper.cpp latest release
2. Download the file named whisper-bin-x64.zip (look for win and x64 in the filename)
3. Extract the ZIP and move the contents to C:\whisper\Release\ — create this folder if it doesn't exist

✅ You should now have C:\whisper\Release\whisper-cli.exe

Why this path? You can install whisper.cpp anywhere, but C:\whisper\Release\ matches the default config below and means less to edit later.

Step 2 — Download a Whisper model

The model is the AI that does the actual transcription. Click a link below to download directly:

Save the downloaded .bin file to C:\whisper\models\ — create this folder if it doesn't exist.

✅ You should now have something like C:\whisper\models\ggml-base.en.bin

Step 3 — Install Node.js

If you don't already have Node.js:

1. Go to nodejs.org and download the Windows Installer (.msi) — choose the LTS version
2. Run the installer and accept all defaults

✅ To verify, open Command Prompt and run node --version — you should see something like v20.x.x

Step 4 — Configure Claude Desktop

1. Open Claude Desktop → Settings → Developer → Edit Config
2. Add the following (or merge the mcpServers block if you already have other servers):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "whisper": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "whisper-windows-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "WHISPER_CLI_PATH": "C:\\whisper\\Release\\whisper-cli.exe",
        "WHISPER_MODEL": "C:\\whisper\\models\\ggml-base.en.bin"
      }
    }
  }
}

⚠️ Path format: In the JSON config, all backslashes must be doubled (\\). This is a JSON requirement. When typing paths into Claude in chat, use normal single backslashes.

3. If you downloaded a different model, update ggml-base.en.bin to match your filename
4. Save the file, fully quit Claude Desktop, and reopen it
5. Go to Settings → Developer — you should see whisper with a green running badge

Step 5 — Test it

In Claude Desktop, type:

"Can you check your whisper config?"

Claude will verify that whisper-cli.exe and your model file are both found. Then try:

"Please transcribe C:\Users\YourName\Downloads\recording.mp3"

Converting video files to audio

Whisper processes audio. If you have a video file (MP4, MKV, etc.) you may want to extract the audio first — audio-only files are much smaller and faster to process.

Tip: whisper.cpp may handle MP4 files directly if FFmpeg is installed. Try transcribing an MP4 first before converting.

Using VLC Media Player (free, recommended for beginners):

1. Download VLC if you don't have it
2. Open VLC → Media → Convert / Save
3. Click Add, select your video, then click Convert / Save
4. Under Profile, choose Audio - MP3
5. Set a destination filename and click Start

A 1-hour MP4 that might be 2–4 GB typically becomes a 50–100 MB MP3.

Using FFmpeg (command line, for advanced users):

ffmpeg -i "C:\path\to\video.mp4" -vn -ac 1 -ar 16000 "C:\path\to\output.wav"

Output formats

Transcription speed

Whisper runs on CPU by default. Rough estimates for a 1-hour recording:

GPU acceleration for AMD (ROCm) and NVIDIA (CUDA) on Windows is planned for a future update.

Full config example

If you have other MCP servers already configured:

{
  "preferences": {
    "coworkWebSearchEnabled": true
  },
  "mcpServers": {
    "whisper": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "whisper-windows-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "WHISPER_CLI_PATH": "C:\\whisper\\Release\\whisper-cli.exe",
        "WHISPER_MODEL": "C:\\whisper\\models\\ggml-base.en.bin"
      }
    }
  }
}

Config file location:

C:\Users\YourUsername\AppData\Roaming\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

The AppData folder is hidden by default. To show it: File Explorer → View → Show → Hidden items

Tested on

• Windows 10 Pro (10.0.19045)
• Windows 11 — untested, feedback welcome via Issues

Troubleshooting

See TROUBLESHOOTING.md for detailed solutions.

Quick checklist:

• Config paths use double backslashes (C:\\whisper\\...)
• whisper-cli.exe exists at the path specified
• The model .bin file exists at the path specified
• Claude Desktop was fully restarted after editing the config
• Whisper shows running in Settings → Developer

Roadmap

• SRT subtitle output
• Direct MP4/video file support via FFmpeg
• Translation to English from other languages
• AMD GPU acceleration (ROCm)
• NVIDIA GPU acceleration (CUDA)
• Speaker diarization (automatic speaker identification)

License

MIT — free to use, modify, and distribute.

Contributing

Pull requests welcome. GPU acceleration solutions for AMD or NVIDIA especially appreciated. Windows 11 feedback welcome via Issues.