Your meetings, transcribed locally.

trnscrb lives in your menu bar, detects meetings automatically, and transcribes with Whisper — on device, no cloud. Every transcript is instantly searchable from Claude Desktop.

Install

Homebrew

brew tap ajayrmk/tap
brew install trnscrb
trnscrb install

Python

pip install trnscrb && trnscrb install
# or
uv tool install trnscrb && trnscrb install

trnscrb install handles BlackHole, HuggingFace token, Whisper model, Claude Desktop MCP config, and launch-at-login.

How it works

  1. Auto-detects your meeting
    Mic active for 5 s + Google Meet, Zoom, Slack, Teams, or FaceTime running.
  2. Records locally
    Captures mic only, or mic + system audio via BlackHole virtual driver.
  3. Transcribes on-device
    Whisper small model runs on Apple Silicon Metal. No internet required.
  4. Saved to Claude Desktop
    Plain .txt in ~/meeting-notes/, searchable via MCP tools.

MCP tools

Tool Description
start_recording Start capturing audio
stop_recording Stop and transcribe in background
recording_status Check if recording or transcribing
get_last_transcript Fetch the most recent transcript
list_transcripts List all saved meetings
get_transcript Read a specific transcript
get_calendar_context Current or upcoming calendar event
enrich_transcript Add summary + action items via Claude API

FAQ

Does it need an internet connection?
No. Recording and transcription are fully offline. The only exception is trnscrb enrich, which sends transcript text to the Claude API to generate a summary and action items.

Which meeting apps are detected?
Google Meet, Zoom, Slack Huddle, Microsoft Teams, and FaceTime. Detection uses mic activity + process presence, so it also works if you join via browser.

Do I need a HuggingFace account?
Only for speaker labels (SPEAKER_00, SPEAKER_01 etc.). It's a free account — trnscrb install walks you through it. Without it, transcription still works, just without speaker separation.

What is BlackHole and do I need it?
BlackHole is a free virtual audio driver that lets trnscrb capture system audio alongside your mic — meaning you record both your voice and the other participants. Without it, only your mic is recorded. trnscrb install sets it up automatically.

Does it work on Intel Macs?
Yes, but Whisper won't use Metal acceleration so transcription will be slower. Apple Silicon (M1 and later) is recommended.

Where are transcripts stored?
Plain .txt files in ~/meeting-notes/. No database, no proprietary format — you own your data.

Is my audio or transcript data sent anywhere?
Never, unless you explicitly run trnscrb enrich. Audio is processed locally and deleted after transcription. Transcripts stay on your machine.