ggerganov/whisper.cpp

The whisper.cpp repository provides a C and C++ port of OpenAI’s Whisper model.

github.com/ggerganov/whisper.cpp
ggerganov/whisper.cpp homepage screenshot

About ggerganov/whisper.cpp

whisper.cpp is an open source C and C++ port of OpenAI's Whisper automatic speech recognition model. It implements inference in plain C/C++ without dependencies, with core logic in whisper.h and whisper.cpp and supporting code from the ggml library. It provides a C-style API, mixed F16/F32 precision, integer quantization, and Voice Activity Detection (VAD).

It supports CPU-only inference and options for NVIDIA GPU, AMD ROCm, Vulkan, OpenVINO, and several NPUs, and is described as running fully offline on-device. Listed platforms include Mac OS, iOS, Android, Linux/FreeBSD, Windows, WebAssembly, Raspberry Pi, Java, and Docker. Use requires a Whisper model converted to ggml format, and the whisper-cli example accepts only 16-bit WAV files, so other audio must be converted first.

Key features

  • C/C++ port of Whisper for speech-to-text inference without dependencies
  • CPU-only inference with support for NVIDIA, AMD, Vulkan and other accelerators
  • Integer quantization of ggml models to use less memory and disk space
  • C-style API with core implementation in whisper.h and whisper.cpp
  • Includes Voice Activity Detection (VAD)
  • Offline on-device transcription on platforms including iOS, Android and Raspberry Pi
Best for: Developers who need to integrate offline Whisper transcription into apps on desktop, mobile, and embedded systems.
Good for
  • Open source implementation in plain C/C++ without dependencies
  • Runs fully offline on-device, demonstrated on iPhone 13 and Apple Silicon via Metal
  • Supports multiple operating systems and CPU, GPU, and NPU options
Watch out for
  • whisper-cli example works only with 16-bit WAV files, so other audio needs conversion
  • Requires Whisper models converted to ggml format before use
  • Larger models need substantial disk and memory, with large listed at 2.9 GiB disk and ~3.9 GB memory

ggerganov/whisper.cpp at a glance

Type
Open-source project
Pricing
Not confirmed. Check the site
Open source
Yes · Source code
Language
English
Last checked
Oct 5, 2026 · Online when checked
Listed
Oct 5, 2026

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ggerganov/whisper.cpp FAQ

What audio format does the whisper-cli example accept?
It currently runs only with 16-bit WAV files. Convert other input first, for example with: ffmpeg -i input.mp3 -ar 16000 -ac 1 -c:a pcm_s16le output.wav
How do I run a basic transcription?
Clone the repository, download a ggml-format model such as base.en with sh ./models/download-ggml-model.sh base.en, build with cmake, then run ./build/bin/whisper-cli -f samples/jfk.wav
How much disk and memory do the models use?
Listed usage is tiny: 75 MiB disk, ~273 MB memory; base: 142 MiB disk, ~388 MB memory; small: 466 MiB disk, ~852 MB memory; medium: 1.5 GiB disk, ~2.1 GB memory; large: 2.9 GiB disk, ~3.9 GB memory.
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