whisper.cpp
Port of OpenAI's Whisper model in C/C++
Runssource: GitHubC++MITcommit d09f61a708f3
C++, MIT licensed. The project labels itself: inference, openai, speech recognition, speech to text, transformer and whisper.
whisper.cpp runs. An Argusic agent installed it in 4 minutes and hit no errors on a clean machine with no GPU, and the whole session was recorded.
whisper.cpp builds from source via cmake, all 6 unit tests pass, whisper-cli transcribes speech to text with a real tiny.en model, and whisper-server starts and binds to a TCP port.
What the agent ended up with on a clean machine, in its own words. How this is measured
Measured by Argusic on a fresh machine every time. Every number links to its evidence. Argusic Score 100 of 100 (the mean of this project's run scores).
At a glance
Subject data from GitHub, linked at the top of this page, refreshed . Test data by Argusic (CC BY 4.0); every number links to a run page with the full log, the recording, and their sha256 hashes.
What was measured
From the run that decided this verdict. Every line is a recorded value, not an estimate.
- Install time
- 4 minutes
- Cold machine to finish
- 5 minutes
- Errors hit and fixed
- 0 hit, 0 fixed with no human help
- How the result was proved
- cd /work/repo && ./build/bin/whisper-cli -m models/ggml-tiny.en.bin -f samples/jfk.wav produced correct transcription: 'And so my fellow Americans ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.' Also verified: test-common-utf8 (exit 0), test-whisper-zero-samples (exit 0), test-whisper-buffer-loader (exit 0), test-whisper-lang-detect-abort (exit 0), test-vad (exit 0), test-parakeet (exit 0), whisper-vad-speech-segments (4 speech segments detected), whisper-server (listened on 127.0.0.1:8177).
- Model tokens used
- 127,955
- Exact commit tested
- d09f61a708f3
- Container image
- sha256:cdd920bce783
What was not measured
The other half, so you can see exactly how far this evidence goes. A gap is printed as a gap and never filled in.
- Peak GPU memory
- this ran on a CPU machine, so there was no GPU to sample
- Behaviour over a long run
- each attempt uses the smallest documented settings and a fixed time budget, so this measures whether it runs, not how it holds up under load
The end of the recording
The last lines of the terminal session that decided this verdict, exactly as they were recorded.
All tests passed. Let me compute the elapsed time since start. exec /bin/sh -lc 'echo "Build started at: $(date -d '"'now - 10 minutes' '+%s')\" ; echo \"Now: "'$(date… succeeded in 0ms: Build started at: 1790320297 Now: 1790320897 All tests passed with exit code 0. Let me compile the final report. The project builds cleanly, all unit tests pass, and the real transcription pipeline works end-to-e… tokens used 127,955 All tests passed with exit code 0. Let me compile the final report. The project builds cleanly, all unit tests pass, and the real transcription pipeline works end-to-e…
Replay the whole session, every command from a clean machine to this point.
How it was tested
One agent, one container, no human help. It installs the project the way its own documentation says to, runs it, and fixes what breaks. Everything below is recorded as it happened: the terminal session, the log and the exact commit. The full method.
Strengths and limits
Measured facts, not opinions. How this is written.
What went well
- Reached a running state on a clean machine, with the session recorded.
- Installed in 4 minutes.
- Nothing broke on the way: zero errors between clone and running.
- Ran without a GPU, so it does not need one to start.
- Licensed MIT, as reported by its host.
What did not, or is not known
- Measured once so far. A single attempt shows it can run, not that it runs reliably.
What it is a reasonable choice for
- Trying it on a laptop or a small server: it reached a running state without a GPU.
- A quick evaluation: it was running 4 minutes after the clone.
- Following its own README: the documented path worked with nothing to fix.
Also tested, in the same area
Every one of these was installed and run by Argusic on a clean machine. Nothing appears here that was not tested.
Run history
Topics (from GitHub)
inferenceopenaispeech-recognitionspeech-to-texttransformerwhisper
Embed the badge
Markdown for the project README. It links back here; terms on the terms page.
[](https://argusic.com/subject/whisper-cpp)Questions
- Does whisper.cpp run?
- Yes. whisper.cpp runs. Argusic installed and launched it on a clean machine in 4 minutes, hitting 0 errors on the way, and recorded the session.
- How did Argusic test whisper.cpp?
- On a fresh, disposable machine, with every command recorded and the repository pinned at commit d09f61a708f3. One attempt is recorded, and the full method is on the methodology page.
- What did it cost to test whisper.cpp?
- The run that produced this verdict cost $0.03: real compute and model cost, not a list price per million tokens. It is recorded on that run's page.
- How long does whisper.cpp take to install?
- 4 minutes in the run that decided this verdict, from a clean machine to a running state. That is one measured attempt, not an average.
- Does whisper.cpp need a GPU?
- Not to start. Argusic reached a running state on a machine with no GPU.
- What goes wrong when installing whisper.cpp?
- Nothing did, in the recorded run: zero errors between clone and running.
- Where is the evidence for whisper.cpp?
- The recorded run is on this page, each linking to its full log and terminal recording, stored with a sha256 fingerprint so it cannot be quietly altered.