Troubleshooting: Whisper Local Stops Transcribing¶

TL;DR - Quick Fix¶

If you hear the beeps but no text appears:

sh nano ~/Scripts/stop_whisper_simple.sh

Comment out line 3: # export HF_HUB_OFFLINE=1

Save, run one transcription (takes 1-2 minutes), then uncomment line 3 and save again.

Common Cause¶

BleachBit or similar cleanup tools delete Whisper model files from ~/.cache/huggingface/. With offline mode enabled, Whisper can't re-download the model and hangs silently during transcription.

Step-by-Step Fix¶

Step 1: Verify the problem¶

sh ~/Scripts/start_whisper_simple.sh

Speak for 5 seconds, then:

sh ~/Scripts/stop_whisper_simple.sh

If it shows "Transcribing..." and hangs (nothing happens), continue to Step 2.

Step 2: Temporarily allow online access¶

sh nano ~/Scripts/stop_whisper_simple.sh

Find line 3: sh export HF_HUB_OFFLINE=1

Add # at the beginning: ```sh

export HF_HUB_OFFLINE=1¶

```

Save (Ctrl+X, Y, Enter).

Step 3: Re-download the model¶

sh ~/Scripts/start_whisper_simple.sh

Speak for 5 seconds, then:

sh ~/Scripts/stop_whisper_simple.sh

This will download the base model (~150 MB). Takes 1-2 minutes. Wait for transcription to complete.

Step 4: Re-enable offline mode¶

sh nano ~/Scripts/stop_whisper_simple.sh

Remove the # from line 3: sh export HF_HUB_OFFLINE=1

Save (Ctrl+X, Y, Enter).

Step 5: Test¶

Press Ctrl+Alt+Q, speak, press Ctrl+Alt+Z. Transcription should be fast (2-3 seconds).

Prevention¶

Configure BleachBit to exclude: ~/.cache/huggingface/ from cleaning

OR

Accept: Re-downloading model (~150 MB) after each BleachBit run using steps above.