Introducing OpenAI offloaded transcription

.env.example

@@ -10,6 +10,14 @@ OPENWEBUI_API_KEY=put_your_openwebui_api_key_here
 OPENWEBUI_KB_NAME=Homelab Library
 OPENWEBUI_KB_ID=your_kb_uuid_here
 
+# Transcription backend (local Whisper by default)
+TRANSCRIBE_BACKEND=local
+OPENAI_API_KEY=
+# Uncomment to customize OpenAI settings when offloading transcription
+# OPENAI_BASE_URL=https://api.openai.com/v1
+# OPENAI_TRANSCRIBE_MODEL=whisper-1
+# OPENAI_TRANSCRIBE_TIMEOUT=600
+
 # Docker volumes paths
 LIBRARY_HOST_DIR=/mnt/nfs/library
 TRANSCRIPTS_HOST_DIR=/mnt/nfs/transcripts
@@ -17,4 +25,4 @@ TRANSCRIPTS_HOST_DIR=/mnt/nfs/transcripts
 # TMP_HOST_DIR=./tmp
 # MODELS_HOST_DIR=./models
 # MEILI_DATA_HOST_DIR=./data/meili
-# REDIS_DATA_HOST_DIR=./data/redis
+# REDIS_DATA_HOST_DIR=./data/redis

README.md

@@ -33,6 +33,9 @@ Note: `.env.example` includes placeholders for both **Meili** and **OpenWebUI**
 - `WHISPER_MODEL`: Whisper model variant to use for transcription (e.g., `small`, `medium`, `large`).
 - `WHISPER_PRECISION`: Precision setting for Whisper inference (`float32` or `float16`).
 - `WHISPER_LANGUAGE`: Language code for Whisper to use during transcription (e.g., `en` for English).
+- `TRANSCRIBE_BACKEND` (default `local`): Set to `openai` to offload Whisper transcription to the OpenAI API instead of running locally.
+- `OPENAI_API_KEY`: Required when `TRANSCRIBE_BACKEND=openai`; API key used for authenticated requests.
+- `OPENAI_BASE_URL`, `OPENAI_TRANSCRIBE_MODEL`, `OPENAI_TRANSCRIBE_TIMEOUT`: Optional overrides for the OpenAI transcription endpoint, model and request timeout.
 - `YTDLP_COOKIES`: Path to YouTube-DL cookies file for accessing age-restricted or private videos.
 - `OPENWEBUI_URL`: Base URL of the OpenWebUI API (default depends on platform).
 - `OPENWEBUI_API_KEY`: API key for authenticating PodX workers with OpenWebUI.

app/worker.py

@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import os, subprocess, shutil, json, re, orjson, requests, unicodedata
+from types import SimpleNamespace
 from rq import Queue
 from redis import Redis
 from pathlib import Path
@@ -105,6 +106,13 @@ OFFLOAD_TRANSCRIBE = os.getenv("OFFLOAD_TRANSCRIBE", "1").lower() not in ("0", "
 WORKER_MODE = os.getenv("WORKER_MODE", "all").strip().lower()  # 'all' or 'transcribe'
 JOB_QUEUES = [q.strip() for q in os.getenv("JOB_QUEUES", "default").split(",") if q.strip()]
 
+# Remote transcription (OpenAI) configuration
+TRANSCRIBE_BACKEND = os.getenv("TRANSCRIBE_BACKEND", "local").strip().lower()
+OPENAI_API_KEY = (os.getenv("OPENAI_API_KEY", "") or "").strip()
+OPENAI_BASE_URL = (os.getenv("OPENAI_BASE_URL", "https://api.openai.com/v1") or "https://api.openai.com/v1").rstrip("/")
+OPENAI_TRANSCRIBE_MODEL = os.getenv("OPENAI_TRANSCRIBE_MODEL", "whisper-1").strip()
+OPENAI_TRANSCRIBE_TIMEOUT = int(os.getenv("OPENAI_TRANSCRIBE_TIMEOUT", "600"))
+
 def _mode_allows(task: str) -> bool:
     """Gate tasks by worker role. In 'transcribe' mode only allow transcription of local files
     (including indexing and OWUI publish). "task" is one of: 'download','web','local','transcribe'."""
@@ -171,6 +179,73 @@ def run_transcribe_with_fallback(wav_path: Path, lang):
                 raise
         raise
 
+
+def run_transcribe_openai(wav_path: Path, lang_hint: str | None):
+    """Transcribe audio via OpenAI's Whisper API, returning (segments, info, raw_payload)."""
+    if not OPENAI_API_KEY:
+        raise RuntimeError("OPENAI_API_KEY must be set when TRANSCRIBE_BACKEND is 'openai'")
+
+    url = f"{OPENAI_BASE_URL}/audio/transcriptions"
+    headers = {"Authorization": f"Bearer {OPENAI_API_KEY}"}
+    data: dict[str, str] = {
+        "model": OPENAI_TRANSCRIBE_MODEL or "whisper-1",
+        "response_format": "verbose_json",
+    }
+    if lang_hint:
+        data["language"] = lang_hint
+
+    start = time.time()
+    with open(wav_path, "rb") as fh:
+        files = {"file": (wav_path.name, fh, "audio/wav")}
+        resp = requests.post(
+            url,
+            headers=headers,
+            data=data,
+            files=files,
+            timeout=OPENAI_TRANSCRIBE_TIMEOUT,
+        )
+    elapsed = time.time() - start
+
+    try:
+        resp.raise_for_status()
+    except requests.HTTPError as exc:
+        print(f"[openai] transcription failed ({exc}); response={resp.text[:400]}", flush=True)
+        raise
+
+    payload = resp.json()
+    segments_raw = payload.get("segments") or []
+
+    seg_objs: list[SimpleNamespace] = []
+    for seg in segments_raw:
+        seg_objs.append(
+            SimpleNamespace(
+                start=float(seg.get("start") or 0.0),
+                end=float(seg.get("end") or 0.0),
+                text=str(seg.get("text") or ""),
+            )
+        )
+
+    if not seg_objs and payload.get("text"):
+        duration = float(payload.get("duration") or 0.0)
+        seg_objs.append(
+            SimpleNamespace(
+                start=0.0,
+                end=duration,
+                text=str(payload.get("text") or ""),
+            )
+        )
+
+    language = payload.get("language") or lang_hint or ""
+    info = SimpleNamespace(language=language)
+
+    print(
+        f"[openai] transcribed {wav_path.name} via {OPENAI_TRANSCRIBE_MODEL or 'whisper-1'} "
+        f"in {elapsed:.1f}s; segments={len(seg_objs)} lang={language or 'unknown'}",
+        flush=True,
+    )
+
+    return seg_objs, info, payload
+
 def log(feed):
     try:
         with open(TRN / "_feed.log", "a", encoding="utf-8") as f:
@@ -908,7 +983,8 @@ def _save_partial(title: str, language: str, segs: list[dict]):
         print(f"[whisper] partial txt save failed: {e}", flush=True)
 
 def transcribe(media_path: Path):
-    print(f"[whisper] start transcribe: {media_path}", flush=True)
+    backend = TRANSCRIBE_BACKEND
+    print(f"[transcribe] start backend={backend}: {media_path}", flush=True)
     # If paused, abort before any heavy work (no ffmpeg, no model load)
     if transcribe_paused():
         print(f"[pause] transcribe: pause active before heavy work; aborting {media_path}", flush=True)
@@ -927,12 +1003,13 @@ def transcribe(media_path: Path):
 
     title = media_path.stem
     base = TRN / title
+    resume_enabled = (backend != "openai") and WHISPER_RESUME
 
     # Resume support: if a partial checkpoint exists, load it and trim input
     resume_segments = []
     resume_offset = 0.0
     language_hint = None
-    if WHISPER_RESUME:
+    if resume_enabled:
         pjson, ptxt = _partial_paths(title)
         if pjson.exists():
             try:
@@ -946,7 +1023,10 @@ def transcribe(media_path: Path):
                 print(f"[whisper] failed to load partial: {e}", flush=True)
 
     # If resuming, trim WAV from last end time
-    wav_for_run = trim_wav(wav, resume_offset, TMP)
+    if resume_enabled and resume_offset > 0.0:
+        wav_for_run = trim_wav(wav, resume_offset, TMP)
+    else:
+        wav_for_run = wav
 
     # 2) Language selection
     lang = None if WHISPER_LANGUAGE.lower() == "auto" else WHISPER_LANGUAGE
@@ -954,14 +1034,18 @@ def transcribe(media_path: Path):
         # carry hint forward if available
         lang = language_hint
 
-    # 3) Transcribe
+    # 3) Transcribe (local Whisper or OpenAI backend)
-    segments, info = run_transcribe_with_fallback(wav_for_run, lang)
+    payload = None
+    if backend == "openai":
+        segments, info, payload = run_transcribe_openai(wav_for_run, lang)
+    else:
+        segments, info = run_transcribe_with_fallback(wav_for_run, lang)
 
     # Determine duration for progress; use full WAV duration for consistent % regardless of resume
     dur = media_duration_seconds(wav) or 0.0
     # Start wall clock timer for speed/ETA
     start_wall = time.time()
-    if WHISPER_RESUME and resume_offset and dur and resume_offset >= dur:
+    if resume_enabled and resume_offset and dur and resume_offset >= dur:
         print(f"[whisper] resume offset {resume_offset:.2f}s >= duration {dur:.2f}s; resetting resume.", flush=True)
         resume_offset = 0.0
     last_pct = -1
@@ -981,7 +1065,7 @@ def transcribe(media_path: Path):
         text_parts.append(s.text)
 
         # --- Cooperative pause: save checkpoint and abort as soon as pause is requested ---
-        if transcribe_paused():
+        if resume_enabled and transcribe_paused():
             try:
                 pct = int(min(100, max(0, (end / dur) * 100))) if dur > 0 else 0
             except Exception:
@@ -1037,7 +1121,7 @@ def transcribe(media_path: Path):
 
         # periodic partial save
         seg_count_since_save += 1
-        if WHISPER_RESUME and seg_count_since_save >= PARTIAL_SAVE_EVERY_SEGS:
+        if resume_enabled and seg_count_since_save >= PARTIAL_SAVE_EVERY_SEGS:
             _save_partial(title, info.language or (WHISPER_LANGUAGE if WHISPER_LANGUAGE.lower() != "auto" else "en"), segs)
             seg_count_since_save = 0
 
@@ -1109,7 +1193,7 @@ def transcribe(media_path: Path):
         pass
 
     # Remove partial checkpoints on success
-    if WHISPER_RESUME:
+    if resume_enabled:
         try:
             pjson, ptxt = _partial_paths(title)
             if pjson.exists(): pjson.unlink()
@@ -1124,7 +1208,10 @@ def transcribe(media_path: Path):
         print(f"[whisper] avg speed ~{avg_rtf:0.2f}x (audio_seconds / wall_seconds)", flush=True)
     except Exception:
         pass
-    print(f"[whisper] finished: {media_path}  lang={info.language}  segments={len(segs)}  dur={dur:.2f}s", flush=True)
+    print(
+        f"[transcribe] backend={backend} finished: {media_path}  lang={info.language}  segments={len(segs)}  dur={dur:.2f}s",
+        flush=True,
+    )
     return base
 
 
@@ -1776,4 +1863,4 @@ def handle_url(url: str):
             log({**info, **{"status":"done"}})
     except Exception as e:
         log({"url": url, "status":"error", "error": str(e)})
-        raise
+        raise

docker-compose.yml

@@ -11,6 +11,11 @@ services:
       TMP_ROOT: /tmpdl
       WHISPER_MODEL: large-v3
       WHISPER_PRECISION: int8
+      TRANSCRIBE_BACKEND: ${TRANSCRIBE_BACKEND:-local}
+      OPENAI_API_KEY: ${OPENAI_API_KEY:-}
+      OPENAI_BASE_URL: ${OPENAI_BASE_URL:-https://api.openai.com/v1}
+      OPENAI_TRANSCRIBE_MODEL: ${OPENAI_TRANSCRIBE_MODEL:-whisper-1}
+      OPENAI_TRANSCRIBE_TIMEOUT: ${OPENAI_TRANSCRIBE_TIMEOUT:-600}
       OPENWEBUI_URL: ${OPENWEBUI_CONTAINER_URL:-http://open-webui:8080}
       OPENWEBUI_API_KEY: ${OPENWEBUI_API_KEY}
       OPENWEBUI_KB_NAME: ${OPENWEBUI_KB_NAME:-Homelab Library}
@@ -49,6 +54,11 @@ services:
       WHISPER_LOG_SEGMENTS: ${WHISPER_LOG_SEGMENTS:-1}
       WHISPER_RESUME: ${WHISPER_RESUME:-1}
       WHISPER_PARTIAL_SAVE_EVERY_SEGS: ${WHISPER_PARTIAL_SAVE_EVERY_SEGS:-20}
+      TRANSCRIBE_BACKEND: ${TRANSCRIBE_BACKEND:-local}
+      OPENAI_API_KEY: ${OPENAI_API_KEY:-}
+      OPENAI_BASE_URL: ${OPENAI_BASE_URL:-https://api.openai.com/v1}
+      OPENAI_TRANSCRIBE_MODEL: ${OPENAI_TRANSCRIBE_MODEL:-whisper-1}
+      OPENAI_TRANSCRIBE_TIMEOUT: ${OPENAI_TRANSCRIBE_TIMEOUT:-600}
       WORKER_MODE: all
       OPENWEBUI_URL: ${OPENWEBUI_CONTAINER_URL:-http://open-webui:8080}
       OPENWEBUI_API_KEY: ${OPENWEBUI_API_KEY}
@@ -89,6 +99,11 @@ services:
       WHISPER_LOG_SEGMENTS: ${WHISPER_LOG_SEGMENTS:-1}
       WHISPER_RESUME: ${WHISPER_RESUME:-1}
       WHISPER_PARTIAL_SAVE_EVERY_SEGS: ${WHISPER_PARTIAL_SAVE_EVERY_SEGS:-20}
+      TRANSCRIBE_BACKEND: ${TRANSCRIBE_BACKEND:-local}
+      OPENAI_API_KEY: ${OPENAI_API_KEY:-}
+      OPENAI_BASE_URL: ${OPENAI_BASE_URL:-https://api.openai.com/v1}
+      OPENAI_TRANSCRIBE_MODEL: ${OPENAI_TRANSCRIBE_MODEL:-whisper-1}
+      OPENAI_TRANSCRIBE_TIMEOUT: ${OPENAI_TRANSCRIBE_TIMEOUT:-600}
       WORKER_MODE: transcribe
       OPENWEBUI_URL: ${OPENWEBUI_CONTAINER_URL:-http://open-webui:8080}
       OPENWEBUI_API_KEY: ${OPENWEBUI_API_KEY}