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Steno transcribes recordings entirely on your Mac — no audio is sent to any server. There are two transcription engines: Parakeet, the default, and Whisper, an optional alternate you can switch to in Settings.

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The two engines

Parakeet is the default on new installs. It runs via MLX on Apple Silicon and shows a live transcript as you record. Whisper is a single model, large-v3-turbo. Choose it in Settings → Transcribe when you need a language Parakeet does not cover. Whisper recordings are transcribed only after you stop the recording. Both engines run 100% on-device.

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How to change engines

  1. Open Settings in Steno
  2. Select Transcribe
  3. Choose Parakeet or Whisper
  4. If the engine’s model is not yet downloaded, Steno will prompt you to download it
The engine is applied to all future recordings. Existing recordings are not re-transcribed automatically — transcription only runs once, when the recording is first processed.

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Speed

Transcription runs on-device and is fast on Apple Silicon. Parakeet additionally shows a live transcript while you record, so notes are ready shortly after you stop. Whisper transcribes after the recording ends rather than during it.

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Language support

Language coverage depends on the engine you choose.
  • Parakeet (default) transcribes 25 European languages, including English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Russian, and Polish. A curated subset of six (English, French, German, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese) can be pinned as the summary output language.
  • Whisper (optional) covers the full set of 99 languages, auto-detected. Switch to Whisper for Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Hindi, Arabic, and any language outside Parakeet’s set.
Steno auto-detects the language from the audio — you do not need to configure this manually.

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Accuracy tips

  • Record in a quiet environment — background noise is the biggest accuracy factor
  • Use system audio capture — capturing both call sides is more accurate than microphone-only for virtual meetings
  • Switch to Whisper for non-European languages — Parakeet covers 25 European languages, including English; Whisper covers the full 99-language set
Start with Parakeet (the default). It runs on-device, shows a live transcript while you record, and covers 25 European languages, including English. Switch to Whisper in Settings → Transcribe if you need a language outside Parakeet’s set.
Yes. Change the engine in Settings → Transcribe — it applies to recordings from that point on. There is currently no way to re-transcribe an already-processed recording with a different engine; you can regenerate its summary, but not its transcript.
Yes. Parakeet covers 25 European languages, including English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese, Russian, and Polish. For other languages — including Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Hindi, and Arabic — switch to the Whisper engine, which covers all 99 languages.