# SubtitleNEXT How-Tos

# Whisper.cpp Installation Guide

## Downloading whisper.cpp

### Download Pre-built Executable (Recommended)

1. Go to the whisper.cpp releases page: [https://github.com/ggerganov/whisper.cpp/releases](https://github.com/ggerganov/whisper.cpp/releases)
2. Download the latest version for Windows (look for files named like `whisper-bin-x64.zip` or `whisper-blas-bin-x64.zip` or similar)
3. Extract the ZIP file to your desired location (e.g., `C:\Program Files\whisper.cpp\`)

## Downloading Models

In order to use whisper.cpp you need to download models to be used by whisper.

### Where to Get Models

1. Go to the Hugging Face model repository: [https://huggingface.co/ggerganov/whisper.cpp](https://huggingface.co/ggerganov/whisper.cpp)
2. Look for models with `.bin` extension in the "**Files and versions**" tab

### Available Models (Recommended)

- **tiny**: `ggml-tiny.bin` (75 MB) - Fastest, lowest accuracy
- **base**: `ggml-base.bin` (142 MB) - Good balance
- **small**: `ggml-small.bin` (466 MB) - Better accuracy
- **medium**: `ggml-medium.bin` (1.5 GB) - High accuracy
- **large**: `ggml-large-v3.bin` (2.9 GB) - Highest accuracy

### Download Steps

1. Choose the model that fits your needs (start with `base` or `small` for testing)
2. Click the download button next to the `.bin` file
3. Save the model file to your models folder

## File Structure Setup

### Recommended Folder Structure

```
whisper.cpp/
├── whisper-cli.exe          (executable)
├── models/              (models folder)
   ├── ggml-tiny.bin
   ├── ggml-base.bin
   ├── ggml-small.bin
   └── ggml-medium.bin
```

### Installation Locations

- **Executable path**: `C:\Program Files\whisper.cpp\whisper-cli.exe`
- **Models folder**: `C:\Program Files\whisper.cpp\models\`

## Application Configuration

In SubtitleNEXT, go to O`ptions/Preferences`, `Speech to Text` page, add `Whisper (whisper.cpp)` and configure these paths (assuming the above file paths are used, else change with your actual paths):

### Executable

Set this to the location of `whisper-cli.exe`:

```
C:\Program Files\whisper.cpp\whisper-cli.exe
```

### Model Path

Set this to the folder containing your downloaded models:

```
C:\Program Files\whisper.cpp\models\
```

### Model

Select or write one of the downloaded models which you want to be used for this preset. For example:

```
ggml-large-v3.bin
```