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Configure Speech-to-Text

Use speech-to-text to dictate prompts in Open WebUI. Choose local Whisper, your browser's speech recognition, or a hosted transcription provider, then configure the corresponding admin and user settings below.

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Choose a Speech-to-Text Provider​

The following speech-to-text providers are supported:

ServiceAPI Key RequiredGuide
Local Whisper (default)❌Built-in, see Environment Variables
OpenAI (Whisper API)✅OpenAI STT Guide
Self-hosted (OpenAI-compatible)✅Self-Hosted STT Guide (uses an authenticated server)
Mistral (Voxtral)✅Mistral Voxtral Guide
Deepgram✅N/A
Azure✅Azure AI Speech STT Guide

Web API provides STT via the browser's built-in speech recognition (no API key needed, configured in user settings).

Configuring Your STT Provider​

To configure a speech to text provider:

  • Navigate to the admin settings
  • Choose Audio
  • Provider an API key and choose a model from the dropdown

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Restricting Accepted Audio Extensions​

Open WebUI ships with an Allowed Extensions list under Settings → Admin → Audio → STT that controls which audio file extensions the upload endpoint will accept (default: mp3,wav,m4a,webm,ogg,flac,mp4,mpga,mpeg). Uploads with any other extension are rejected with 400 Invalid audio file extension before transcription runs.

This is enforced server-side in addition to the MIME-type check (AUDIO_STT_SUPPORTED_CONTENT_TYPES), so tightening it is a low-cost way to harden the STT endpoint against unexpected file types. Set the matching AUDIO_STT_ALLOWED_EXTENSIONS environment variable to seed the list at startup, or clear it in the UI to skip the extension check entirely.

User-Level Settings​

In addition the instance settings provisioned in the admin panel, there are also a couple of user-level settings that can provide additional functionality.

  • STT Settings: Contains settings related to Speech-to-Text functionality.
  • Speech-to-Text Engine: Determines the engine used for speech recognition (Default or Web API).

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Using STT​

Speech to text provides a highly efficient way of "writing" prompts using your voice and it performs robustly from both desktop and mobile devices.

To use STT, simply click on the microphone icon:

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A live audio waveform will indicate successful voice capture:

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STT Mode Operation​

Once your recording has begun you can:

  • Click on the tick icon to save the recording (if auto send after completion is enabled it will send for completion; otherwise you can manually send)
  • If you wish to abort the recording (for example, you wish to start a fresh recording) you can click on the 'x' icon to scape the recording interface

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Troubleshooting​

Common Issues​

"int8 compute type not supported" Error​

If you see an error like Error transcribing chunk: Requested int8 compute type, but the target device or backend do not support efficient int8 computation, this usually means your GPU doesn't support the requested int8 compute operations.

Solutions:

  • Upgrade to the latest version: persistent configuration for compute type has been improved in recent updates to resolve known issues with CUDA compatibility.
  • Switch to the standard Docker image instead of the :cuda image. Older GPUs (Maxwell architecture, ~2014-2016) may not be supported by modern CUDA accelerated libraries.
  • Change the compute type using the WHISPER_COMPUTE_TYPE environment variable: 
    environment:
  - WHISPER_COMPUTE_TYPE=float16  # or float32
tip

For smaller models like Whisper, CPU mode often provides comparable performance without GPU compatibility issues. The :cuda image primarily accelerates RAG embeddings and won't significantly impact STT speed for most users.

Microphone Not Working​

  1. Check browser permissions: ensure your browser has microphone access
  2. Use HTTPS: some browsers require secure connections for microphone access
  3. Try another browser: Chrome typically has the best support for web audio APIs

Poor Recognition Accuracy​

  • Set the language explicitly using WHISPER_LANGUAGE=en (uses ISO 639-1 codes)
  • Toggles multilingual support: use WHISPER_MULTILINGUAL=true if you need to support languages other than English. When disabled (default), only the English-only variant of the model is used for better performance in English tasks.
  • Use a larger Whisper model: options: tiny, base, small, medium, large
  • Larger models are more accurate but slower

For more detailed troubleshooting, see the Audio Troubleshooting Guide.

This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a warranty, guarantee, or contractual commitment. Open WebUI is provided "as is." See your license for applicable terms.