Whishper
Whishper is available in the NetActuate Marketplace as a one-click, open-source appliance you can deploy into any NetActuate PoP. Self-hosted, offline transcription and subtitle studio powered by Whisper. It is grouped under the Media & Streaming category.
What It Does
Whishper is an open-source, fully self-hosted transcription and subtitle suite. Upload audio or video (or paste a URL), and Whishper turns it into accurate captions with word-level timestamps using OpenAI Whisper models (via faster-whisper), all offline on a server you control. Edit the transcript in a built-in subtitle editor, then translate your subtitles with the bundled LibreTranslate engine.
Key features
- Offline speech-to-text with Whisper models (faster-whisper), word-level timestamps
- Transcribe uploaded files or media from a URL (yt-dlp built in)
- In-browser subtitle editor: fix text, re-time, and export SRT/VTT/TXT
- Subtitle translation with the bundled LibreTranslate (no third-party API)
- A small Whisper model is PRE-BAKED so first-boot transcription just works
- Co-located MongoDB bundled inside the appliance, no external database to run
Use cases
- Podcasters and video creators generating captions and transcripts in-house
- Media teams producing SRT/VTT subtitles and translations privately
- Anyone who needs offline, self-hosted transcription for sensitive audio
Why run it on the NetActuate edge Transcription of large media files means big uploads: running Whishper in a PoP near your team shortens that path, keeps your source audio and transcripts on infrastructure you own, and lets you scale CPU for faster or larger models.
Deployed from the NetActuate marketplace, Whishper boots ready to use: the MongoDB credentials are generated and persisted, the pre-baked tiny model is the default, and the web UI answers on HTTP port 8080. Larger models (base, small, medium, large) download on first use. Whishper has no built-in user login; put TLS termination and access control in front before exposing it publicly.
Vendor and Project
Whishper is an open-source project, offered here under the Open Source listing with best-effort community support.
- Project home: whishper.net
NetActuate supports the underlying infrastructure. Application-level support follows the listing SLA class (open-source, best effort).
Sizing
| vCPU | RAM | Disk | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum | 2 | 4 GB | 40 GB |
| Recommended | 4 | 8 GB | 60 GB |
No VPU (hardware acceleration) is required for this appliance. Choose a size at deploy based on your expected load.
Configuration Fields
When you deploy, you provide these fields. They are written into the appliance at first boot.
| Field | Required | Default | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Database password | No | generated | Password for the appliance's internal MongoDB. Generated for you and stored in your secret list if not provided; never echoed back. Whishper has no user login, so you never need to type this. Stored write-only in your account secret list |
| Database user | No | whishper | Username for the internal MongoDB (default whishper). |
| Instance base URL | No | none | Public base URL used by the browser to reach the API (e.g. https://whishper.example.com). Leave blank to use http://<instance-ip>:8080 until you put a real hostname in front. |
| Default Whisper model | No | tiny | Default Whisper model. tiny is pre-baked and runs offline instantly; base, small, medium and large (and .en variants) download on first use. Default tiny. |
Using the Appliance
Deploy in minutes
- Open Whishper. Browse to http://YOUR_VM_IP:8080 . There is no login; the app is ready to use.
- Transcribe. Upload an audio or video file (or paste a URL) and pick a language; the pre-baked tiny model runs offline out of the box. Larger models download on first use.
- Edit and translate. Correct the transcript in the subtitle editor, translate it with the bundled LibreTranslate, and export SRT/VTT/TXT.
Exposure posture: the appliance serves plain HTTP on port 8080 with no authentication. Put a TLS-terminating proxy and access control in front (or a real hostname with a certificate) before exposing it to the internet. The MongoDB password is generated into your secret list; Whishper does not require you to enter it.
FAQ
Is there a software license fee? No. Whishper is open source and free to run. You pay only for the NetActuate infrastructure and bandwidth.
Which port does the appliance serve on?
The primary service is published on port 8080 by default; see the configuration fields for any adjustable ports.
Who supports it? NetActuate operates the underlying infrastructure. The application itself is community-supported open source (best-effort SLA class).
Version and Changelog
| Version | Status | Released |
|---|---|---|
| 3.1.4 | Current (default) | 2026-07-13 |
Deploy
- Deploy in the portal: Deploy Whishper
- View the listing: portal.netactuate.com/platform/marketplace/l/whishper
- Public listing: netactuate.com/marketplace/whishper
Need Help?
Contact support@netactuate.com or open a support ticket from the portal.