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Audio / Voice Notes — 2025-12-05

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What works

  • Optional transcription: If tools.audio.transcription is set in ~/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json, Clawdbot will:
    1. Download inbound audio to a temp path when WhatsApp only provides a URL.
    2. Run the configured CLI args (templated with {{MediaPath}}), expecting transcript on stdout.
    3. Replace Body with the transcript, set {{Transcript}}, and prepend the original media path plus a Transcript: section in the command prompt so models see both.
    4. Continue through the normal auto-reply pipeline (templating, sessions, Pi command).
  • Verbose logging: In --verbose, we log when transcription runs and when the transcript replaces the body.

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Config example (Whisper CLI)

Requires whisper CLI installed: 
{
  tools: {
    audio: {
      transcription: {
        args: ["--model", "base", "{{MediaPath}}"],
        timeoutSeconds: 45
      }
    }
  }
}

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Notes & limits

  • We don’t ship a transcriber; you opt in with the Whisper CLI on your PATH.
  • Size guard: inbound audio must be ≤5 MB (matches the temp media store and transcript pipeline).
  • Outbound caps: web send supports audio/voice up to 16 MB (sent as a voice note with ptt: true).
  • If transcription fails, we fall back to the original body/media note; replies still go through.
  • Transcript is available to templates as {{Transcript}}; models get both the media path and a Transcript: block in the prompt when using command mode.

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Gotchas

  • Ensure your CLI exits 0 and prints plain text; JSON needs to be massaged via jq -r .text.
  • Keep timeouts reasonable (timeoutSeconds, default 45s) to avoid blocking the reply queue.