macwhisper-mcp-server

Local MCP server that connects MacWhisper to Claude Desktop.

What it does: Drop an audio file on your Desktop, then ask Claude to transcribe it, summarise it, or pull out action items — in one step. MacWhisper does the transcription on your Mac; Claude does the thinking. Nothing leaves your machine. No cloud APIs. No data ever leaves your Mac.

Audio file  →  MacWhisper CLI  →  MCP server  →  Claude Desktop

Requirements

• macOS (MacWhisper is macOS-only)
• MacWhisper — installed and licensed
• MacWhisper CLI enabled: open MacWhisper → Settings → Advanced → Command-Line Tool → Install. This places mw at /usr/local/bin/mw.
• Python 3.13.x via pyenv
• Claude Desktop

Installing MacWhisper via Homebrew:

brew install --cask macwhisper

After installation, enable the CLI in MacWhisper Settings as above. When you later run brew upgrade --cask macwhisper, the CLI symlink updates automatically — no re-install needed.

Install

git clone https://github.com/docdyhr/macwhisper-mcp-server.git
cd macwhisper-mcp-server

pyenv install 3.13.13   # skip if already installed
pyenv local 3.13.13
python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -e .

Verify the MacWhisper CLI is reachable:

mw version

Configure Claude Desktop

Edit ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json and add:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "macwhisper": {
      "command": "/Users/<you>/macwhisper-mcp-server/.venv/bin/macwhisper-mcp",
      "args": [],
      "env": {
        "MACWHISPER_ALLOWED_PATHS": "/Users/<you>/Desktop:/Users/<you>/Downloads",
        "FASTMCP_CHECK_FOR_UPDATES": "off"
      }
    }
  }
}

Replace <you> with your macOS username. Restart Claude Desktop.

Note: Audio files must be saved to your Mac's filesystem (Desktop, Downloads, or another allow-listed folder) before asking Claude to transcribe them. Files uploaded directly to the Claude chat window live in Claude's container and are not accessible to the local MacWhisper CLI.

Verify it works

In Claude Desktop, ask:

Transcribe ~/Desktop/memo.m4a

You should see a transcribe_audio tool call appear, followed by the transcript.

Available tools

Supported audio formats: .m4a .mp3 .mp4 .mov .wav .aiff .flac

Configuration

All configuration is via en

... View full README on GitHub