How to Transcribe Your First File
Once ScribeForge is installed and you've downloaded a Whisper model, transcribing a file takes three clicks.
Step by step
- Open the Transcribe screen. It's the first item under "Main" in the sidebar, or press
Ctrl+N(Windows) /Cmd+N(Mac) from anywhere in the app. - Drop in a file, or click "browse files." ScribeForge accepts MP3, WAV, MP4, MKV, FLAC, OGG, M4A and dozens of other audio/video formats — you don't need to convert anything first.
- Choose your model and language. Leave language on "Auto-detect" unless you know the exact language in advance — Whisper's detection is generally reliable.
- Click Transcribe. Processing happens entirely on your computer. A progress indicator shows how far along it is.
- Review your transcript. It appears in the panel on the right, with timestamps. Click any segment to jump the audio player to that point, or edit the text directly if something needs correcting.
A note on free-plan limits
On the free plan, each file is capped at 15 minutes and you get 5 hours of transcription per month in total, using the tiny/base/small models. Paid plans remove both caps and unlock every model — see what's actually free for the full breakdown, or compare plans.
What's next
Once you have a transcript, you can export it (TXT and SRT are included free; DOCX, PDF, VTT, JSON, CSV and timestamped Markdown are Pro), or run it through the AI analysis tools if you're on a paid plan. See How to Export Transcripts next.