Vocal - A Free MacOS Native YouTube Video Transcriber

A minimal, native macOS app that transcribes YouTube videos and local video files with exceptional accuracy. Simple, fast, and elegant.

✨ Features

• Easy YouTube Integration: Just paste (⌘V) any YouTube URL
• Local Video Support: Drag & drop or click to upload local video files
• Smart Formatting: Automatically formats transcriptions into readable paragraphs
• Multiple Export Options: Copy or save transcriptions with a single click
• Progress Tracking: Real-time progress bars for both download and transcription
• Native Performance: Built with SwiftUI for optimal macOS integration
• Dark and Light Modes: Seamless integration with your system preferences

💻 Get Started

To use Vocal, you can follow these quick steps to set up the app on your macOS system.

1.	Download the App: Get the latest version from the releases page.
2.	Install Prerequisites: Vocal requires Python, Homebrew, and yt-dlp for downloading and processing YouTube videos.

Setting Up Prerequisites for YouTube Videos (Local videos have no requirements)

Install Python

To install Python on macOS, open your Terminal and use the following command:

brew install python

Install Homebrew

If you don’t have Homebrew, you can install it by running:

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

Install yt-dlp

Finally, install yt-dlp using Homebrew:

brew install yt-dlp

3.	Launch Vocal: Once prerequisites are installed, open Vocal and transcribe your videos!

🛠️ Technical Details

• Built with SwiftUI and AVFoundation
• Uses Apple's Speech Recognition framework for high-quality transcription
• Integrated with yt-dlp for reliable YouTube video downloading
• Native macOS window management and system integration

🎯 Use Cases

• Content Creation: Quickly transcribe video content for blogs or articles
• Research: Convert video interviews or lectures into searchable text
• Accessibility: Make video content accessible through text
• Note Taking: Transform video lessons into written notes

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! Here's how you can help:

1. Clone the repository
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/AmazingFeature)
5. Open a Pull Request

Please ensure your PR:

• Maintains the minimal, focused design philosophy
• Follows the existing code style
• Includes appropriate tests
• Updates documentation as needed

🎯 Roadmap

• Multi-language support
• Timestamp support
• Advanced export formats (PDF, SRT, VTT)
• Video mini-player while transcribing
• Quick edit mode for transcriptions

📝 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🔗 Links

• Website: Nuanc.me
• Report issues: GitHub Issues
• Follow updates: @Nuancedev

💝 Acknowledgments

• yt-dlp for YouTube video downloading
• Apple's Speech Recognition framework for transcription
• The open source community for inspiration and support