Installation

Install with an AI agent

Prefer to let an AI coding agent do it? Run npx skills add https://github.com/kristoferlund/ostt-skill and your agent (Claude Code and other skill-aware tools) can install, configure, and troubleshoot OSTT for you. See Install with an AI Agent.

Recommended Installer

bash

curl -fsSL https://ostt.ai/install | bash

Use this unless you specifically prefer a platform package manager. It detects your platform, installs missing runtime dependencies (ffmpeg, clipboard tools) where supported, selects the right CPU/GPU build, downloads the latest release, verifies its checksum, and installs the ostt CLI. In most cases you do not need to install dependencies manually -- the installer handles them for you.

The installer uses native .deb or .rpm packages on supported Linux distributions when possible. Otherwise, including macOS, it installs the binary to ~/.local/bin by default. If that directory is not already on your PATH, the installer prints the exact shell command to add it and shows the full path you can use immediately.

On macOS, the installer uses the Metal-enabled build. On Linux x86_64, it installs the CUDA build when a usable NVIDIA CUDA runtime is detected, the Vulkan build when AMD/Intel Vulkan support is detected, and the CPU build otherwise. To force the CPU build:

bash

curl -fsSL https://ostt.ai/install | bash -s -- --no-gpu

Installer options

Pass options after -s --. For example, a fully non-interactive install that keeps the CPU build:

bash

curl -fsSL https://ostt.ai/install | bash -s -- --yes --no-gpu

Option	Description
`-y`, `--yes`	Skip confirmation prompts (non-interactive install).
`--no-deps`	Do not install system dependencies (ffmpeg, clipboard tools).
`--no-gpu`	Install the CPU build even if GPU support is detected.
`--version VERSION`	Install a specific release, for example `--version v0.0.20`.
`--install-dir DIR`	Install `ostt` to `DIR` instead of `~/.local/bin`.
`-h`, `--help`	Show usage and exit.

The install directory can also be set with the OSTT_INSTALL_DIR environment variable. When --install-dir is left at the default and a native .deb/.rpm package is available for your system, the installer uses that package (installing to /usr/bin) instead of the release archive.

Native Package Options

macOS -- Homebrew

bash

brew tap kristoferlund/ostt
brew install ostt

Arch / Omarchy -- AUR

Prebuilt binary packages (recommended -- no compilation, no Rust toolchain). Pick the one that matches your hardware:

bash

yay -S ostt-bin          # CPU build (x86_64, aarch64)
yay -S ostt-cuda-bin     # NVIDIA CUDA build (x86_64)
yay -S ostt-vulkan-bin   # AMD / Intel Vulkan build (x86_64)

These packages download the official release binary and install it directly. They conflict with each other and with the source package, so only one can be installed at a time.

To build from source instead:

bash

yay -S ostt

paru works in place of yay for any of the above.

Debian / Ubuntu / Mint -- .deb

bash

# x86_64 CPU build
curl -sLO https://github.com/kristoferlund/ostt/releases/latest/download/ostt_latest_amd64.deb
sudo apt install ./ostt_latest_amd64.deb

# x86_64 NVIDIA CUDA build
curl -sLO https://github.com/kristoferlund/ostt/releases/latest/download/ostt-cuda_latest_amd64.deb
sudo apt install ./ostt-cuda_latest_amd64.deb

# x86_64 AMD/Intel Vulkan build
curl -sLO https://github.com/kristoferlund/ostt/releases/latest/download/ostt-vulkan_latest_amd64.deb
sudo apt install ./ostt-vulkan_latest_amd64.deb

# ARM64 (Raspberry Pi, etc.)
curl -sLO https://github.com/kristoferlund/ostt/releases/latest/download/ostt_latest_arm64.deb
sudo apt install ./ostt_latest_arm64.deb

Fedora / RHEL -- .rpm

bash

# x86_64 CPU build
sudo dnf install https://github.com/kristoferlund/ostt/releases/latest/download/ostt-latest.x86_64.rpm

# x86_64 NVIDIA CUDA build
sudo dnf install https://github.com/kristoferlund/ostt/releases/latest/download/ostt-cuda-latest.x86_64.rpm

# x86_64 AMD/Intel Vulkan build
sudo dnf install https://github.com/kristoferlund/ostt/releases/latest/download/ostt-vulkan-latest.x86_64.rpm

# ARM64
sudo dnf install https://github.com/kristoferlund/ostt/releases/latest/download/ostt-latest.aarch64.rpm

openSUSE -- .rpm

bash

# x86_64 CPU build
sudo zypper install https://github.com/kristoferlund/ostt/releases/latest/download/ostt-latest.x86_64.rpm

# x86_64 NVIDIA CUDA build
sudo zypper install https://github.com/kristoferlund/ostt/releases/latest/download/ostt-cuda-latest.x86_64.rpm

# x86_64 AMD/Intel Vulkan build
sudo zypper install https://github.com/kristoferlund/ostt/releases/latest/download/ostt-vulkan-latest.x86_64.rpm

# ARM64
sudo zypper install https://github.com/kristoferlund/ostt/releases/latest/download/ostt-latest.aarch64.rpm

Run uname -m to check your architecture (x86_64 or aarch64). CUDA and Vulkan packages are currently only published for Linux x86_64. Use the CPU package on ARM64.

Choose the package variant by hardware:

Hardware	Package
No local models, no supported GPU, or ARM64 Linux	`ostt` CPU build
NVIDIA GPU with CUDA runtime libraries	`ostt-cuda`
AMD or Intel GPU with Vulkan runtime library	`ostt-vulkan`
macOS	Homebrew or direct macOS archive; Metal is built in

Direct Binary Download

Download from GitHub Releases:

bash

# CPU archives: x86_64-linux, aarch64-linux, x86_64-macos, aarch64-macos
# GPU archives: x86_64-linux-cuda, x86_64-linux-vulkan
tar -xzf ostt-<platform>.tar.gz
sudo cp <extracted-path>/ostt /usr/local/bin/

Compile from Source

bash

git clone https://github.com/kristoferlund/ostt.git
cd ostt
cargo build --profile dist --locked
# Binary at target/dist/ostt

Runtime Dependencies

Dependency	Purpose	Required
`ffmpeg`	Audio format conversion before transcription	Yes
`wl-clipboard`	Clipboard support on Linux Wayland	Recommended
`xclip`	Clipboard support on Linux X11	Recommended
`mpv`	Best audio playback for `ostt replay`	Optional

macOS

bash

brew install ffmpeg       # ffmpeg
# pbcopy is built-in for clipboard
brew install mpv          # Optional: better audio playback

Debian / Ubuntu

bash

sudo apt install ffmpeg wl-clipboard   # Wayland
# OR
sudo apt install ffmpeg xclip          # X11
sudo apt install mpv                   # Optional: better audio playback

Arch / Omarchy

bash

sudo pacman -S ffmpeg wl-clipboard     # Wayland
# OR
sudo pacman -S ffmpeg xclip            # X11
sudo pacman -S mpv                     # Optional: better audio playback

Fedora

bash

sudo dnf install ffmpeg wl-clipboard   # Wayland
# OR
sudo dnf install ffmpeg xclip          # X11
sudo dnf install mpv                   # Optional: better audio playback

Native package managers (Homebrew, AUR, .deb, .rpm) declare these dependencies and install most of them automatically.

Installation ​

Recommended Installer ​

Installer options ​

Native Package Options ​

macOS -- Homebrew ​

Arch / Omarchy -- AUR ​

Debian / Ubuntu / Mint -- .deb ​

Fedora / RHEL -- .rpm ​

openSUSE -- .rpm ​

Direct Binary Download ​

Compile from Source ​

Runtime Dependencies ​

macOS ​

Debian / Ubuntu ​

Arch / Omarchy ​

Fedora ​

Installation

Recommended Installer

Installer options

Native Package Options

macOS -- Homebrew

Arch / Omarchy -- AUR

Debian / Ubuntu / Mint -- .deb

Fedora / RHEL -- .rpm

openSUSE -- .rpm

Direct Binary Download

Compile from Source

Runtime Dependencies

macOS

Debian / Ubuntu

Arch / Omarchy

Fedora