Your audio. Under the knife.
Edit audio by editing text. Local-first, open source, every feature free.
Product page · Download latest · artmoreno.site · @canefilms · Buy me a coffee
ScriptSurgeon turns spoken audio into an editable transcript. Remove a word and its matching audio leaves the timeline. Restore it and the sound comes back. Tighten long pauses, review retakes, add a missing line, and export a clean WAV without sending the project to a cloud service.
It is built for people who want the speed of a document editor without giving up control of the actual recording.
- Everything is free. The Pro tier is gone. MP3 export, noise cleanup, loudness normalize, chapter exports, and timeline handoff now ship in every build, on both Windows and macOS.
- Finish somewhere else. Export the cut as an EDL or Final Cut XML and carry the edit into another editor without rendering.
- A recorder you can set up before you speak. Pick your input, check the level before the take, and choose raw capture or the browser's cleanup. Your choice is remembered.
- Review before anything changes. Filler, gap, and retake suggestions are all previewed, explained, and reversible, with persistent Keep choices.
- Pacing you control. Presets plus exact millisecond detection and target gaps.
- Markers and chapters, with chapter audio, chapter lists, and delivery text.
Read the latest release notes and downloads.
| 1. Record | 2. Transcribe | 3. Cut | 4. Restore | 5. Export |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Import media or begin with your microphone. | The bundled speech model runs on your machine. | Edit transcript words and the audio follows. | Bring back words, pauses, retakes, or inserted audio. | Preview the assembled edit and save WAV. |
Select transcript words or a whole passage, then ripple-cut the matching audio. Correct transcript text without changing sound. Click words to seek, or use the waveform when you need precise timing.
The automatic cleanup tools stay separate so each decision remains understandable:
- Remove fillers previews filler words only.
- Shorten gaps changes long pauses only.
- Remove retakes reviews repeated phrases only.
Nothing changes until you confirm the preview.
Removed words remain visible and restorable. Retake groups can be brought back. Inserted passages can be removed, restored, edited, or re-recorded. Multi-step undo covers the editing session.
Right-click transcript words, pause markers, retake groups, or inserted passages for focused actions. Shift+F10 opens the same menus from the keyboard.
Start a new project from your microphone, or record a missing passage inside an existing edit. Place the insert at the selected word or current playhead, update its transcript, and re-record it later without losing the edit point.
The recorder shows input level while you capture, so a muted microphone or a gain set too hot is obvious before you commit the take rather than after. Pause and resume without ending the take, pick an input when more than one is connected, and record as many takes as you like: earlier ones stay available to compare and switch between until you save.
Not every edit ends in ScriptSurgeon. Export the cut as an EDL or Final Cut XML - the standard interchange formats for moving an edit between editors. Both describe your cut as a list of in and out points against your original recording rather than a render, so the handoff is instant and the source stays untouched.
Final Cut XML carries the most: every kept run as its own clip, inserted takes as real clips, and your markers and chapters attached to the clips that contain them.
Both formats are frame-based, so edit points land on the nearest frame of the timeline you import into. The exported WAV or MP3 remains the sample-accurate version of your edit.
| On your device | No accounts | No API keys | You are in control |
|---|---|---|---|
| Projects, transcription, previews, and exports run locally. | No sign-up or login is required. | Normal use needs no paid service or secret key. | Your project files remain on your computer. |
The desktop shell protects its local API with a new random session token, accepts only trusted loopback hosts, and keeps diagnostic logs on the machine. See SECURITY.md for the security model and responsible disclosure.
Important
Download desktop builds only from the latest GitHub Release. Windows and macOS packages are attached there only after their native build and smoke checks succeed.
There is no paid tier, no account, and nothing held back. Every capability below ships in every build, on both platforms.
| Local transcription | Runs on your machine with the bundled model |
| Transcript editing and ripple cuts | Remove a word, the audio follows |
| Filler, gap, and retake cleanup | Reviewed before anything is applied |
| Markers and chapters | Local, with chapter audio and chapter list export |
| Studio Sound and loudness normalize | Tone shaping and an EBU R128 target |
| Background noise cleanup | Three strengths, applied before tone shaping |
| WAV and MP3 export | Full file or a selected range |
| Transcript, SRT, VTT export | Including chapter headings and cues |
| Timeline handoff | EDL and Final Cut XML, against your original file |
Download the current Windows installer from the latest GitHub Release. The release page is the source of truth for the installer, its SHA-256 checksum, and supported architecture.
The release page includes native Apple Silicon and Intel DMGs when their macOS build and smoke checks pass. The Apple Silicon package requires macOS 14 or later; the Intel package targets macOS 13 or later. The initial DMGs are ad-hoc signed but not notarized with Apple, so macOS may require an explicit approval before opening them. Verify the release checksum and open them only if you trust the release source.
The packaged desktop app uses Edge WebView2. Once built, it runs without a separate Python or Node.js installation.
git clone https://github.com/ArtMoreno/ScriptSurgeon.git
cd ScriptSurgeon
./scripts/build.ps1
./scripts/install.ps1The first build reuses an existing Systran/faster-whisper-base snapshot when available. Otherwise, it downloads the public model before packaging. No Hugging Face token or API key is required. Use -ModelSource <directory> to choose a specific local snapshot.
Each packaged build includes a SHA-256 payload manifest. Upgrades validate and stage the application, roll back on failure, and leave project data outside the deployable payload.
For an offline rebuild using an existing packaging environment and frontend output:
./scripts/build.ps1 -SkipDependencies -SkipFrontendDevelopment requires Python 3.11 or 3.12, Node.js 18 or newer, and FFmpeg.
./start.batFor macOS or Linux development:
./start.shThen open http://127.0.0.1:8000.
The development model defaults to base. Set MODEL_SIZE to tiny, small, medium, or large-v3 before launch to use another public model.
| Path | Purpose |
|---|---|
frontend/ |
React, TypeScript, Zustand, and WaveSurfer transcript editor |
backend/ |
FastAPI project storage, transcription, rendering, and export |
desktop.py |
Native Windows WebView2 shell and local process lifecycle |
scripts/ |
Packaging, icon generation, payload verification, and installation |
docs/ |
Dependency-free GitHub Pages product site |
./.venv/Scripts/python.exe -m pip install -r backend/requirements-dev.txt
./.venv/Scripts/python.exe -m pytest backend/tests -q
npm test --prefix frontend
npm run typecheck --prefix frontend
npm run build --prefix frontendThe static product page can be served directly from docs/ with any local web server.
Contributions are welcome. Read CONTRIBUTING.md, then open an issue for a bug or product idea. Keep fixtures, screenshots, logs, and diagnostics free of private recordings, real project names, credentials, tokens, and identifying local paths.
ScriptSurgeon is free and always will be. If it saved you an afternoon and you want to say thanks, buy me a coffee - and a star on the repository helps other people find it. More of my work lives at artmoreno.site, and I am @canefilms if you want to reach me.
ScriptSurgeon is available under the MIT License. Use it, fork it, ship it inside something else; the license asks only that the notice travels with it.