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Features

Transcribe Recordings

•6 min read
Transcribe Recordings

Transcribe Recordings

Drop in a recording and come back to a document you can check, edit, and keep.

Ritemark 1.9.0 adds Transcribe for meetings, interviews, workshops, and other recorded conversations. It accepts .m4a, .mp3, .wav, .flac, .ogg, and .aac files, then turns them into an editable transcript inside Ritemark.

You choose how each recording is processed before anything starts. Keep the audio on your Mac with local Whisper, or use ElevenLabs Scribe when you need speaker separation.

A recording open in Ritemark's Transcript Workbench with a waveform, speaker-separated timestamped transcript, and an insights panel

Add a Recording

  1. Click the waveform icon in the Activity Bar.
  2. Click Add recording, then choose an audio file. You can also drag a file from the Folder view into Transcribe.
  3. Choose a transcription engine and click Transcribe.

The recording opens in the Transcript Workbench when processing finishes. Click any transcript line and playback starts at that exact moment.

🎉 Your recording is now a working document. You can verify the words against the audio instead of switching between separate apps.

Choose the Right Engine

Ritemark shows the privacy, speaker, and cost trade-offs before it processes the recording. Nothing runs until you make a choice.

The Transcribe sidebar showing On-device Whisper and ElevenLabs Scribe, including privacy, speaker separation, and estimated cost information

On-device Whisper

Choose On-device (Whisper) when privacy matters most. Transcription is free, and the audio never leaves your computer. This engine doesn't separate speakers, so the transcript won't identify who said each line.

Local transcription currently requires a Mac with Apple silicon. It isn't available on Intel Macs or Windows.

ElevenLabs Scribe

Choose ElevenLabs Scribe when you need speaker separation. Ritemark uploads the audio to ElevenLabs and shows the estimated cost before transcription begins.

Add your ElevenLabs API key under Settings → API Keys before using this engine. ElevenLabs is currently the transcription option on Windows and Intel Macs.

Get and add an ElevenLabs API key

An API key is a private access code for your ElevenLabs account. No programming is required:

  1. Open the ElevenLabs API Keys page and sign in or create an account.
  2. Click Create API Key, name it Ritemark, keep restrictions enabled, and allow Speech to Text. Add a credit limit if you want to cap usage.
  3. Create the key and copy it immediately. ElevenLabs only shows the full value once.
  4. In Ritemark, open Settings → API Keys and paste it into the ElevenLabs field. Alternatively, click Add key on the ElevenLabs Scribe card in Transcribe.
  5. Save the key and return to Transcribe. Ritemark will show the estimated cost before you start each ElevenLabs transcription.

Keep the key private, just like a password. If you lose or expose it, create a replacement in ElevenLabs and update Ritemark. See the official ElevenLabs API key guide for current dashboard instructions.

💡 Tip: For a sensitive recording on Apple silicon, choose Whisper. For an interview where speaker names matter, choose ElevenLabs.

Platform On-device Whisper ElevenLabs Scribe
Mac with Apple silicon Available Available
Intel Mac Not available Available
Windows x64 Not available Available

Review the Transcript

The Transcript Workbench keeps the text and recording together. Use the waveform to move through the audio, change playback speed from 1× to 2×, or use the keyboard:

  • Space plays or pauses
  • ← moves backward
  • → moves forward

Click a transcript line to play from its timestamp. This makes it quick to check a name, technical term, or quote before you use it elsewhere.

Words with low confidence are highlighted, so you know which parts deserve attention. Both Whisper and ElevenLabs report uncertain words.

Rename Speakers

ElevenLabs labels voices as Speaker 1, Speaker 2, and so on. Rename a speaker once and Ritemark updates that name throughout the transcript and the document you save.

The Rename speaker dialog open over a speaker-separated transcript

Extract Insights With Sources

Ritemark can pull a summary, decisions, action items, open questions, and key quotes from the transcript. Every insight includes a timestamp that plays the source moment.

If an item can't be tied to a real transcript line, Ritemark leaves it out. You can check the recording before sharing a decision or assigning an action.

Generated summary, decisions, and action items beside the timestamped transcript they came from

Save as Markdown

When the transcript is ready, click Save to document and choose a folder. Ritemark creates a Markdown file with front matter, speaker headings, and timestamps, then keeps the saved document linked in the workbench header.

The transcript also becomes the active file for the AI Sidebar. Ask an agent to summarize a topic, draft follow-up notes, or turn the action items into a plan. The agent works from the saved transcript, not the audio file.

A saved Markdown document with Summary, Decisions, and Action items open beside the AI sidebar

Keep Long Jobs Under Control

You don't need to leave the Transcribe panel open. Processing continues in the background, and the Activity Bar icon shows progress. A 60-minute recording takes about two and a half minutes with local Whisper on Apple silicon, though timing varies by machine.

Canceling stops the job immediately. If Ritemark closes during transcription, the recording returns marked Interrupted instead of disappearing.

Find and Manage Recordings

Recordings belong to the folder where you created them, so one project's transcripts don't clutter another project. Turn on Show all projects to see recordings from every folder with their source labels.

If an audio file moves, relink it without losing the transcript. You can also inspect and clear stored transcript data in Settings.

Known Limitations

  • On-device transcription requires Apple silicon and isn't yet available on Windows. Follow Windows on-device transcription for progress.
  • Intel Macs use ElevenLabs. Finder may show 1.117.0 for the Intel app because it displays the underlying VS Code version; About correctly shows Ritemark 1.9.0.
  • Windows SmartScreen may warn on first launch while the signed installer builds reputation. See Windows SmartScreen help.

Quick Reference

What you want to do How
Add audio Open Transcribe → Add recording, or drag from Folder view
Keep audio on your device Choose On-device (Whisper) on Apple silicon
Separate speakers Choose ElevenLabs Scribe
Check a passage Click its transcript line
Rename a speaker Rename the speaker once in the workbench
Save the transcript Click Save to document
See recordings from every folder Turn on Show all projects
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