{"slug": "i-built-a-free-offline-cli-alternative-to-otter-ai-using-python-and-local-ai", "title": "I Built a Free, Offline CLI Alternative to Otter.ai Using Python and Local AI", "summary": "A developer built LocalScribe PRO, a free, offline, and private meeting transcription tool that runs entirely on a laptop. The tool uses Python, Ollama for local AI, and faster-whisper for speech-to-text, offering unlimited usage without uploading data to the cloud.", "body_md": "#\n🎙️ LocalScribe PRO: Free, Private, Offline AI Meeting Assistant\n\nHey developers! 👋\n\nI just finished building **LocalScribe PRO**, a 100% free alternative to Otter.ai and Fireflies.ai that runs entirely on your laptop.\n\n##\nWhy I Built This\n\nI was tired of seeing people pay $20/month ($203/year!) for meeting transcription tools that:\n\n- Upload all your private data to the cloud\n- Have monthly minute limits\n- Require internet connection\n\nSo I built something that:\n\n- ✅ Runs 100% offline on your laptop\n- ✅ Costs $0 (forever free)\n- ✅ Never uploads your data\n- ✅ Has unlimited usage\n\n##\nFeatures\n\n- 🎤\n**Record meetings** from your microphone\n- 🎧\n**System audio recording** - Record Zoom/Teams calls directly!\n- 🎬\n**Real-time transcription** - See text as you speak\n- 🤖\n**Local AI (Ollama)** - 100% offline, free, and private\n- ☁️\n**Cloud AI Support** - Plug in OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google APIs\n- 📋\n**Auto-summaries** - Automatically generates meeting summaries\n- ✅\n**Action items** - Extracts tasks automatically\n- 🔒\n**Zero-knowledge** - Your data NEVER leaves your computer\n\n##\nTech Stack\n\n-\n**Python** - Core language\n-\n**Ollama** - Local AI (phi3 model)\n-\n**faster-whisper** - Speech-to-text\n-\n**sounddevice** - Audio recording\n-\n**OpenAI/Anthropic/Google APIs** - Optional cloud AI\n\n##\nCost Comparison\n\n| Tool |\nCost |\n| Otter.ai |\n$203/year |\n| Fireflies.ai |\n$120/year |\n**LocalScribe PRO** |\n**$0 (FREE)** |\n\n##\nHow to Use", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/i-built-a-free-offline-cli-alternative-to-otter-ai-using-python-and-local-ai", "canonical_source": "https://dev.to/yalnz/i-built-a-free-offline-cli-alternative-to-otterai-using-python-and-local-ai-2cp8", "published_at": "2026-06-18 18:15:47+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-06-18 18:29:52.580199+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence", "developer-tools", "natural-language-processing", "ai-products"], "entities": ["LocalScribe PRO", "Ollama", "faster-whisper", "Python", "Otter.ai", "Fireflies.ai", "OpenAI", "Anthropic"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/i-built-a-free-offline-cli-alternative-to-otter-ai-using-python-and-local-ai", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/i-built-a-free-offline-cli-alternative-to-otter-ai-using-python-and-local-ai.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/i-built-a-free-offline-cli-alternative-to-otter-ai-using-python-and-local-ai.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/i-built-a-free-offline-cli-alternative-to-otter-ai-using-python-and-local-ai.jsonld"}}