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WhisperJAV v1.8.3 -- Windows Installation Guide (Python Source)

This guide is for experienced Python developers who want to install WhisperJAV from source on Windows. If you are looking for the standalone installer (no Python required), see the Releases page.

Table of Contents

  1. Prerequisites
  2. Environment Setup
  3. Installation (Automated)
  4. Installation (Manual)
  5. Installing Specific Extras Only
  6. GPU Setup (CUDA)
  7. Running WhisperJAV
  8. Updating to New Versions
  9. Environment Variables
  10. Troubleshooting

1. Prerequisites

Required Software

Software Version Purpose Download
Python 3.10, 3.11, or 3.12 Runtime python.org
Git Any recent version Clone repos, install git-based packages git-scm.com
FFmpeg 6.x or 7.x recommended Audio/video processing gyan.dev

Required for GPU Acceleration

Software Version Purpose Download
NVIDIA GPU Driver 450+ (for CUDA 11.8) or 570+ (for CUDA 12.8) GPU compute nvidia.com
Visual C++ Redistributable 2015-2022 (x64) Native library support microsoft.com

Required for GUI

Software Version Purpose Download
Microsoft Edge WebView2 Any GUI rendering engine microsoft.com

Python Version Compatibility

  • Python 3.10-3.12: Fully supported.
  • Python 3.9: Not supported (dropped due to pysubtrans dependency).
  • Python 3.13+: Not supported (openai-whisper does not compile on 3.13+).

Verifying Prerequisites

Open Command Prompt or PowerShell and run:

python --version
git --version
ffmpeg -version
nvidia-smi

All four commands should produce output without errors. The nvidia-smi command will fail if you do not have an NVIDIA GPU, which is fine -- WhisperJAV supports CPU-only operation.

Installing FFmpeg

FFmpeg is not bundled with Python and must be installed separately:

  1. Download the essentials build from gyan.dev.
  2. Extract the archive (e.g., to C:\ffmpeg).
  3. Add the bin directory to your system PATH:
  4. Open System Properties > Environment Variables
  5. Under System variables, find Path, click Edit
  6. Click New, add C:\ffmpeg\bin
  7. Click OK to close all dialogs
  8. Open a new Command Prompt and verify: ffmpeg -version

Alternatively, if you use a package manager:

REM Using Chocolatey:
choco install ffmpeg

REM Using Scoop:
scoop install ffmpeg

REM Using winget:
winget install --id=Gyan.FFmpeg -e

2. Environment Setup

Important: Always install WhisperJAV in a virtual environment or conda environment. Never install into your global Python.

REM Create the virtual environment
python -m venv whisperjav-env

REM Activate it (Command Prompt)
whisperjav-env\Scripts\activate

REM Activate it (PowerShell)
whisperjav-env\Scripts\Activate.ps1

REM Verify you are in the venv (should show the venv path)
where python

Option B: Conda / Miniconda

REM Create conda environment with Python 3.11
conda create -n whisperjav python=3.11 -y

REM Activate it
conda activate whisperjav

REM Verify
python --version

Option C: Using an Existing Environment

If you already have a virtual environment for ML work (with PyTorch installed), you can install WhisperJAV into it. Ensure PyTorch is the CUDA version, not CPU-only:

python -c "import torch; print(f'PyTorch {torch.__version__}, CUDA: {torch.cuda.is_available()}')"

If this prints CUDA: True, you can skip the PyTorch installation step in Section 4.

3. Installation (Automated)

The automated installer handles GPU detection, CUDA selection, and staged package installation.

Step 1: Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/meizhong986/whisperjav.git
cd whisperjav

Step 2: Activate Your Environment

REM venv:
whisperjav-env\Scripts\activate

REM conda:
conda activate whisperjav

Step 3: Run the Installer

REM Standard install (auto-detects GPU)
python install.py

REM Or use the batch wrapper:
installer\install_windows.bat

Both commands do the same thing. The .bat wrapper simply locates and runs install.py.

Installer Options

--cpu-only              Install CPU-only PyTorch (no CUDA)
--cuda118               Install PyTorch for CUDA 11.8 (driver 450+)
--cuda128               Install PyTorch for CUDA 12.8 (driver 570+, default)
--no-speech-enhancement Skip speech enhancement packages (faster install)
--minimal               Minimal install (transcription only, no GUI/translation/enhancement)
--dev                   Install in development/editable mode (pip install -e)
--local-llm             Install local LLM translation (prebuilt wheel)
--local-llm-build       Install local LLM translation (build from source)
--no-local-llm          Skip local LLM installation
--skip-preflight        Skip disk space and network checks
--help                  Show all options

Common Invocations

REM Standard install (recommended)
python install.py

REM Force CUDA 11.8 (older GPU driver)
python install.py --cuda118

REM CPU-only (no NVIDIA GPU)
python install.py --cpu-only

REM Minimal install for quick testing
python install.py --minimal

REM Developer install (editable mode)
python install.py --dev

REM Everything including local LLM
python install.py --local-llm

REM Fast install (skip slow optional packages)
python install.py --no-speech-enhancement --no-local-llm

What the Installer Does

The installer performs these steps in order:

  1. Preflight checks -- Verifies disk space (8GB free), network connectivity, WebView2, VC++ Redistributable
  2. Prerequisites -- Validates Python version, FFmpeg, Git
  3. GPU detection -- Identifies NVIDIA GPU and driver version, selects CUDA version
  4. pip upgrade -- Upgrades pip to latest
  5. PyTorch -- Installs torch and torchaudio with the correct CUDA index URL
  6. Core dependencies -- numpy, scipy, numba, librosa, audio/subtitle packages
  7. Whisper packages -- openai-whisper (from GitHub), stable-ts (custom fork), faster-whisper
  8. Optional packages -- HuggingFace Transformers, Qwen3-ASR, translation (pysubtrans, OpenAI, Gemini), VAD (Silero, TEN), speech enhancement (ClearVoice, BS-RoFormer, ModelScope)
  9. GUI packages -- PyWebView, pythonnet, pywin32
  10. WhisperJAV -- Installs the application itself (with --no-deps to preserve staged environment)
  11. Verification -- Imports whisperjav and checks torch CUDA status

Installation Time

Configuration Approximate Time Notes
Full (with GPU) 10-20 minutes Depends on network speed
Minimal 5-10 minutes Transcription only
CPU-only 10-15 minutes Slightly faster (no CUDA wheels)

A log file is saved to install_log.txt in the repository root.

4. Installation (Manual)

If you prefer to install packages yourself, follow these steps in order.

Step 1: Upgrade pip

python -m pip install --upgrade pip

Step 2: Install PyTorch with CUDA

This step is critical. You must install PyTorch from the correct index URL to get GPU support.

REM For CUDA 12.8 (driver 570+, recommended for modern GPUs)
pip install torch torchaudio --index-url https://download.pytorch.org/whl/cu128

REM For CUDA 11.8 (driver 450+, universal fallback)
pip install torch torchaudio --index-url https://download.pytorch.org/whl/cu118

REM For CPU only (no NVIDIA GPU)
pip install torch torchaudio --index-url https://download.pytorch.org/whl/cpu

Verify the installation:

python -c "import torch; print(f'PyTorch {torch.__version__}'); print(f'CUDA available: {torch.cuda.is_available()}')"

If CUDA available: True appears, GPU acceleration is working.

Step 3: Install Core Dependencies

REM Scientific stack (numpy MUST be before numba)
pip install "numpy>=1.26.0,<2.0" "scipy>=1.10.1" "numba>=0.58.0"
pip install "librosa>=0.10.0" soundfile pydub pyloudnorm

REM Subtitle processing
pip install pysrt srt

REM Utilities
pip install tqdm colorama requests aiofiles regex jsonschema
pip install "pydantic>=2.0,<3.0" "PyYAML>=6.0"

REM VAD (Voice Activity Detection)
pip install "silero-vad>=6.0" auditok ten-vad

REM Performance
pip install "psutil>=5.9.0" "scikit-learn>=1.3.0"

Step 4: Install Whisper Packages

These must be installed AFTER PyTorch. They depend on torch, and since torch is already installed with CUDA, pip will not re-download a CPU version.

REM OpenAI Whisper (main branch for latest fixes)
pip install git+https://github.com/openai/whisper@main

REM Stable-ts (custom fork for Japanese)
pip install git+https://github.com/meizhong986/stable-ts-fix-setup.git@main

REM ffmpeg-python (must use git, PyPI tarball has build issues)
pip install git+https://github.com/kkroening/ffmpeg-python.git

REM Faster-Whisper (CTranslate2 backend)
pip install "faster-whisper>=1.1.0"

Step 5: Install Optional Packages

Install only the extras you need:

REM HuggingFace (required for Qwen3-ASR and kotoba-whisper models)
pip install "huggingface-hub>=0.25.0" "transformers>=4.40.0" "accelerate>=0.26.0" hf_xet

REM Qwen3-ASR (new in v1.8.3, requires HuggingFace packages above)
pip install "qwen-asr>=0.0.6"

REM Translation
pip install "pysubtrans>=1.5.0" "openai>=1.35.0" "google-genai>=1.39.0"

REM GUI (Windows)
pip install "pywebview>=5.0.0" "pythonnet>=3.0" "pywin32>=305"

REM Speech Enhancement
pip install "modelscope>=1.20" oss2 addict "datasets>=2.14.0,<4.0" simplejson sortedcontainers packaging
pip install git+https://github.com/meizhong986/ClearerVoice-Studio.git#subdirectory=clearvoice
pip install bs-roformer-infer "onnxruntime>=1.16.0"

REM Compatibility (pyvideotrans interop)
pip install "av>=13.0.0" "imageio>=2.31.0" "imageio-ffmpeg>=0.4.9" "httpx>=0.27.0" "websockets>=13.0" "soxr>=0.3.0"

REM Analysis/Visualization
pip install matplotlib Pillow

Step 6: Install WhisperJAV

REM Standard install (from local source, preserves staged deps)
pip install --no-deps .

REM Or development/editable mode
pip install --no-deps -e .

The --no-deps flag is essential. Without it, pip would re-resolve all dependencies and potentially replace your CUDA PyTorch with a CPU version.

Step 7: Verify

python -c "import whisperjav; print(f'WhisperJAV {whisperjav.__version__}')"
whisperjav --help

5. Installing Specific Extras Only

If you only need certain features, you can install just those extras. However, because of the GPU lock-in requirement, you should always install PyTorch manually first (Step 2 above), then use --no-deps:

REM WRONG: This pulls CPU PyTorch from PyPI
pip install "whisperjav[cli]"

REM RIGHT: Install PyTorch first, then WhisperJAV with no-deps
pip install torch torchaudio --index-url https://download.pytorch.org/whl/cu128
pip install --no-deps -e "."
pip install "whisperjav[cli]" --no-deps

For a clean approach using the automated installer, you can combine flags:

REM Minimal (transcription only, no GUI/translation/enhancement)
python install.py --minimal

REM No speech enhancement (faster install)
python install.py --no-speech-enhancement

Available Extras

Extra Contents Use Case
cli numpy, scipy, librosa, VAD, scikit-learn CLI audio processing
gui pywebview, pythonnet, pywin32 GUI application
translate pysubtrans, openai, google-genai AI subtitle translation
llm uvicorn, fastapi Local LLM server
enhance modelscope, clearvoice, bs-roformer Speech enhancement
huggingface transformers, accelerate, hf_xet HuggingFace model support
qwen qwen-asr (+ huggingface deps) Qwen3-ASR pipeline (v1.8.3+)
analysis matplotlib, Pillow Visualization tools
compatibility av, imageio, httpx, websockets, soxr pyvideotrans interop
dev pytest, ruff, pre-commit Development tools
all Everything above Full installation
colab cli + translate + huggingface Google Colab
windows Same as all Windows full experience

6. GPU Setup (CUDA)

Determining Your CUDA Version

The CUDA version for PyTorch depends on your NVIDIA driver version, NOT the CUDA Toolkit version installed on your system.

REM Check your driver version
nvidia-smi

Look for the "Driver Version" in the output header:

+---------------------------+
| NVIDIA-SMI 570.xx.xx      |   <-- This is your driver version
| Driver Version: 570.xx.xx |
| CUDA Version: 12.8        |   <-- Maximum CUDA version supported
+---------------------------+

Driver to CUDA Mapping

Driver Version Recommended --index-url Flag
570+ https://download.pytorch.org/whl/cu128 --cuda128 (default)
450-569 https://download.pytorch.org/whl/cu118 --cuda118
Below 450 https://download.pytorch.org/whl/cpu --cpu-only

Verifying CUDA Works

After installation, verify CUDA is operational:

python -c "
import torch
print(f'PyTorch version: {torch.__version__}')
print(f'CUDA available: {torch.cuda.is_available()}')
if torch.cuda.is_available():
    print(f'CUDA version: {torch.version.cuda}')
    print(f'GPU: {torch.cuda.get_device_name(0)}')
    print(f'GPU memory: {torch.cuda.get_device_properties(0).total_mem / 1024**3:.1f} GB')
"

Switching Between CUDA Versions

If you installed the wrong CUDA version, uninstall and reinstall:

pip uninstall torch torchaudio -y
pip install torch torchaudio --index-url https://download.pytorch.org/whl/cu128

CUDA Toolkit (Not Usually Needed)

You do NOT need to install the CUDA Toolkit separately for WhisperJAV. PyTorch bundles its own CUDA runtime. The CUDA Toolkit is only needed if you are building packages from source (e.g., --local-llm-build).

If needed: CUDA Toolkit Downloads

7. Running WhisperJAV

CLI Usage

REM Basic transcription
whisperjav video.mp4

REM With mode selection
whisperjav video.mp4 --mode balanced    # Full pipeline (recommended)
whisperjav video.mp4 --mode fast        # Scene detection + standard Whisper
whisperjav video.mp4 --mode faster      # Direct Faster-Whisper (fastest)

REM With sensitivity
whisperjav video.mp4 --mode balanced --sensitivity aggressive

REM With translation
whisperjav video.mp4 --translate

REM With Qwen3-ASR pipeline (new in v1.8.3)
whisperjav video.mp4 --mode qwen --input-mode assembly

REM Process a directory
whisperjav /path/to/videos/ --mode balanced

REM See all options
whisperjav --help

GUI Usage

REM Launch the GUI
whisperjav-gui

Requirements for GUI: - Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime - The [gui] extra installed (included in default installation)

Translation CLI

REM Translate existing subtitles
whisperjav-translate -i subtitles.srt

REM See translation options
whisperjav-translate --help

Running from Source (Without Installing)

If you are developing and have not run pip install:

python -m whisperjav.main video.mp4 --mode balanced
python -m whisperjav.webview_gui.main
python -m whisperjav.translate.cli -i subtitles.srt

8. Updating to New Versions

Method 1: Git Pull + Reinstall (Development Mode)

If you installed in editable mode (--dev):

cd whisperjav
git pull
pip install --no-deps -e .

This updates to the latest code without re-downloading dependencies. If the new version adds new dependencies, you may need to install them separately or re-run python install.py.

Method 2: Full Reinstall

cd whisperjav
git pull
python install.py

This re-runs the full installer, which will upgrade packages as needed.

Method 3: Upgrade Command (for pip-installed)

REM Upgrade WhisperJAV only (no dependency changes)
pip install -U --no-deps git+https://github.com/meizhong986/whisperjav.git

REM Upgrade with all dependencies (may change PyTorch -- use with caution)
pip install -U "whisperjav[all] @ git+https://github.com/meizhong986/whisperjav.git"

Method 4: Built-in Upgrade Tool

REM Check for updates
whisperjav-upgrade --check

REM Interactive upgrade
whisperjav-upgrade

REM Upgrade package only, skip dependencies
whisperjav-upgrade --wheel-only

9. Environment Variables

WhisperJAV respects the following environment variables:

Variable Default Description
WHISPERJAV_DEBUG 0 Set to 1 to enable GUI debug mode (DevTools)
WHISPERJAV_NO_ICON 0 Set to 1 to skip icon loading (debug rendering issues)
WHISPERJAV_CACHE_DIR .whisperjav_cache Cache directory for metadata
HF_HOME ~/.cache/huggingface HuggingFace model cache location
TORCH_HOME ~/.cache/torch PyTorch model cache location
CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES All GPUs Restrict to specific GPU (e.g., 0)

Setting Environment Variables (Windows)

REM Temporary (current session only)
set WHISPERJAV_DEBUG=1

REM Permanent (PowerShell, user scope)
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("WHISPERJAV_DEBUG", "1", "User")

10. Troubleshooting

PyTorch / CUDA Issues

Problem: torch.cuda.is_available() returns False

Causes and fixes:

  1. Wrong PyTorch version installed (CPU instead of CUDA): 

    pip uninstall torch torchaudio -y
pip install torch torchaudio --index-url https://download.pytorch.org/whl/cu128

  2. Driver too old for selected CUDA version: 

    REM Check driver version
nvidia-smi
REM If driver < 570, use CUDA 11.8
pip install torch torchaudio --index-url https://download.pytorch.org/whl/cu118

  3. NVIDIA driver not installed: Download from nvidia.com.

Problem: RuntimeError: CUDA out of memory

  • WhisperJAV models require ~3-4 GB of GPU VRAM for large-v2 model.
  • Close other GPU-intensive applications.
  • Try a smaller model: whisperjav video.mp4 --model medium
  • Use CUDA_VISIBLE_DEVICES=0 if you have multiple GPUs.

pip / Package Installation Issues

Problem: pip install fails with "Could not build wheels"

REM Upgrade pip and build tools
pip install --upgrade pip setuptools wheel

REM Install Visual C++ Build Tools if needed
REM Download from: https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/visual-cpp-build-tools/

Problem: Dependency conflicts

REM Start fresh in a new venv
deactivate
rmdir /s /q whisperjav-env
python -m venv whisperjav-env
whisperjav-env\Scripts\activate
python install.py

Problem: pip install git+https://... fails with timeout

This is common behind firewalls or VPN. The automated installer handles this automatically, but for manual installation:

REM Configure Git with extended timeouts
git config --global http.connectTimeout 120
git config --global http.timeout 300
git config --global http.postBuffer 524288000

REM Retry the installation
pip install --timeout 120 git+https://github.com/openai/whisper@main

Problem: numpy / numba import errors

This happens when numba is installed before numpy:

pip uninstall numpy numba -y
pip install "numpy>=1.26.0,<2.0"
pip install "numba>=0.58.0"

FFmpeg Issues

Problem: FFmpeg is not installed or not in PATH

REM Verify FFmpeg is accessible
ffmpeg -version

REM If not found, add to PATH (example)
set PATH=C:\ffmpeg\bin;%PATH%

REM Or install via package manager
choco install ffmpeg

Problem: ffmpeg-python import error

The PyPI version of ffmpeg-python has build issues. Install from Git:

pip install git+https://github.com/kkroening/ffmpeg-python.git

GUI Issues

Problem: GUI window is blank or does not open

  1. Ensure WebView2 is installed: Download from microsoft.com

  2. Check pythonnet is installed: 

    pip install "pythonnet>=3.0"

  3. Try running with debug mode: 

    set WHISPERJAV_DEBUG=1
whisperjav-gui

Problem: ImportError: No module named 'webview'

pip install "pywebview>=5.0.0"

Speech Enhancement Issues

Problem: ModelScope download fails

ModelScope downloads models from China CDN. If you are outside China, downloads may be slow. The oss2 package is required:

pip install oss2 "modelscope>=1.20"

Problem: datasets version conflict

pip install "datasets>=2.14.0,<4.0"

datasets>=4.0 is incompatible with ModelScope.

Qwen3-ASR Issues (v1.8.3)

Problem: ImportError: No module named 'qwen_asr'

pip install "qwen-asr>=0.0.6"

Note: The pip package name is qwen-asr (hyphen) but the Python import is qwen_asr (underscore).

Problem: Qwen model download is slow

Models are downloaded from HuggingFace. Set a mirror if needed:

set HF_ENDPOINT=https://hf-mirror.com

General Tips

  1. Always check the log file: After running python install.py, check install_log.txt in the repository root for detailed error messages.

  2. Clear pip cache: If packages seem corrupted: 

    pip cache purge

  3. Check which Python is being used: 

    where python
python -c "import sys; print(sys.executable)"
    Ensure this points to your venv/conda Python, not the system Python.

  4. Verify your environment: 

    python -c "
import sys
print(f'Python: {sys.version}')
print(f'Executable: {sys.executable}')
print(f'Prefix: {sys.prefix}')
print(f'In venv: {sys.prefix != sys.base_prefix}')
"

  5. First transcription takes extra time: WhisperJAV downloads AI models (~1-3 GB) on first use. This is a one-time download cached in ~/.cache/huggingface/.

Appendix: Disk Space Requirements

Component Size Notes
Python packages ~4-6 GB PyTorch is the largest (~2 GB)
Whisper model (large-v2) ~3 GB Downloaded on first use
Qwen3-ASR model ~2-3 GB Downloaded on first use (if using Qwen mode)
Speech enhancement models ~1 GB Downloaded on first use
Total (recommended free space) ~15 GB Includes headroom for temp files

Appendix: Complete Package List

For the complete list of packages and their versions, see:

  • pyproject.toml -- Extras and dependency specifications
  • whisperjav/installer/core/registry.py -- Single source of truth for all packages
  • Run python -m whisperjav.installer.validation to check your installation against the registry