WinBulkTranscript by Jamieson Lab is a Windows 11 desktop application that recursively transcribes MP4 files into WebVTT (.vtt) files.
Preview available: unsigned x64 and ARM64 ZIPs are available on the GitHub Releases page. Versions below 1.0 are early previews; review their release notes and documented limitations before use.
New to WinBulkTranscript? Follow the Windows quickstart. It walks through choosing the correct download, verifying and extracting the ZIP, responding safely to the Windows SmartScreen warning, downloading the model on first use, and creating your first transcripts.
The short version is: download the x64 or ARM64 release ZIP, verify its checksum, use Extract All, run WinBulkTranscript.exe from the extracted folder, select input and output folders, and select Start. The application is portable and currently unsigned; there is no installer.
Approved releases provide two self-contained downloads:
WinBulkTranscript-<version>-win-x64.zipfor ordinary Intel/AMD Windows 11 PCs.WinBulkTranscript-<version>-win-arm64.zipfor Windows on Arm PCs.
Versions below 1.0 are preview releases and are marked as prereleases on GitHub. Their release notes and embedded matrices identify validation gaps accepted for preview; review those limitations before use. Version 1.0 and later uses the supported-release policy and requires every applicable architecture gate to pass.
Download the matching archive and SHA256SUMS.txt from GitHub Releases, verify it, extract the entire ZIP to a normal folder, and launch WinBulkTranscript.exe from that extracted folder. Do not run it inside the ZIP or copy the EXE alone. The bundle includes .NET and Windows App SDK dependencies; the speech model is downloaded separately on first use.
$version = '1.2.3'
$architecture = 'x64' # Use arm64 on Windows on Arm.
$zip = "WinBulkTranscript-$version-win-$architecture.zip"
$matchingLines = @(Get-Content .\SHA256SUMS.txt |
Where-Object { $_ -match "^[0-9a-fA-F]{64} \*$([regex]::Escape($zip))$" })
if ($matchingLines.Count -ne 1) { throw 'Checksum manifest is missing or ambiguous.' }
$expected = ($matchingLines[0] -split ' ', 2)[0].ToLowerInvariant()
$actual = (Get-FileHash ".\$zip" -Algorithm SHA256).Hash.ToLowerInvariant()
if ($actual -ne $expected) { throw 'Checksum verification failed.' }
Expand-Archive ".\$zip" -DestinationPath ".\WinBulkTranscript-$version-win-$architecture"Release ZIPs are currently unsigned. Windows SmartScreen may warn, and organizational policy may block them; obtain files only from the Releases page and do not disable or bypass security policy. GitHub build provenance can additionally be checked with gh attestation verify $zip --repo JamiesonLabUTSW/win-bulk-transcript.
We use ZIP rather than an unsigned MSIX because Microsoft reserves unsigned-MSIX installation for testing: executable packages generally need elevated PowerShell with Add-AppxPackage -AllowUnsigned, while self-signed MSIX packages require each device to trust a certificate first. A signed MSIX is a future option once a trusted signing/Store channel is available.
Run these commands in PowerShell from the repository root on Windows 11 24H2 or later. Developers need a .NET 10 SDK. The desktop app has no command-line file arguments.
dotnet restore .\src\WinBulkTranscript.App\WinBulkTranscript.App.csproj --locked-mode
dotnet run --project .\src\WinBulkTranscript.App\WinBulkTranscript.App.csproj --configuration Debugdotnet run opens the application window. After a successful build, add --no-build --no-restore for a faster repeat launch.
Use this to test the unpackaged, self-contained folder layout intended for distribution. It is a local developer publish, not a release artifact.
$publish = Join-Path $PWD ("artifacts\local-publish\win-x64-" + (Get-Date -Format 'yyyyMMdd-HHmmss'))
dotnet restore .\src\WinBulkTranscript.App\WinBulkTranscript.App.csproj --locked-mode
dotnet publish .\src\WinBulkTranscript.App\WinBulkTranscript.App.csproj `
--configuration Release `
--runtime win-x64 `
--self-contained true `
--no-restore `
--property:WindowsAppSDKSelfContained=true `
--property:PublishSingleFile=false `
--output $publish
& "$publish\WinBulkTranscript.exe"Replace win-x64 with win-arm64 on an ARM64 Windows machine. Keep every file in the published folder beside WinBulkTranscript.exe; do not copy or run the EXE by itself. Version 1 uses a folder/ZIP deployment rather than a single-file executable or MSIX.
- Select an existing input folder containing MP4 files. Discovery is recursive and Start stays disabled until it finds a readable MP4.
- Select an existing, writable output folder. A separate output folder is recommended.
- Select Start transcription. If the pinned CPU model is not cached, the app downloads and loads
nemotron-speech-streaming-en-0.6b-generic-cpu:3; an uncached first run needs internet access. - Watch the progress and file rows. Files are processed sequentially.
- If matching VTTs already exist, choose one batch-wide policy: Skip existing, Overwrite all, or Cancel.
An input file at input\season-1\episode-01.mp4 writes to output\season-1\episode-01.vtt: the input hierarchy is mirrored below the output root. A header-only VTT is a successful result when no speech is detected.
Use Cancel to stop a batch cooperatively and wait for cleanup to finish before starting another batch or closing the app. Closing during a batch offers Cancel batch and close or Keep working.
- Start is disabled: both folders must still exist, and the input tree must contain at least one readable
.mp4file. Reparse points are not traversed. - First model load fails: connect to the internet and retry. See the quickstart troubleshooting section if the problem continues.
- Existing transcript files: choose the batch-wide collision policy in the dialog; do not force-kill the app while it is processing.
- Supported package: do not treat
artifacts\publish-smokeor an Actions run artifact as a release. Only assets attached to an approved entry on the GitHub Releases page are release downloads; if the page has no release, no supported package exists yet. See the release process.
WinBulkTranscript is source-available software licensed for academic research use only under the UT Southwestern academic research license. Any use or redistribution for commercial purposes is prohibited, and any use or redistribution by a for-profit entity is treated as commercial use. The license does not grant patent rights. This restricted license is not an Open Source Initiative-approved open-source license.
Third-party packages, the .NET/Windows runtime payload, and the separately downloaded transcription model remain subject to their own license terms. Release artifacts include release-specific third-party, runtime, and model notices; see Third-party licensing for the current dependency audit. Questions about permitted use or alternative licensing should be directed to the UT Southwestern Office for Technology Development at technologydevelopment@utsouthwestern.edu.
Adding the required license notice does not itself authorize public release. UT Southwestern contributors must complete the institution's required disclosure and approval process before publishing this repository or a binary release.