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Transcriber Node Installation

Install cast2md as a remote transcription worker that connects to a running cast2md server.

Note

This page covers node installation only. For the full distributed transcription setup including server configuration, see the Setup Guide.

The install script handles everything automatically:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/meltforce/cast2md/main/scripts/cast2md-node.sh | bash

The script:

  • Supports macOS (launchd) and Linux (systemd)
  • Checks prerequisites (Python 3.11+, ffmpeg)
  • Creates a virtual environment with minimal dependencies (~280 MB)
  • Detects Apple Silicon and installs MLX backend automatically
  • Prompts for server URL and node name
  • Offers auto-start service, shell script, or manual operation

Updating: Run the same command again to update an existing installation.

Uninstalling: Run the script and choose the uninstall option.

Manual Install

1. Clone and Install

git clone https://github.com/meltforce/cast2md.git
cd cast2md

python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate

# Install cast2md without full dependencies
pip install --no-deps -e .

# Install node-only dependencies
pip install httpx pydantic-settings python-dotenv click fastapi \
  'uvicorn[standard]' jinja2 python-multipart

2. Install Transcription Backend

pip install mlx-whisper

pip install faster-whisper

pip install faster-whisper

3. Configure (Optional)

Create a .env file:

WHISPER_BACKEND=mlx
WHISPER_MODEL=large-v3-turbo

WHISPER_BACKEND=faster-whisper
WHISPER_MODEL=large-v3-turbo
WHISPER_DEVICE=cuda
WHISPER_COMPUTE_TYPE=float16

WHISPER_BACKEND=faster-whisper
WHISPER_MODEL=base
WHISPER_DEVICE=cpu
WHISPER_COMPUTE_TYPE=int8

4. Register with Server

cast2md node register \
  --server http://YOUR_SERVER:8000 \
  --name "My Transcriber Node"

Credentials are saved to ~/.cast2md/node.json.

5. Start the Node

cast2md node start

The node opens a local status UI at http://localhost:8001 and begins polling the server for jobs.

Verify Connection

cast2md node status

Check the server's Status page to confirm the node appears under "Remote Transcriber Nodes".

Next Steps