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How to install WhimprFlow on Windows

WhimprFlow does what Wispr Flow does, and Wispr Flow costs $180/year. This guide gets you the free one.

What you end up with

WhimprFlow installed like any other app on your Windows PC. It is free, and it stays free — there is no account, no trial and no subscription at the end of this.

Time
About 60 minutes
Steps
22
Cost
Free

Before you start

These are one-time installs. If you have used PowerShell before, you may have them already — the first step checks.

  1. Install Git

    Run the installer, then reopen PowerShell.

    Open installer

    You know this worked when: Git responds with a version number

  2. Install Node LTS

    Run the LTS installer, then reopen PowerShell.

    Open download

    You know this worked when: Node responds with a version number

Install WhimprFlow

  1. Open PowerShell

    Keep it open beside this page.

    You know this worked when: PowerShell is open

  2. Check Git and Node

    Use PowerShell. Git and the current Node LTS are required.

    Type this into PowerShell, then press Enter.

    git --version
node --version

    You know this worked when: Git and Node respond with version numbers

  3. Install pnpm

    The interface is a pnpm project.

    Type this into PowerShell, then press Enter.

    npm.cmd install -g pnpm

    You know this worked when: pnpm responds with a version number

  4. Install Rust

    Download rustup-init.exe, run it, then reopen PowerShell.

    Open rustup

    You know this worked when: cargo responds with a version number

  5. Install the C++ build tools

    Tick Desktop development with C++, then install.

    Open download

    You know this worked when: The installer reports it finished

  6. Install CMake

    Pick the Windows x64 installer and let it add CMake to PATH.

    Open download

    You know this worked when: cmake responds with a version number

  7. Install LLVM

    Set LIBCLANG_PATH to its bin folder if the build cannot find it.

    Open releases

    You know this worked when: LLVM is installed

  8. Copy WhimprFlow to this PC

    Type this into PowerShell, then press Enter.

    cd ~
if [ ! -d WhimprFlow/.git ]; then
git clone https://github.com/Blueturboguy07/WhimprFlow.git
fi

    You know this worked when: A WhimprFlow folder appears

  9. Open the WhimprFlow folder

    Type this into PowerShell, then press Enter.

    cd WhimprFlow

    You know this worked when: Your terminal prompt is inside the WhimprFlow folder

  10. Use the reviewed version

    Type this into PowerShell, then press Enter.

    git checkout 22c8d619a8cb87750d1b74b62c4fcb05c59ea55a

    You know this worked when: Git reports the reviewed commit

  11. Install the interface packages

    The last line fixes a pnpm build-approval quirk — it's a no-op when not needed.

    Type this into PowerShell, then press Enter.

    cd ui; pnpm.cmd install; cd ..; pnpm.cmd --dir ui approve-builds --all

    You know this worked when: The install finishes without an error

  12. Check the build toolchain

    Whisper's bindings need LLVM 18 or older. FAIL prints the exact fix to follow.

    Type this into PowerShell, then press Enter.

    node scripts/check-build-prereqs.mjs

    You know this worked when: The check prints PASS for clang/LLVM

  13. Make the speech model folder

    The model is too large to ship in the repository.

    Type this into PowerShell, then press Enter.

    mkdir -Force "$env:APPDATA\WhimprFlow\models"

    You know this worked when: The models folder exists

  14. Download the speech model

    About 150MB — the command fetches it straight into the models folder.

    Type this into PowerShell, then press Enter.

    if (!(Test-Path "$env:APPDATA\WhimprFlow\models\ggml-base.en.bin")) { curl.exe -f -L -o "$env:APPDATA\WhimprFlow\models\ggml-base.en.bin" https://huggingface.co/ggerganov/whisper.cpp/resolve/main/ggml-base.en.bin }

    You know this worked when: ggml-base.en.bin sits in the models folder

  15. Build the installer

    The first build compiles Whisper, so it takes a while.

    Type this into PowerShell, then press Enter.

    ui\node_modules\.bin\tauri.CMD build

    You know this worked when: A WhimprFlow installer appears in the bundle folder

  16. Run the installer

    The command opens the installer it just built — click through it.

    Type this into PowerShell, then press Enter.

    $setup = Get-ChildItem target\release\bundle\nsis -Filter *-setup.exe | Select-Object -First 1
Start-Process -FilePath $setup.FullName -Wait

    You know this worked when: The installer finishes

  17. Open WhimprFlow

    Launch it to finish setup — and so it shows up in your apps list.

    Type this into PowerShell, then press Enter.

    Start-Process "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\WhimprFlow\whimpr-tauri.exe"

    You know this worked when: WhimprFlow opens

  18. Choose how speech is cleaned up

    In Settings pick OpenAI and paste a key, or keep the raw transcript.

    You know this worked when: Settings saves without an error

  19. Allow microphone access

    Approve it when Windows asks.

    You know this worked when: WhimprFlow reports both as granted

  20. Hold Right Ctrl and speak

    Release the key and your words land where the cursor is.

    You know this worked when: Clean text appears in the app you were typing in

If something goes wrong

Nothing here can damage your computer, and every step can be run again safely. If a command fails, the usual cause is the step before it not having finished.

Still stuck? Tell us what happened and we will fix the guide. Include the step number and we can usually reproduce it.

Have a different setup?