macOS Menu Bar App to Control Transcription with Python

macOS Menu Bar App to Control Transcription

This guide explains how to create a macOS menu bar application using Python that:

• Lists available audio input devices such as BlackHole or built-in microphones.
• Allows device selection from the menu bar.
• Launches a transcription script using the selected device.
• Opens a window to show live transcribed text.

Prerequisites

• Python 3.8 or newer
• macOS
• Install dependencies:

pip install pyobjc sounddevice

File Structure

• menu_app.py: macOS menu bar app using PyObjC.
• transcribe.py: Your transcription script. It must accept --device argument and output transcription text to stdout.

Instructions

1. Set Up the Menu Bar App

   Use NSStatusBar from PyObjC to create a status item in the macOS menu bar.

2. List Input Devices

   Use sounddevice.query_devices() to get available audio input devices. Filter for devices with max_input_channels > 0.

3. Generate a Menu for Devices

   For each input device, create a menu item. When clicked, this sets the selected device.

4. Start Transcription

   Use subprocess.Popen to run the transcription script with the selected device passed as --device. Capture stdout for real-time transcription.

5. Open Transcription Window

   Create a NSWindow with a NSTextView wrapped in a NSScrollView. Display transcription output here.

6. Stop Transcription

   Terminate the subprocess and close the transcription window.

7. Quit App

   Add a Quit menu item that terminates the app and subprocess if running.

Running the App

Launch the app using:

python menu_app.py

Look for the “Transcribe” menu in the macOS menu bar. Select an input device, start transcription, and see the output in a separate window.

Notes

• Ensure transcribe.py prints transcribed text to stdout.
• The menu bar item must have a title or icon to be visible.
• Use read-only NSTextView inside a scroll view for clean text display.