how to automatically convert the audio from the mixer of a ubuntu computer into text?

To automatically convert audio from your Ubuntu computer's mixer into text, you need two things: a way to

route the system's audio output as an input and a speech-to-text (STT) application configured for real-time transcription.  

Step 1: Route System Audio as an Input 

You need to make the audio that's playing through your speakers (the "mixer output") appear as a microphone input source. This can be done using pavucontrol (PulseAudio Volume Control). 

1. Install pavucontrol if you don't have it:
   bash

   sudo apt install pavucontrol 

    
2. Open PulseAudio Volume Control from your applications menu.
3. Start the sound you want to transcribe (e.g., a YouTube video, a meeting, etc.).
4. In pavucontrol, go to the Recording tab.
5. Find the application that is producing the sound in the list. Change the input source for that application from a physical microphone to "Monitor of Internal Audio Analog Stereo" (the exact name may vary slightly depending on your system).
6. Go to the Input Devices tab and make sure the "Monitor of..." source is unmuted and the level meter is reacting to the sound playing. 

Step 2: Use a Speech-to-Text Application 

Once the audio is routed, you can use an application to transcribe the new input source. The most accurate and powerful open-source tool currently available for local processing is OpenAI's Whisper AI. 

Option A: Using Google Docs (Easiest, requires internet) 

A simple, browser-based method uses Google Docs' built-in voice typing feature. 

1. Open Google Docs in your web browser.
2. Go to Tools > Voice typing. A microphone icon will appear.
3. Click the microphone icon and ensure your browser has permission to access the "Monitor of Internal Audio" input (you may need to select it in your browser's site settings or Ubuntu's system sound settings if it defaults to your actual microphone).
4. Play the audio from your mixer, and the text should appear in the document in real time. 

Option B: Using OpenAI Whisper (Offline, more complex setup) 

For an offline, more private solution, you can use the command-line version of Whisper. 

1. Install dependencies:
   bash

    sudo apt update
   sudo apt install python3 python3-pip python3-venv ffmpeg
   

   
   

   2. Install Whisper in a virtual environment:

   bash

2. python3 -m venv whisper_env
   source whisper_env/bin/activate
   pip install openai-whisper
   

3. Use a specific script for real-time transcription that captures the default audio input and processes it (the setup for a command-line real-time script requires additional steps beyond batch file processing). A simple script using libraries like sounddevice and numpy can be built to capture from your default system input (which you've now set to the mixer output).
4. Alternatively, you can record the audio output to a file first using a tool like OBS or ffmpeg, and then run the Whisper command on the saved audio file:
5. 
   

whisper your_audio_file.wav --model small --output_format txt

This will process the entire file at once.