Model Issues

Yapper uses AI models for speech recognition that need to be downloaded and loaded before use. Yapper supports two engines — Parakeet (NVIDIA) and Whisper (OpenAI) — each with their own models. This guide helps you troubleshoot model-related issues.

Model Download Issues

Download Won’t Start

If clicking a model doesn’t start the download:

1. Check your internet connection — Models are downloaded from Hugging Face
2. Check available storage — Models need 75 MB to 3 GB depending on size
3. Try a smaller model first — If Large models won’t download, try Small or Base

Canceling a Download

If a download is taking too long or you changed your mind, click the cancel button next to the progress bar to stop the download. You can restart it later by selecting the model again.

Download Is Stuck

If the progress bar isn’t moving:

1. Cancel the download and try again
2. Check your internet connection stability
3. Close and reopen Yapper Settings
4. Select a different model, then select your original choice again
5. Try during off-peak hours (download servers can be busy)

Download Failed Error

If you see a download error:

1. Verify internet connection — Open a website to confirm connectivity
2. Check firewall/VPN — Some networks block Hugging Face; try disabling VPN
3. Free up disk space — Ensure you have enough space (check About This Mac → Storage)
4. Try a different model — If one fails, another may work

Partial Download

If a model seems partially downloaded or corrupted:

1. Go to Settings → Transcription and click Clear Downloaded Models to remove all models cleanly
2. Restart Yapper
3. Download the model again

Alternatively, you can manually delete model folders:

• Whisper models: ~/Library/Application Support/Yapper/models/
• Parakeet models: ~/Library/Application Support/Yapper/parakeet-models/

Model Loading Issues

”Model not loaded” Error

This means the model hasn’t finished loading into memory.

Solution:

1. Open Settings → Transcription
2. Check the model status
3. Wait for loading to complete (progress indicator shown)
4. If stuck, try selecting a different model and then back

Model Takes Forever to Load

First loads are slower; subsequent loads should be faster.

If loading is consistently slow:

1. Try a smaller model — Large v3 takes longer than Small or Base
2. Close other apps — Free up RAM for model loading
3. Restart Yapper — Sometimes helps clear cached state
4. Restart your Mac — Clears memory fragmentation

Loading Fails Repeatedly

If the model fails to load:

1. Check Activity Monitor for available memory
2. Close memory-intensive applications
3. Try the Tiny or Base model first
4. If even small models fail, restart your Mac

Model Performance Issues

Transcription Is Very Slow

If transcription takes much longer than expected:

Symptom	Likely Cause	Solution
Processing takes minutes	Wrong model size for your Mac	Try a smaller model
First transcription slow	Model warming up	Subsequent transcriptions faster
Consistently slow	Insufficient resources	Close other apps, try smaller model

Model Using Too Much Memory

If Yapper is using excessive RAM:

1. Check Activity Monitor for Yapper’s memory usage
2. Larger models use more memory:
   • Parakeet TDT v3/v2: ~800 MB
   • Tiny: ~150 MB
   • Base: ~250 MB
   • Small: ~500 MB
   • Large v3 Turbo: ~1.5 GB
   • Large v3: ~3 GB
3. Switch to a smaller model if needed

Model Using Too Much CPU

High CPU usage during transcription is normal. If CPU stays high when idle:

1. Quit and reopen Yapper
2. Check if the model is stuck loading
3. Try a different model

Storage Issues

Not Enough Disk Space

Models require significant storage:

Model	Space Needed
Parakeet TDT v3/v2	~800 MB
Tiny	~150 MB
Base	~250 MB
Small	~500 MB
Large v3 Turbo	~1.5 GB
Large v3	~3 GB

To free space:

1. Use Clear Downloaded Models in Settings → Transcription to remove all downloaded models at once
2. Or delete unused models manually:
   • Whisper models: ~/Library/Application Support/Yapper/models/
   • Parakeet models: ~/Library/Application Support/Yapper/parakeet-models/
3. Clear other files (Downloads, Trash, etc.)
4. Consider using a smaller model

Model Storage Location

Models are stored locally at:

• Whisper models: ~/Library/Application Support/Yapper/models/
• Parakeet models: ~/Library/Application Support/Yapper/parakeet-models/

You can see how much disk space your models are using in Settings → Transcription.

To access these folders in Finder:

1. Open Finder
2. Press ⌘ Shift G
3. Paste the path and press Enter

Switching Models

Best Practices for Changing Models

1. Wait for current recording/processing to complete
2. Go to Settings → Transcription
3. Select the new model
4. Wait for download (if needed) and loading
5. Test with a short recording

Model Recommendations

Your Priority	Recommended Model
Best balance (recommended)	Parakeet TDT v3
English-only, top accuracy	Parakeet TDT v2
100+ languages	Large v3 Turbo
Maximum accuracy	Large v3
Streaming transcription	Large v3 Turbo
Good accuracy, faster	Small
Fastest results	Base
Minimal resources	Tiny

Clearing Model Cache

If models are behaving unexpectedly:

1. Open Settings → Transcription and click Clear Downloaded Models
2. Or manually: Quit Yapper, delete the contents of the model folders (see storage locations above)
3. Reopen Yapper
4. Re-download your preferred model

Still Having Issues?

If model problems persist:

1. Check macOS version — Yapper requires macOS 14+
2. Update macOS — Some issues are fixed in updates
3. Contact support — Email hello@yapper.to with:
   • Your Mac model (Apple menu → About This Mac)
   • Which model you’re trying to use
   • The specific error or behavior

Related Topics

• Transcription Settings — Model selection
• System Requirements — Hardware requirements
• Recording Issues — Other recording problems