Test Scripts

Fast automated tests live under tests/unit/ and are documented in testing.md. This page explains the Python scripts directly under tests/. Most of them are demos, manual checks, regression harnesses, or legacy experiments rather than maintained unit tests.

Run scripts from the repository root so relative imports and model paths work.

Maintained Regression And Benchmark Harnesses

Script	Category	Purpose
tests/final_transcription_gap_regression.py	Regression harness	Streams a WAV file while AudioToTextRecorder.text() runs in parallel to reproduce slow final-transcription gaps. Can generate expected JSON and compare CPU output.
tests/realtime_transcription_count_comparison.py	Manual integration benchmark	Compares timer-based realtime transcription with syllable-boundary scheduling on deterministic WAV input. Reports realtime model-call counts and validates final text.
tests/realtime_boundary_detector_live_test.py	Manual detector check	Lightweight live check for the realtime boundary detector.
tests/realtime_boundary_detector_microphone.py	Manual detector visualizer	Microphone visualizer for syllable/speech boundary detection. Useful when tuning boundary sensitivity.

These are useful during recorder and realtime scheduling work, but they are not the default fast unit test suite.

Core RealtimeSTT Demos

Script	Category	Purpose
tests/simple_test.py	Minimal demo	Smallest microphone transcription smoke script.
tests/realtimestt_test.py	Full interactive demo	Rich console demo with realtime transcription, final text, and optional keyboard typing.
tests/realtimestt_test_whispercpp.py	Engine demo	whisper.cpp version of the interactive demo with CPU profiles.
tests/realtimestt_omnilingual_test.py	Engine smoke/demo	Linux/WSL2 Omnilingual ASR script with deterministic file smoke, init-only check, and interactive microphone mode.
tests/feed_audio.py	External-audio demo	Opens a PyAudio stream manually and feeds chunks through feed_audio() with use_microphone=False.
tests/openwakeword_test.py	Wake word demo	OpenWakeWord demo using local sample wake word models in the tests/ folder.
tests/realtime_loop_test.py	Realtime demo	Exercises realtime transcription in a loop.
tests/realtimestt_chinese.py	Language demo	Demonstrates Chinese transcription settings.
tests/vad_test.py	VAD demo	Manual VAD behavior check.

Use these when developing locally with a microphone and real models. They may load models, use optional packages, write to the keyboard, or require audio device permissions.

Application Experiments

Script	Category	Purpose
tests/advanced_talk.py	Assistant demo	Combines RealtimeSTT with RealtimeTTS and LLM calls. Requires API keys and TTS dependencies.
tests/minimalistic_talkbot.py	Assistant demo	Small talkbot example using speech input and generated responses.
tests/openai_voice_interface.py	Assistant demo	Voice interface experiment using OpenAI-compatible client setup.
tests/translator.py	Translation demo	Speech translation workflow experiment.
tests/type_into_textbox.py	Utility demo	Types recognized text into the focused text box.
tests/recorder_client.py	Client demo	Uses the packaged recorder client/server path.

Treat these as examples, not correctness tests. Check credentials, local model servers, and package imports before running them.

Speech Endpoint And Hotkey Experiments

Script	Category	Purpose
tests/realtimestt_speechendpoint.py	Legacy/manual experiment	Experiments with speech endpoint detection and display behavior.
tests/realtimestt_speechendpoint_binary_classified.py	Legacy/manual experiment	Variant of the speech endpoint experiment with binary classification logic.
tests/realtimestt_test_hotkeys_v2.py	Manual UI/hotkey demo	Rich console and hotkey workflow for dictation-style usage.
tests/realtimestt_test_stereomix.py	Manual audio-device demo	Tests stereo mix/system audio input behavior.

These scripts may be useful as reference material, but behavior is less stable than the unit tests and maintained regression harnesses.

Helpers And Data

File	Category	Purpose
tests/install_packages.py	Helper	Prompts or installs demo dependencies used by older scripts. Avoid it in automated test runs.
tests/samanta.tflite	Data/model	OpenWakeWord model artifact used by demos.
tests/suh_mahn_thuh.onnx	Data/model	OpenWakeWord model artifact used by openwakeword_test.py.
tests/suh_man_tuh.onnx	Data/model	OpenWakeWord model artifact used by openwakeword_test.py.
tests/README.md	Legacy note	Short OpenWakeWord test note.
tests/__init__.py	Package marker	Lets unit tests import from tests.

Running The Maintained Scripts

Final transcription gap regression:

python tests/final_transcription_gap_regression.py --mode both

Realtime scheduling comparison:

python tests/realtime_transcription_count_comparison.py --mode both

whisper.cpp interactive demo:

python -m pip install "RealtimeSTT[whisper-cpp]" rich pyautogui colorama
python tests/realtimestt_test_whispercpp.py --profile balanced

Boundary detector microphone visualizer:

python tests/realtime_boundary_detector_microphone.py --sensitivity 0.6

Safety Notes

• Scripts with pyautogui, keyboard, or hotkey support can type into the active application.
• Scripts using real engines may download large models or require CUDA.
• Microphone scripts require OS audio permissions.
• Assistant demos can call local or hosted LLM/TTS services depending on their configuration.