fix(transcription): guard Whisper 25MB limit and zero temperature for stable output (#14335)
Two production-grade fixes to the existing audio transcription service. **Independent of the WhatsApp Calling work** — these affect every audio attachment that goes through Whisper (voice notes, call recordings, voicemails, etc.). ## Closes - [PLA-151 — PR-5: Recording Upload + Transcription Pipeline](https://linear.app/chatwoot/issue/PLA-151/pr-5-recording-upload-transcription-pipeline) ## Why this is needed ### 1. Whisper rejects payloads larger than 25 MB OpenAI's [Whisper API](https://platform.openai.com/docs/guides/speech-to-text) hard-caps file uploads at 25 MB. Long audio recordings — voice notes from chatty contacts, ~70+ min Opus call recordings — currently hit OpenAI with the full payload and 413 (\`Payload Too Large\`). The job retries via the existing \`Faraday::BadRequestError\` discard path, but the agent still sees a transcription failure for an attachment we knew was too big up front. This PR adds a pre-flight \`audio_too_large?\` check via the blob's \`byte_size\` and returns a controlled error without hitting OpenAI. The audio attachment is preserved (agents can still listen), only the transcription is skipped. ### 2. Whisper hallucinates on silence at non-zero temperature At \`temperature: 0.4\` (the previous value), Whisper produces well-documented hallucinated repeats on silence and near-silent segments — e.g. \`Oh, dear. Oh, dear. Oh, dear.\` filling the transcript. This shows up in real recordings whenever there's a hold or quiet moment. \`temperature: 0.0\` matches OpenAI's recommended default for transcription and eliminates the spirals. Reference: [openai/whisper#928](https://github.com/openai/whisper/discussions/928), [openai-python#1010](https://github.com/openai/openai-python/issues/1010). ## Are WhatsApp call recordings already handled? Yes — by the existing pipeline, **before this PR**: \`\`\` Browser MediaRecorder → upload_recording (PR-4) → @call.message.attachments.create!(file_type: :audio, ...) → Enterprise::Concerns::Attachment#enqueue_audio_transcription (after_create_commit hook) → Messages::AudioTranscriptionJob.perform_later(attachment.id) → Messages::AudioTranscriptionService → Whisper \`\`\` The \`after_create_commit\` hook already fires for every audio attachment regardless of source. PR-4's \`upload_recording\` endpoint creates the attachment; the existing job/service take it from there. No new wiring needed. This PR just makes the existing service more robust: - Calls longer than ~70 min (Opus 48 kbps) no longer 413 against OpenAI - Quiet recordings no longer produce hallucinated transcripts ## How to test \`\`\`ruby # In rails console with a real audio attachment: service = Messages::AudioTranscriptionService.new(Attachment.audio.last) # Normal-sized audio: unchanged behaviour service.perform # => { success: true, transcriptions: ... } # Large audio: new guard returns error instead of 413-ing OpenAI allow(attachment.file.blob).to receive(:byte_size).and_return(30.megabytes) service.perform # => { error: 'Audio too large for Whisper' } \`\`\` Existing transcription specs cover the happy path; one new spec exercises the byte-limit guard. ## Risk Low. Both changes are pre-flight guards or parameter values — they reduce the surface of OpenAI calls that can fail. Failure to transcribe is already non-fatal (the audio attachment is preserved either way).
This commit is contained in:
@@ -2,6 +2,10 @@ class Messages::AudioTranscriptionService< Llm::LegacyBaseOpenAiService
|
||||
include Integrations::LlmInstrumentation
|
||||
|
||||
WHISPER_MODEL = 'whisper-1'.freeze
|
||||
# Whisper's hard limit is 25 MB *decimal* (25_000_000), not binary (25.megabytes
|
||||
# = 26_214_400) — using the binary form leaks the 25.0–26.2 MB range to the API
|
||||
# as 413s. Long audio (~70+ min Opus) keeps the attachment but skips transcription.
|
||||
WHISPER_BYTE_LIMIT = 25_000_000
|
||||
|
||||
attr_reader :attachment, :message, :account
|
||||
|
||||
@@ -15,6 +19,7 @@ class Messages::AudioTranscriptionService< Llm::LegacyBaseOpenAiService
|
||||
def perform
|
||||
return { error: 'Transcription limit exceeded' } unless can_transcribe?
|
||||
return { error: 'Message not found' } if message.blank?
|
||||
return { error: 'Audio too large for Whisper' } if audio_too_large?
|
||||
|
||||
transcriptions = transcribe_audio
|
||||
Rails.logger.info "Audio transcription successful: #{transcriptions}"
|
||||
@@ -33,6 +38,13 @@ class Messages::AudioTranscriptionService< Llm::LegacyBaseOpenAiService
|
||||
account.usage_limits[:captain][:responses][:current_available].positive?
|
||||
end
|
||||
|
||||
def audio_too_large?
|
||||
blob = attachment.file&.blob
|
||||
return false unless blob
|
||||
|
||||
blob.byte_size > WHISPER_BYTE_LIMIT
|
||||
end
|
||||
|
||||
def fetch_audio_file
|
||||
blob = attachment.file.blob
|
||||
temp_dir = Rails.root.join('tmp/uploads/audio-transcriptions')
|
||||
@@ -63,11 +75,14 @@ class Messages::AudioTranscriptionService< Llm::LegacyBaseOpenAiService
|
||||
transcribed_text = nil
|
||||
|
||||
File.open(temp_file_path, 'rb') do |file|
|
||||
# temperature: 0.0 minimises Whisper's hallucinations on silence /
|
||||
# near-silent audio; non-zero values trigger spiraling repeats like
|
||||
# "Oh, dear. Oh, dear. Oh, dear." — well-documented Whisper behaviour.
|
||||
response = @client.audio.transcribe(
|
||||
parameters: {
|
||||
model: WHISPER_MODEL,
|
||||
file: file,
|
||||
temperature: 0.4
|
||||
temperature: 0.0
|
||||
}
|
||||
)
|
||||
transcribed_text = response['text']
|
||||
|
||||
@@ -63,6 +63,23 @@ RSpec.describe Messages::AudioTranscriptionService, type: :service do
|
||||
expect(result).to eq({ success: true, transcriptions: 'Existing transcription' })
|
||||
end
|
||||
end
|
||||
|
||||
context 'when the audio exceeds Whisper byte limit' do
|
||||
before do
|
||||
attachment.file.attach(
|
||||
io: File.open(Rails.public_path.join('audio/widget/ding.mp3')),
|
||||
filename: 'large.mp3',
|
||||
content_type: 'audio/mpeg'
|
||||
)
|
||||
allow(service).to receive(:can_transcribe?).and_return(true)
|
||||
allow(attachment.file.blob).to receive(:byte_size).and_return(described_class::WHISPER_BYTE_LIMIT + 1)
|
||||
end
|
||||
|
||||
it 'returns an error without calling Whisper' do
|
||||
expect(service).not_to receive(:transcribe_audio)
|
||||
expect(service.perform).to eq({ error: 'Audio too large for Whisper' })
|
||||
end
|
||||
end
|
||||
end
|
||||
|
||||
describe '#fetch_audio_file' do
|
||||
|
||||
Reference in New Issue
Block a user