Practical overview
When it fits
Use Aria when you want a movable text overlay for Windows audio, or a separate translated overlay. Choose Lite for the Windows Live Captions workflow; choose Full for additional recognition modes, microphone capture, or bundled offline models.
Who it is for
- Windows users who want captions for audio from videos, browsers, games or calls.
- People who want a separate translated-caption overlay while listening.
- Users who need a choice between Windows Live Captions and additional speech-recognition modes, including local models.
Documented uses
- Turn computer playback or microphone audio into live subtitles.
- Display a translation separately from the original captions.
- Choose recognition suited to recorded material, fast-changing conversations, or Windows Live Captions.
Requirements & limits
The project is published under GPL-3.0. Lite requires Windows 11 version 22H2 or later; Full requires Windows 10 or 11. The packages include a Python runtime.
- Lite is approximately 600 MB and offers Windows Live Captions mode; Full is approximately 7.6 GB and adds Precise and Realtime modes plus offline models.
- Full supports system-audio or microphone capture; Lite is limited to Live Captions.
- Precise uses Faster-Whisper and works best with an NVIDIA GPU; Live Captions requires no NVIDIA GPU or CUDA setup.
- Realtime uses Sherpa-ONNX for Chinese and English or Vosk for Japanese.
- Translation can use online services or the Full package’s local NLLB model; online services may be rate-limited or change.
Check current requirements in the official documentation. Source-based guidance does not mean OpenViST has run or independently tested this project.
Install and start ARIA Full for live subtitles
Extract the Full package and start ARIA with a selected speech-recognition mode.
Before you start
- Windows 10 or Windows 11
- ARIA Full package; an NVIDIA GPU is recommended for Precise mode
Steps
Download and extract the Full package.
Start ARIA.bat from the extracted package.
Select a recognition mode, configure translation if needed, and select Start.
Expected outcome
ARIA starts with the selected recognition mode and can display recognized speech in a movable subtitle overlay.
Guide limitations
- The Full package is approximately 7.6 GB.
- Precise mode works best with an NVIDIA GPU.
- Online translation services may be rate-limited or change without notice.
Install and start ARIA Lite
Extract and start the Lite build for Windows Live Captions subtitles.
Before you start
- Windows 11, version 22H2 or later
- ARIA Lite package
Steps
Download and extract the Lite package.
Start run_lite.bat from the extracted package.
Expected outcome
ARIA Lite starts using Windows Live Captions and includes a translation overlay.
Guide limitations
- The Lite build is limited to Windows Live Captions mode.
- The Lite package is approximately 600 MB.
Sources & review
Source record details
- Source availability
- Active
- Sources checked
- 14 October 2026
- Original website title
- sayksii/Aria · Official homepage title · retained in its source language

