manage-whisper-test-models

name	Manage Whisper test models
description	Use when tests need deterministic model files, model downloads fail, or WHISPER_TEST_MODEL_PATH is involved.

Manage Whisper test models

Use this skill when tests fail because model files are missing, the environment cannot download models, or a task touches model download/test fixture behavior.

Model path contract

WHISPER_TEST_MODEL_PATH must point to a directory that contains test model files, not to a single model file. The test helper expects file names like:

ggml-tiny-noquantization.bin
ggml-tiny-q5_0.bin

Do not set WHISPER_TEST_MODEL_PATH to runtimes/ unless those ggml-*.bin files are present there.

Populate the model cache

Use the repository tool to download the models expected by tests:

$env:WHISPER_TEST_MODEL_PATH = "$PWD\.test-models"
dotnet run --project .\tools\DownloadModelForTests\DownloadModelForTests.csproj
dotnet test .\Whisper.net.slnx --logger "trx"
Remove-Item Env:\WHISPER_TEST_MODEL_PATH

Keep .test-models/ or any other downloaded model cache out of source control.

Hugging Face token

Some model downloads may require authentication. If the environment provides HF_TOKEN, preserve and pass it through rather than hardcoding tokens or adding tokens to config files.

Troubleshooting

• If tests fail before downloading, check that WHISPER_TEST_MODEL_PATH points to a writable directory.
• If tests fail after downloading, verify both expected file names exist in the directory.
• If native library loading fails, use runtime validation skills instead; model files and native runtimes are separate inputs.