Compared with other tools — Asterisk

Compare tools for Asterisk and FreePBX calls: transcripts, where recordings go, agent access and setup.

pbx is a command line and an MCP server that copies the calls of an Asterisk PBX to your computer, turns their recordings into text there and gives them to your AI agent to read. This page puts it next to the other tools people use to read, transcribe and search the calls of an Asterisk or FreePBX system, so you can see which one fits your job. The marks for pbx come from version 0.4.0, checked on 14 November 2026. The marks for the other tools come from their own READMEs and documentation, checked on 13 November 2026. Nothing was connected to a live PBX for this page, and a tool may do more than its pages say.

The tools:

pbx: this tool. Reads the call records and recordings of any Asterisk PBX, transcribes on your computer, and gives the calls to an agent. It only reads: it never changes the PBX.
FreePBX's own tools: the CDR Reports page in the FreePBX admin, the CDR GraphQL API, and Scribe, a paid FreePBX module from Sangoma that transcribes and summarises recordings.
Frogman: a FreePBX module with an MCP server, an HTTP API and a command line, 257 tools that read and change the PBX (34 stars, updated 11 September 2026).
asterisk-ai-call-notes: a Python worker that transcribes each new recording and writes a short summary, a next step and a tag for it (updated 18 September 2026).

✅ yes · 🟡 partly · ❌ no · ➖ not in its documentation

Features

Task	pbx	FreePBX	Frogman	ai-call-notes
Find calls
List the calls of a date range	✅	✅	✅	❌
Find every call with one phone number	✅	✅	✅	❌
See call statistics: busiest extensions, peak hours, failed calls	❌	➖	✅	🟡
See the same caller in calls, chats, mail and the CRM	✅	➖	➖	➖
Recordings and transcripts
Find the recording of a call	✅	✅	✅	🟡
Play a recording from a link	❌	✅	✅	➖
Turn recorded calls into text	✅	✅	➖	✅
Recordings never leave your own computers	✅	❌	➖	🟡
Transcribe the recordings you already have, in one run	✅	✅	➖	🟡
A short summary of each call	❌	🟡	➖	✅
Search what was said	🟡	🟡	➖	🟡
Mark the calls that mention words you choose	❌	✅	➖	🟡
Save a transcript as a file	✅	✅	➖	🟡
Agents and safety
An AI app reads the calls over MCP	✅	➖	✅	➖
An agent with a terminal runs it, with JSON output and a skill	✅	➖	🟡	➖
The agent can read calls but never change the PBX	✅	🟡	🟡	➖
Allow or deny single commands for an agent	✅	🟡	🟡	➖
Text from a call reaches the agent as data, never as instructions	✅	➖	➖	➖
A record of what the agent ran	🟡	🟡	✅	➖
The agent needs no root login on the PBX	✅	✅	🟡	➖
Setup
Works with Asterisk without FreePBX	✅	❌	❌	✅
Nothing to install on the PBX	✅	🟡	❌	🟡

Requirement	pbx	FreePBX	Frogman	ai-call-notes
Install	npm, Node 22.16 or later	built into FreePBX, Scribe from Module Admin	a FreePBX module	clone it, then Python
Licence	Apache-2.0	Scribe needs a paid licence	AGPL-3.0	MIT
Speech to text	a model on your computer	Deepgram, Sangoma's partner	Scribe's, for voicemail only	faster-whisper on your server, or OpenAI

Notes on the marks:

Search what was said. pbx has no search command of its own. The calls are in the WireCat store, so memo and the search of the other WireCat tools find them next to your chats and mail. FreePBX searches transcripts by the tags you set up. ai-call-notes writes the text into a SQLite table and leaves the search to you.
Summaries. pbx makes no summary of its own. Your agent reads the transcript and writes one. Scribe makes summaries in English only. ai-call-notes sends the transcript text to Anthropic or OpenAI for its summary.
Recordings stay with you. pbx recognises speech on your computer. Scribe sends recordings to Deepgram. ai-call-notes keeps audio on your server with faster-whisper, and sends the text to a cloud model.
Transcribe what you already have. Scribe Rewind transcribes past recordings you select. ai-call-notes takes one file at a time with its file option, or watches the folder.
The agent can only read. pbx opens the CDR database in a read-only session and the files for reading, and has no command that writes to the PBX. A FreePBX access token is limited to the parts its application is given. Frogman gives each user a permission level, and asks for a confirmation before a change.
Single commands. pbx sets each command to allow, ask, read only or deny, per profile. Over MCP no one is there to answer, so ask lets the command run. See settings.
A record of what ran. pbx keeps failed runs, and a sync or a transcription when you ask it to. Frogman keeps an audit log of every tool call. FreePBX shows when each token was last used and from where.
Root login. Frogman's MCP setup connects over SSH as root to the PBX. pbx runs on your computer and needs a read-only database user, a folder mounted read-only, or an SFTP user that may only read.
Install on the PBX. pbx needs nothing on the PBX. CDR Reports comes with FreePBX, and Scribe is a module you install there. ai-call-notes runs where it can read the recordings folder, often the PBX itself.
Call statistics. ai-call-notes counts the drop rate, hangup causes by hour and the disposition mix only for VICIdial, inside its health check report.
Recordings with a link. pbx links each call to its recording file by its path. It does not stream it.

When another tool fits better

FreePBX with Scribe: you run FreePBX, want summaries, sentiment and tags in the user portal and the phone app, and sending recordings to a cloud service is fine.
Frogman: you want an agent to change the PBX, such as extensions, ring groups, routes or live calls, and not only read its calls. It also shows call statistics today.
asterisk-ai-call-notes: an outbound call centre wants a summary, a next step and a callback time written next to each call as soon as it ends.

If pbx fits, start with installation, then connect your Asterisk.

Compared with other tools — Asterisk

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