diff --git a/api/pipeline.py b/api/pipeline.py
index d5481c6..783b5fb 100644
--- a/api/pipeline.py
+++ b/api/pipeline.py
@@ -69,6 +69,7 @@ async def _run_solo_pipeline(cfg, wav_path, output_dir, instructions):
         model_name=cfg["whisper"]["model"],
         device=cfg["whisper"]["device"],
         base_url=cfg["whisper"].get("base_url", ""),
+        backend=cfg["whisper"].get("backend", "openai"),
     )
     await broadcast({"event": "transcribed", "raw": raw_text})