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aws-samples (@aws-samples) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Transcribe Diagnostics by aws-samples

Name: Transcribe Diagnostics
Author: aws-samples

Transcribe Diagnostics

Use this skill to investigate and troubleshoot Amazon Transcribe problems by analyzing transcription jobs, streaming transcription, custom vocabulary, medical transcription, call analytics, subtitles, language identification, content redaction, and following structured runbooks. Activate when: transcription job failures, streaming errors, custom vocabulary issues, poor transcription accuracy, medical transcription problems, call analytics failures, subtitle generation issues, or the user says something is wrong with Transcribe.

aws-samples 51935be 17 files · 81.3 KB Updated Sep 17, 2026

File contents

Amazon Transcribe Diagnostics

When to use

Any Amazon Transcribe investigation where the console alone is insufficient — batch transcription, streaming, custom vocabulary, medical transcription, call analytics, or subtitle generation.

Investigation workflow

Step 1 — Collect and triage

aws transcribe list-transcription-jobs --status FAILED --max-results 10
aws transcribe list-vocabularies
aws transcribe list-call-analytics-jobs --status FAILED --max-results 10
aws transcribe list-medical-transcription-jobs --status FAILED --max-results 10

Step 2 — Domain deep dive

aws transcribe get-transcription-job --transcription-job-name <job-name>
aws transcribe get-vocabulary --vocabulary-name <name>
aws transcribe get-call-analytics-job --call-analytics-job-name <job-name>

Step 3 — Detailed investigation

aws cloudtrail lookup-events --lookup-attributes AttributeKey=EventSource,AttributeValue=transcribe.amazonaws.com --max-results 20
aws s3 cp s3://<bucket>/<output-key> - | head -100

Read references/guardrails.md before concluding on any Transcribe issue.

Tool quick reference

Tool / API	When to use
`transcribe start-transcription-job`	Start batch transcription
`transcribe get-transcription-job`	Check job status
`transcribe list-vocabularies`	List custom vocabularies
`transcribe start-stream-transcription`	Start streaming
`transcribe start-call-analytics-job`	Start call analytics
`transcribe start-medical-transcription-job`	Medical transcription

Gotchas: Amazon Transcribe

Audio format must match MediaFormat parameter. Supported: WAV, MP3, MP4, FLAC, OGG, AMR, WebM.
Custom vocabulary improves recognition of specific terms. Vocabulary must be in READY state before use.
Streaming transcription uses WebSocket or HTTP/2. Has different latency characteristics than batch.
Medical transcription is a separate API with HIPAA compliance. Don't use standard API for medical content.
Call Analytics requires stereo audio with separate channels per speaker.
Content redaction replaces PII in transcripts. Only available for specific languages.
Language identification can auto-detect language but adds processing time.
Maximum audio duration varies: 4 hours for standard, 4 hours for medical.

Anti-hallucination rules

Always cite specific job names, vocabulary names, or API responses as evidence.
Audio format must match MediaFormat. Never assume automatic format detection.
Custom vocabulary must be READY. Never assume immediate availability.
Medical transcription uses separate API. Never use standard API for medical.
Call Analytics requires stereo audio. Never assume mono works.
Spend no more than 2 minutes on any single hypothesis. Pivot if inconclusive.

14 runbooks

Category	IDs	Covers
A — Batch Jobs	A1-A2	Job failures, audio format issues
B — Streaming	B1-B2	Streaming setup, streaming errors
C — Custom Vocabulary	C1-C2	Vocabulary creation, vocabulary accuracy
D — Medical	D1-D2	Medical transcription, medical vocabulary
E — Call Analytics	E1-E2	Call analytics jobs, channel configuration
F — Features	F1-F2	Content redaction, subtitles
Z — Catch-All	Z1	General troubleshooting

---name: transcribe-diagnosticsdescription: Use this skill to investigate and troubleshoot Amazon Transcribe problems by analyzing transcription jobs, streaming transcription, custom vocabulary, medical transcription, call analytics, subtitles, language identification, content redaction, and following structured runbooks. Activate when: transcription job failures, streaming errors, custom vocabulary issues, poor transcription accuracy, medical transcription problems, call analytics failures, subtitle generation issues, or the user says something is wrong with Transcribe.---# Amazon Transcribe Diagnostics## When to useAny Amazon Transcribe investigation where the console alone is insufficient — batch transcription, streaming, custom vocabulary, medical transcription, call analytics, or subtitle generation.## Investigation workflow### Step 1 — Collect and triage```aws transcribe list-transcription-jobs --status FAILED --max-results 10aws transcribe list-vocabulariesaws transcribe list-call-analytics-jobs --status FAILED --max-results 10aws transcribe list-medical-transcription-jobs --status FAILED --max-results 10```### Step 2 — Domain deep dive```aws transcribe get-transcription-job --transcription-job-name <job-name>aws transcribe get-vocabulary --vocabulary-name <name>aws transcribe get-call-analytics-job --call-analytics-job-name <job-name>```### Step 3 — Detailed investigation```aws cloudtrail lookup-events --lookup-attributes AttributeKey=EventSource,AttributeValue=transcribe.amazonaws.com --max-results 20aws s3 cp s3://<bucket>/<output-key> - | head -100```Read `references/guardrails.md` before concluding on any Transcribe issue.## Tool quick reference| Tool / API | When to use ||------------|-------------|| `transcribe start-transcription-job` | Start batch transcription || `transcribe get-transcription-job` | Check job status || `transcribe list-vocabularies` | List custom vocabularies || `transcribe start-stream-transcription` | Start streaming || `transcribe start-call-analytics-job` | Start call analytics || `transcribe start-medical-transcription-job` | Medical transcription |## Gotchas: Amazon Transcribe- Audio format must match MediaFormat parameter. Supported: WAV, MP3, MP4, FLAC, OGG, AMR, WebM.- Custom vocabulary improves recognition of specific terms. Vocabulary must be in READY state before use.- Streaming transcription uses WebSocket or HTTP/2. Has different latency characteristics than batch.- Medical transcription is a separate API with HIPAA compliance. Don't use standard API for medical content.- Call Analytics requires stereo audio with separate channels per speaker.- Content redaction replaces PII in transcripts. Only available for specific languages.- Language identification can auto-detect language but adds processing time.- Maximum audio duration varies: 4 hours for standard, 4 hours for medical.## Anti-hallucination rules1. Always cite specific job names, vocabulary names, or API responses as evidence.2. Audio format must match MediaFormat. Never assume automatic format detection.3. Custom vocabulary must be READY. Never assume immediate availability.4. Medical transcription uses separate API. Never use standard API for medical.5. Call Analytics requires stereo audio. Never assume mono works.6. Spend no more than 2 minutes on any single hypothesis. Pivot if inconclusive.## 14 runbooks| Category | IDs | Covers ||----------|-----|--------|| A — Batch Jobs | A1-A2 | Job failures, audio format issues || B — Streaming | B1-B2 | Streaming setup, streaming errors || C — Custom Vocabulary | C1-C2 | Vocabulary creation, vocabulary accuracy || D — Medical | D1-D2 | Medical transcription, medical vocabulary || E — Call Analytics | E1-E2 | Call analytics jobs, channel configuration || F — Features | F1-F2 | Content redaction, subtitles || Z — Catch-All | Z1 | General troubleshooting |

Frequently asked questions