Deep Transcribe

Deep Transcribe

Use Deep Transcribe for media transcription, structured processing, output review, and cache-aware iteration. The installed CLI is the source of truth.

Choose the Runner

In a Deep Transcribe source checkout, prefer the repository environment:

uv run deep-transcribe --docs

This prevents an unrelated or older executable on PATH from overriding the checkout.

Outside a source checkout, probe the installed command with deep-transcribe --docs. Use it only when that command succeeds. A command merely existing on PATH is not sufficient because a stale release may have an incompatible CLI.

If the installed command is missing or rejects --docs, use this exact version-pinned runner:

uvx \
    --exclude-newer-package yt-dlp=2026-08-20T00:00:00Z \
    --from "deep-transcribe[youtube]==0.1.14" \
    deep-transcribe --docs

Use the chosen prefix for every later command. Never substitute @latest or an unconstrained package version in an agent workflow. The per-package cutoff carries Deep Transcribe’s reviewed yt-dlp freshness exception through uv installations that enforce a global dependency cool-off. If neither command works, stop and report the missing executable or uv prerequisite.

Read the Executable Documentation

Before acting, run:

• deep-transcribe --docs for setup, presets, metadata, iterative reruns, cache reuse, output review, privacy, troubleshooting, and skill installation;
• deep-transcribe --help for every current transcription option and stage; and
• deep-transcribe --models for Anthropic and OpenAI model profiles.

If this skill came from deep-transcribe --skill, materialize the complete bundle from the project root by running deep-transcribe --install-skill with the chosen prefix.

Execute Safely

Confirm ffmpeg, DEEPGRAM_API_KEY, and the key for the selected LLM profile are available. Verify key names without printing values. The youtube extra supplies the Deno runtime yt-dlp needs for YouTube sources, so no system JavaScript runtime is required. Do not change a workspace’s saved model profile unless the user requests it.

Choose the least expensive preset that meets the request and use --json when artifact paths will be consumed programmatically. When names, roles, terminology, or chronology are known, supply them with a private metadata file or the context flags documented by deep-transcribe --help. Put output-shape, emphasis, and level-of-detail requests in processing_instructions, --instructions, or --instructions-file. If the prose clearly names every speaking role, Deep Transcribe can derive the internal roster needed to correct merged diarization boundaries. Use exact speaker overrides only after reviewing the result. Do not guess unsupported names.

Iterate on a Reviewed Result

After each run, read --report (add --json to get it as data) before opening the page; it names the headings, themes, segments, speakers, frames, and spelling variants an agent needs to choose the next correction. Keep a source's recipe in one directory (--metadata file, --segments file, README with the command), as docs/examples/lex-501/ does, and rebuild the page alone with --export-only. View settings such as --grouping on|off|MINUTES (whether the outline, concepts, claims, and graph group by theme; automatic from 45 minutes) take effect on a re-export, so change them and re-export rather than rerun. When the user is going to click through the page, add --open: it serves the export locally and opens it in the browser, which the embedded video player needs and a file:// URL cannot give it.

Preserve the exact source and workspace. Inspect the current transcript and HTML, update the private metadata or add requested processing instructions or stages, then run the same command normally. That normal rerun resumes at the first affected action and reuses compatible media, speech-to-text, and model output.

Use --rerun-processing only for a deliberate regeneration of every post-transcription stage, such as a model-profile comparison. Use --rerun only when a new paid speech-to-text request is wanted. Changing key terms, language, transcription model, or diarization model intentionally creates a new transcript cache entry.

For a semantic-only correction, verify from the workspace log that the Deepgram request count did not increase. Review speaker continuity and output quality at the beginning, middle, and end; a zero exit status is not a quality review.

Keep source-specific names, paths, transcript content, metadata, and credentials out of repository code, tests, docs, commits, pull requests, and issue records.

After completion, report the workspace, transcript, and HTML paths.