Assemblyai Transcribe

AssemblyAI transcription + exports

Use this skill when you need to transcribe audio/video or export readable formats (subtitles, paragraphs, sentences) using AssemblyAI.

The helper script in this skill implements the basic REST flow:

1. (Local files) Upload via POST /v2/upload.
2. Create a transcript job via POST /v2/transcript.
3. Poll GET /v2/transcript/:id until the transcript status is completed (or error).

Setup

This skill requires:

• node on PATH (Node.js 18+ recommended; script uses built-in fetch)
• ASSEMBLYAI_API_KEY in the environment

Recommended Clawdbot config (~/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json):

{
  skills: {
    entries: {
      // This skill declares metadata.clawdbot.skillKey = "assemblyai"
      assemblyai: {
        enabled: true,
        // Because this skill declares primaryEnv = ASSEMBLYAI_API_KEY,
        // you can use apiKey as a convenience:
        apiKey: "YOUR_ASSEMBLYAI_KEY",
        env: {
          ASSEMBLYAI_API_KEY: "YOUR_ASSEMBLYAI_KEY",

          // Optional: use EU async endpoint
          // ASSEMBLYAI_BASE_URL: "https://api.eu.assemblyai.com"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Usage

Run these commands via the Exec tool.

Transcribe (local file or public URL)

Print transcript text to stdout:

node {baseDir}/assemblyai.mjs transcribe "./path/to/audio.mp3"
node {baseDir}/assemblyai.mjs transcribe "https://example.com/audio.mp3"

Write transcript to a file (recommended for long audio):

node {baseDir}/assemblyai.mjs transcribe "./path/to/audio.mp3" --out ./transcript.txt

Pass advanced transcription options

Any fields supported by POST /v2/transcript can be passed via --config:

node {baseDir}/assemblyai.mjs transcribe "./path/to/audio.mp3" \
  --config '{"speaker_labels":true,"summarization":true,"summary_model":"informative","summary_type":"bullets"}' \
  --export json \
  --out ./transcript.json

Export subtitles (SRT/VTT)

Transcribe and immediately export subtitles:

node {baseDir}/assemblyai.mjs transcribe "./path/to/video.mp4" --export srt --out ./subtitles.srt
node {baseDir}/assemblyai.mjs transcribe "./path/to/video.mp4" --export vtt --out ./subtitles.vtt

Or export subtitles from an existing transcript ID:

node {baseDir}/assemblyai.mjs subtitles <transcript_id> srt --out ./subtitles.srt

Export paragraphs / sentences

node {baseDir}/assemblyai.mjs paragraphs <transcript_id> --out ./paragraphs.txt
node {baseDir}/assemblyai.mjs sentences <transcript_id> --out ./sentences.txt

Fetch an existing transcript

node {baseDir}/assemblyai.mjs get <transcript_id> --format json
node {baseDir}/assemblyai.mjs get <transcript_id> --wait --format text

Guidance

• Prefer --out <file> when output might be large.
• Keep API keys out of logs and chat; rely on env injection.
• If a user asks for EU processing/data residency, set ASSEMBLYAI_BASE_URL to the EU host.
• AssemblyAI requires that uploads and the subsequent transcript request use an API key from the same AssemblyAI project (otherwise you can get a 403 / 'Cannot access uploaded file').