How do I install the Telegram Voice Transcribe skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add modbender/telegram-voice-transcribe in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Telegram Voice Transcribe safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. Independent scanners report: SkillSpector: PASS, Skill Scanner: PASS. Capability flags: executes scripts, reads secrets. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Telegram Voice Transcribe?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Telegram Voice Transcribe free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Telegram Voice Transcribe?

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

Telegram Voice Transcribe by modbender

Name: Telegram Voice Transcribe
Rating: 4.2 (5 reviews)
Author: modbender

Telegram Voice Transcribe

Transcribe Telegram voice messages and audio notes into text using the OpenAI Whisper API. Use when (1) a user sends a voice message or audio note via Telegram and you need to read or understand its content, (2) you receive a message with a voice file_id in the Telegram message metadata, (3) the user explicitly asks you to transcribe an audio file. Produces the transcript as plain text so you can respond naturally. Requires OPENAI_API_KEY env var and optionally TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN for file_id mode. NOT for live audio streams, video transcription, or non-Telegram audio pipelines (though the script supports local files and URLs too).

modbender Updated Sep 9, 2026 12 repo stars

File contents

telegram-voice-transcribe

Transcribe Telegram voice notes into text via OpenAI Whisper (whisper-1).

Quick Workflow

Detect a voice message: look for voice.file_id or audio.file_id in the inbound message metadata.

Run the transcription script:

python3 ~/openclaw/skills/telegram-voice-transcribe/scripts/transcribe.py \
  --file-id <file_id> --language es

Read the JSON output — transcript field contains the text.
Respond to the user based on the transcript content (treat it like typed text).

Script Modes

Mode	Flag	When to use
Telegram file_id	`--file-id <id>`	Standard case — voice message in Telegram
Local file	`--file <path>`	Testing, or file already downloaded
URL	`--url <https://...>`	Audio hosted externally

Always pass --language es for Spanish speakers to improve speed and accuracy.

Output

{"transcript": "Hola, necesito que hagas un cambio en el juego", "language": "es", "duration_s": 4.2}

If error key is present, surface it to the user and check setup.

Environment Requirements

OPENAI_API_KEY — required (set via openclaw configure)
TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN — required for --file-id mode

See references/setup.md for full setup, hooks integration, costs, and local Whisper alternative.

Error Handling

Error	Fix
`OPENAI_API_KEY not set`	Configure key via `openclaw configure --section env`
`TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN required`	Add bot token to env
`openai package not installed`	`pip install openai`
Telegram `400 Bad Request`	file_id expired — Telegram file_ids expire after ~48h
File too large	Whisper API limit is 25MB; split audio or use local Whisper

---name: telegram-voice-transcribedescription: Transcribe Telegram voice messages and audio notes into text using the OpenAI Whisper API. Use when (1) a user sends a voice message or audio note via Telegram and you need to read or understand its content, (2) you receive a message with a voice file_id in the Telegram message metadata, (3) the user explicitly asks you to transcribe an audio file. Produces the transcript as plain text so you can respond naturally. Requires OPENAI_API_KEY env var and optionally TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN for file_id mode. NOT for live audio streams, video transcription, or non-Telegram audio pipelines (though the script supports local files and URLs too).--- # telegram-voice-transcribe Transcribe Telegram voice notes into text via OpenAI Whisper (`whisper-1`). ## Quick Workflow 1. **Detect** a voice message: look for `voice.file_id` or `audio.file_id` in the inbound message metadata. 2. **Run** the transcription script: ```bash python3 ~/openclaw/skills/telegram-voice-transcribe/scripts/transcribe.py \ --file-id <file_id> --language es ``` 3. **Read** the JSON output — `transcript` field contains the text. 4. **Respond** to the user based on the transcript content (treat it like typed text). ## Script Modes | Mode | Flag | When to use | |---|---|---| | Telegram file_id | `--file-id <id>` | Standard case — voice message in Telegram | | Local file | `--file <path>` | Testing, or file already downloaded | | URL | `--url <https://...>` | Audio hosted externally | Always pass `--language es` for Spanish speakers to improve speed and accuracy. ## Output ```json {"transcript": "Hola, necesito que hagas un cambio en el juego", "language": "es", "duration_s": 4.2} ``` If `error` key is present, surface it to the user and check setup. ## Environment Requirements - `OPENAI_API_KEY` — required (set via `openclaw configure`) - `TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN` — required for `--file-id` mode See [references/setup.md](references/setup.md) for full setup, hooks integration, costs, and local Whisper alternative. ## Error Handling | Error | Fix | |---|---| | `OPENAI_API_KEY not set` | Configure key via `openclaw configure --section env` | | `TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN required` | Add bot token to env | | `openai package not installed` | `pip install openai` | | Telegram `400 Bad Request` | file_id expired — Telegram file_ids expire after ~48h | | File too large | Whisper API limit is 25MB; split audio or use local Whisper |

Frequently asked questions