Reference · API
Whisper audio transcription
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Convert **speech to text** with OpenAI Whisper (or compatible endpoints) — meetings, voice notes, accessibility, and RAG over audio.
Convert **speech to text** with OpenAI Whisper (or compatible endpoints) — meetings, voice notes, accessibility, and RAG over audio.
#When to use
Not ideal for real-time sub-100ms dictation without specialized streaming STT.
#Endpoint
POST https://api.openai.com/v1/audio/transcriptions#Request shape (sketch)
Multipart form:
| Field | Value |
|-------|-------|
| `file` | Audio bytes (mp3, wav, m4a, …) |
| `model` | `whisper-1` |
| `language` | Optional ISO-639-1 hint |
| `response_format` | `json`, `text`, `srt`, `vtt` |
#Python sketch
from openai import OpenAI
client = OpenAI()
with open("meeting.mp3", "rb") as f:
transcript = client.audio.transcriptions.create(
model="whisper-1",
file=f,
response_format="text",
)
print(transcript)#Pipeline pattern
upload audio → transcribe → chunk text → embed → RAG or summarize#Common pitfalls
| Pitfall | Fix |
|---------|-----|
| Files over size limits | Split long audio; compress sensibly |
| No speaker labels | Use diarization elsewhere if needed |
| PII in recordings | Redact or block sensitive uploads |
| Skipping language hint | Set `language` when known for accuracy |