Transcription for AI agents.

Fastest path

Paste one line with your key into Claude Code. The agent reads the setup skill, stores the key in its own config, and verifies the account; the skill carries the steps for Codex, Cursor and shell agents. Details and troubleshooting on the Claude Code page.

In ChatGPT, install the transcribe.so plugin from ChatGPT's plugin directory, then sign in with your transcribe.so account. No key to paste. Install in ChatGPT.

Three ways to install

One repo ships all three: an agent skill, a Claude Code plugin, and a CLI. Pick the one that matches your agent runtime. Each needs a TRANSCRIBE_API_KEY from your settings.

npx skills add shsunmoonlee/transcribe-agent

/plugin marketplace add shsunmoonlee/transcribe-agent
/plugin install transcribe-so@transcribe-agent

npm install -g transcribe-so
export TRANSCRIBE_API_KEY=tsk_live_...

The core flow

Quote first (free), create (charges the wallet), wait, then read the result. Every command prints pure JSON to stdout, so the output pipes straight into jq or your agent's tool loop. The job id is the one returned by create.

$ transcribe-so quote --source youtube --url https://youtu.be/RdAY3DjSr3A
{ "retail_usd": 0.35, "billed_minutes": 21, "pipeline_code": "standard", ... }

$ transcribe-so create --source youtube --url https://youtu.be/RdAY3DjSr3A
{ "id": 4821, "status": "processing", "stage": "queued", ... }

$ transcribe-so wait 4821
{ "id": 4821, "status": "completed", ... }

$ transcribe-so result 4821 > transcript.json

Or do all four in one call with a spend cap: transcribe-so run --source youtube --url ... --max-usd 2. The CLI refuses locally if the quote exceeds the cap, before any money moves.

What your agent actually runs

You ask in plain language. The agent turns it into the calls below, with a hard price ceiling: run quotes first and refuses to create the job if the quote is over --max-usd.

You: Transcribe this episode and give me Instagram captions, under $3.

$ transcribe-so quote --source youtube --url https://youtu.be/RdAY3DjSr3A
$ transcribe-so run --source youtube --url https://youtu.be/RdAY3DjSr3A --max-usd 3
$ transcribe-so captions 4821 --for instagram

Ask for the output you actually want

The transcript itself is one endpoint. Beyond it, three different things get called "captions", and they are three different endpoints with three different bodies. Pick the one your task needs.

• Transcript text: GET /api/v1/transcriptions/:id/transcript returns the raw body as text/plain or text/markdown. Speaker labels and timestamps are both on by default; pass speaker_labels=false or timestamps=false to strip them. Nothing is truncated.
• Social post text: GET /api/v1/transcriptions/:id/timestamps drafts the caption or chapter list you paste into a post.
• Timed subtitles: GET /api/v1/transcriptions/:id/subtitles returns an SRT or VTT file for a video editor or player.
• Captioned video: POST /api/v1/transcriptions/:id/clips renders a shareable MP4 with the captions burned in.
• Who said what: GET /api/v1/search?q=... returns matching segments with speaker, start and end times, and a deep link.

# the transcript text, speaker-labelled, with timestamps
curl -sS -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIBE_API_KEY" \
  "https://transcribe.so/api/v1/transcriptions/4821/transcript?format=txt&speaker_labels=true&timestamps=true"

# who said what, and when
curl -sS -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSCRIBE_API_KEY" \
  "https://transcribe.so/api/v1/search?q=pricing&limit=10"

Command reference

Destructive and re-charging commands require an explicit --yes. Exit codes separate auth, payment, and spend-cap failures so an agent knows whether to fix the key, top up, or raise --max-usd.

Every agent surface

The skill, plugin, and CLI sit on the same public API as everything else. If your agent speaks MCP or plain HTTP, connect directly.

Connect by runtime

ChatGPT

Install the transcribe.so plugin from ChatGPT's plugin directory, then sign in with your transcribe.so account. On ChatGPT Business, Enterprise or Edu, a workspace admin can also add https://transcribe.so/mcp as a custom MCP server: Plugins, the plus button, Add custom MCP server. Install in ChatGPT. Step-by-step guide.

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Claude (claude.ai and Desktop)

Customize, Connectors, Add, Add custom connector, paste https://transcribe.so/mcp, then sign in. Works on every Claude plan (Free allows one custom connector). Claude transcribes public links; upload local files in the transcribe.so web app. On Team and Enterprise, an Owner adds it once for the organization. Add the connector. Step-by-step guide.

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Claude Code

Plugin or one MCP command.

claude mcp add --transport http transcribe https://transcribe.so/mcp

Watch

Cursor

Add to .cursor/mcp.json (project) or ~/.cursor/mcp.json (global). OAuth on first use.

{"mcpServers":{"transcribe":{"url":"https://transcribe.so/mcp"}}}

Codex

Plugin or one MCP command.

codex mcp add transcribe --url https://transcribe.so/mcp

Gemini

Antigravity CLI (Google moved individual accounts from Gemini CLI to it on 2026-06-18): agy plugin install https://github.com/shsunmoonlee/transcribe-agent adds the skills, and agy mcp add --header "Authorization: Bearer tsk_live_..." transcribe-so-key https://transcribe.so/mcp adds the tools with an API key from Settings, API keys (a read-only key is enough for read-only use). The Antigravity app and IDE also offer an Authenticate button for sign-in, which we have not tested yet. Gemini CLI with a paid Gemini API or enterprise key: gemini mcp add --transport http transcribe https://transcribe.so/mcp. Gemini app: Settings, Connected Apps, Add a custom app, paste https://transcribe.so/mcp. Google offers custom apps only in the US (18+, personal Google account, English, web app), and we have not tested that path ourselves.

WhatsApp

On paid plans: link your number in Settings, Notifications (Connect WhatsApp), then send a link to the transcribe.so WhatsApp number and get the transcript back in the chat. Reply to the transcript message with a question, or send /ask with your question, to get who said what with timestamps. WhatsApp setup.

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OpenClaw and skills.sh agents

Install the skill.

npx skills add shsunmoonlee/transcribe-agent

Any MCP client

Streamable HTTP at https://transcribe.so/mcp. OAuth, or an Authorization: Bearer tsk_live_... key.

All how-to videos on YouTube.

• MCP server: https://transcribe.so/mcp (streamable HTTP; OAuth or API key). Per-runtime connect lines are above.
• OpenAPI spec: /openapi.json (also served as YAML at /api/v1/openapi.yaml)
• Site overview for LLMs: /llms.txt
• Skill, plugin, and CLI source: github.com/shsunmoonlee/transcribe-agent
• Listed on: MCP Registry (official), Smithery, Glama, Claude plugin directory, ChatGPT plugins, mcp.so. Every integration and how to connect it: /developers/docs#integrations
• Human-oriented docs: /developers/docs

What it looks like in the app

Your agent and the web app share one account and one wallet. A job the agent starts shows up in your library, ready to read, search, and share.